GoKawiilis a technology reporter who has been covering the industry since 2007. He co-hosts the Waveform podcast with MKBHD. A former engineer, he now specializes in topics like computational photography and social media protocols.
When I first picked up the Pixel 11 Pro this week, it was clear to me that this was one of those refinement years — at least when it comes to hardware. Aesthetically, the phones are as beautiful as ever, with Google’s signature camera bar and bright, colorful backing glass. There are small updates, like a single piece of glass covering the camera bar and the all-new HiLight ambient LED on the Pros. But this year, the Pixel is all about quality of life and software improvements.
After weeks of teasers, Google has finally formally announced the Pixel 11, Pixel 11 Pro, Pixel 11 Pro XL, and Pixel 11 Pro Fold. The phones are all shipping next week, on August 20th, and Google is holding a splashy event the evening of August 12th to show off the devices. Ahead of that, we had a chance to take a first look at everything that’s coming up.
Pixel 11
The standard Pixel 11 gets some bold colors this year.
Let’s start with the bad news up front: All of these phones are $100 more expensive than last year’s. Google has killed off the 128GB base storage option this year, which means the Pixel 11 now starts at $899 for a 256GB model. All storage tiers still come with 12GB of RAM, but the higher entry price is no doubt driven by RAMageddon, which has been increasing costs across the industry.
If you can look past the price, you’ll find a refined version of last year’s phone that looks and feels a bit more premium. The camera bar is now made of a singular piece of glass and is over 40 percent thinner. If you use it with one of Google’s cases, the bar will become completely flush. (This gives you three different camera bar thickness options on the Pixel line now, which only get thicker the more premium you go.)
The camera bump difference between the Pixel 11 and Pixel 11 Pro.
The cameras have been upgraded, too. On the Pixel 11, the 48MP wide is quoted with 56 percent more light gathering capability from its new 1/1.56-inch sensor, and the 5x telephoto lens can now digitally zoom up to 30x, which Google says is enabled by the new image signal processor in the Tensor G6 chipset. And considering the new Tensor G6 chip is said to be up to 20 percent more efficient, Google is quoting up to 30-plus hours of battery life across the lineup.
Perhaps the most interesting update to me is the new Camera Looks feature. You can think of this similarly to the film recipes on Fujifilm cameras, presenting users with stylized presets that can be customized to their liking.
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