I like Google Pixel telephones. I’ve bought nothing private towards different producers, however there are lots of explanation why I am going to all the time select a Google Pixel over different Android units. Nonetheless, the most recent Pixel 11 is considerably of a tough go as a result of the Pixel 10 continues to be so highly effective on condition that it was solely launched a 12 months in the past. Google’s beneficiant software program assist (and spectacular {hardware}, thoughts you) will doubtless enable me to carry on to it for at the very least just a few years, so upgrading to the Pixel 11 could be pointless. This is not simply my opinion; loads of folks made up their minds about Google’s new launch forward of time, advising customers to not watch for the Pixel 11.
For those who’re utilizing a Pixel 9 or older, then the brand new Pixel 11 could be a more sensible choice, regardless of the $100 value enhance. However for Pixel 10 customers, the enhancements are so marginal they do not provide a lot incentive to improve. The brand new mannequin does double the bottom storage to 256GB, sports activities an up to date chipset, and has a bigger digicam sensor, however it’s not a lot of a bounce that may justify shopping for an entire new system. Contemplating it seems so much like final 12 months’s model, you do not even get the road cred of getting the most recent model. So it could be wiser to carry on to your Pixel 10 and wait a 12 months or two till Google comes out with the next-generation Pixel.
1. The Pixel 10 continues to be an excellent decide
The principle cause to not improve to the Pixel 11 is that the primary Pixel with two digits in its identify stays a robust cellphone by present requirements. Contemplating it was launched in August 2025, this should not come as a shock, since each the Pixel 10 and the likes of the iPhone 17 nonetheless carry some heft spec-wise. For starters, Pixel 10 has 12GB of RAM, which is greater than sufficient for nearly all each day duties (even multitasking should you’re that form of a person). Contemplating that the bottom Pixel 11 Professional units have been downgraded from 16GB RAM to 12GB of RAM, that places the Pixel 10 nearer to the ability ranges of the brand new top-end units.
RAM isn’t the one cause the Pixel 10 nonetheless holds up. Final 12 months’s Tensor G5 is a good 8-core chipset clocked at 3780 MHz. It is quick, snappy, and might deal with nearly the whole lot you throw at it. The digicam? Save for a bigger sensor and a greater zoom on the Pixel 11, most customers will not discover the distinction from final 12 months’s system, although Evening Sight is anticipated to be a bit quicker. Software program-wise, Pixel 10 will obtain beneficiant 7 years of updates. My expertise with these telephones is second to none, to say the least. I’ve by no means skilled a {hardware} failure, and all my outdated Pixels are nonetheless working high-quality, so I can sleep effectively at evening figuring out that if push involves shove, the Pixel 10 will proceed working and obtain software program and safety updates till the following decade.
2. The Pixel 11 updates are marginal at finest
Credit score the place it is due, Pixel 11 has just a few cool new options, akin to the notification LED and the teleprompter that arrived to the digicam app. However are these updates life-changing? Not by an extended shot. When you dig a bit deeper, aside from these nifty little enhancements, the largest variations from final 12 months’s mannequin are the storage, the processor, and larger digicam sensors.
Make no mistake, it is a good factor should you’re making the improve from a cellphone that got here out years in the past. In that case, the distinction could be evening and day. Pixel 10 customers are unlikely to even discover it. The brand new and improved Tensor G6 bumps up the ability effectivity by 20%, and the searching pace has reportedly seen a bounce of 25%. The important thing challenge with that is that final 12 months’s processor continues to be greater than succesful and can doubtless keep that method for just a few years. Plus, Pixel 11’s barely higher AI efficiency simply is not a sufficiently big enchancment for these of us who’ve the Pixel 10.
The Pixel 11 doubles the storage (the bottom mannequin now comes with 256GB), which is a good name on behalf of Google. The digicam replace is not practically as substantial. It is just about the identical triple digicam, with a barely greater sensor. The sphere of view (FOV) is wider, and the telephoto can now zoom to 30x. For essentially the most half, it is outdated information, though the bigger sensor will let in additional gentle, which can in all probability make evening pictures a bit higher. Aside from that, you get just a few new shade choices, however the design stays virtually the identical, and I struggled to select the distinction between the 2 Pixels in pictures.
3. The worth of admission is simply too excessive
Beginning at $899, the Pixel 11 is comparatively reasonably priced for a flagship smartphone in 2026. That is usually what I like about Pixel. The $899 price ticket is an affordable one, particularly when you think about that it is a cellphone you’ll be able to theoretically maintain for over 5 years or extra. But, this solely applies to these upgrading from telephones older than the Pixel 10. The predecessor is priced at $785. So should you have been in search of a model new cellphone to improve to from the Pixel 8, for instance, then placing down an additional $100 for the Pixel 11 is probably not worthwhile to obtain solely barely extra highly effective specs than the Pixel 11. For blissful Pixel 10 homeowners, paying $899 is just too excessive of a value for what you’d get.
General, this is not a criticism of Google alone; year-to-year smartphone enhancements aren’t as noticeable as they have been a decade or only a few years in the past. There’s solely a lot you are able to do to enhance on the Pixel 10, in any case, which was top-notch when it got here out. Different producers are coping with the identical challenge. Take Apple for example. The iPhone 17 got here out in 2025, so the following iteration is sure to be a bit underwhelming. Followers are already recommending customers skip getting the iPhone 18 and wait one other 12 months, as a result of the actually substantial {hardware} modifications are doubtless coming in 2027.
