With Google releasing the Pixel 11 line a few weeks ago, one of the biggest questions I’ve seen in the forums and mobile enthusiast communities is: Is it worth the upgrade? Well, it depends on two things: Upgrading from what phone and what’s the price your’e paying?
For my experience, I really wanted to see if the Pixel 11 Pro should replace my 10 Pro. Here are my thoughts:
On paper, the Pixel 11 Pro doesn’t seem like much of an upgrade over the 10 Pro. The camera is similar. Processor speeds are similar. And depending on which storage you choose, the RAM is a downgrade. New features? Not enough to be excited about. So let’s break down what these “similarities” are, and see if they are improvements.
Also — the price comes into play when making this decision. Oh and let’s not forget about the mobile fanatic factor: are you a tech enthusiast, a camera phone enthusiast, or someone that doesn’t give a shit about that stuff and just wants a phone that works? Here we go:
Using the Google Pixel 11 Pro vs the 10 Pro day to day
When I read in some reddit forums people’s experiences with both of these devices, they didn’t seem to match what I was seeing on the big reviewer Youtube channels. I was reading things that left me genuinely excited not only on reddit but on some of the smaller tech blogs. Here’s a few that stood out to me:
- battery life significantly improved from 10 Pro to 11 Pro.
- camera feels faster, shoots night mode faster, and zoom drastically improved.
- AI usage (digital assistant) seems faster and a few AI modes in the camera are amazing.
- how the phone feels — I was reading that it feels a bit lighter, more balance, and cooler to the touch under heavy operations.
Ok… assuming this is all true, even if they are small improvements, is it worth the upgrade? Well, Google is known to have outstanding trade-in offers and promotions when their phones are first released — especially in the U.S. I’m a witness to that, having “upgraded” to the latest device just about every year for less than $500 after promo discounts, Google Store credits, and trade-ins. Sometimes it’s under $300! Yep, as you can tell, I’m a tech enthusiast with a heavy leaning towards the simple Pixel experience and amazing cameras.
I was ALMOST set on not upgrading this year since my experience with the Pixel 10 Pro was mostly positive and I wasn’t impressed after watching some big Youtube reviews. But those small improvements had me taking a close look at the Google Store offers and I decided to bite the bullet.
The promo I got worked out to be trading in my Pixel 10 Pro and acquiring the Pixel 11 Pro and Pixel Watch 5 (coming from the 2) for right around $500 out the door, when you factor in some credits applied from last year’s promos and future credits (Google One subscriber).
Am I happy?
ABSOLUTELY! Here’s why:
The battery life on the Pixel 11 Pro is drastically improved over the 10 Pro, despite having a slightly smaller battery. I think a huge part of this is the new modem that Google put in the 11 Pro. The signal is not only much better, but it’s not working so hard to capture a good signal. The phone isn’t heating up like my 10 Pro did, which I think was killing the battery life. Under my normal usage I would be around 30-40% by noon. The past 4 days I was at 60% every day. Right now it’s 3pm and I’m at 40% having not charged since 5:30am. I’m outside most of the day so the phone is at full brightness.
Camera. Everything feels faster to load, faster to shoot, and faster to switch lens. Night mode has a much quicker shutter and is letting in more light with the telephoto lens. Speaking of, the zoom is much improved!
Oh and there’s an AI mode that lets you take a short video for the purpose of extracting high quality images of moving subjects (such as kids, athletes, or fast movements). Think of it as a high speed shutter than works good in low-light. I’m still testing that out but so far I’m impressed.
How it feels is also an improvement. On paper in doesn’t seem like much, but it in-hand I notice it seems lighter and easier to hold. I bought the Obsidian which is all matte and looks amazing. It’s a bit slippery, so like all phones, I put it in a case. But this might be the first phone in a long time that I didn’t want to put in a case, mainly because it feels so good in-hand.
Overall speed, navigating around the UI seems faster. I transferred everything over via USB-C cable during the setup process — and this time EVERYTHING. Apps, photos, settings, contacts, literally everything Google offered to transfer. I wanted to immediately hit the ground running with the same exact setup just so I can have as much time as possible to decide if I’m keeping this phone within the return window.
What about the lost RAM? My 10 Pro had 16gb of RAM and my new 11 Pro has 12gb. I don’t notice anything negative in my usage, although everyone’s experience will vary. I did gain some storage space, so that’s a win at least.
Was it worth it?
Pixel 10 Pro to the Pixel 11 Pro
Well… for the money I paid — I would definitely recommend it. If I didn’t have the trade-in values and promos… maybe not. Do I think it’s a $1,200 device? I would really have to look at the offering from Samsung and Apple in this price range before making a decision. Just looking at specs, this phone is the latter of the three. But in real life experience, there’s something nice about the simplicity of a Pixel phone that just always works.
Let me know your thoughts on going from a Pixel 10 to a Pixel 11 — if the price is right.