Google Pixel 11 Pro review: Smarter flagship with familiar flaws

Smartphone prices are skyrocketing amid global memory chip shortages and rising component costs. As prices climb, consumers may question whether paying a premium price for a flagship device would deliver enough value in the long run. This is where the new Google Pixel 11 Pro comes in. This flagship phone claims to offer reliable and long-term performance, a smart AI experience, a professional-grade camera, and the cleanest software experience. But does it offer enough to justify its premium price?

The Google Pixel 11 Pro features several upgrades over its predecessor, with a new Tensor G6 processor, a redesigned camera bar with a new HiLight notification system, a larger telephoto camera sensor, and a bigger display. However, the design profile looks quite familiar to its predecessor, showcasing that Google is playing safe and not planning much experimentation.

With these upgrades, we also witnessed a price hike, with the Pixel 11 Pro costing Rs 1,19,999 for 12GB RAM + 256GB Storage, up from Rs 1,09,999. While the upgrades look enticing, we have put the phone to the test to see if it really lives up to the hype. The Google Pixel 11 Pro impressively checks all the boxes; there are a few areas where it falls short. Therefore, here’s a detailed review to help you decide whether it deserves a place in your pocket.

Google Pixel 11 Pro review: Design and display

Google Pixel 11 Pro comes with a familiar design as the Pixel 9 series and the Pixel 10 series, featuring the same sizes, horizontal camera bar glass body, and glossy aluminium frame. However, the design still offers a premium look and feel, and it is 3g lighter, making it feel more comfortable in hand.

This year’s attraction for Pixel 11 Pro was the addition of colour HiLight LED, which replaced the temperature sensor. While the replacement seemed like a smart decision, but the usefulness of the new LED light has not fully lived up to its potential yet. While Google's approach brings a different implementation to the table, it isn't an entirely new concept in smartphone design.

We have seen a similar feature on earlier Google Nexus phones, which was known as Pulse Notification Light. As far as competitors are concerned, Nothing has been innovating notification LEDs on rear panels since its beginning. However, Google promises to bring a new feature, and I have higher hopes that future software updates and improvements will make it more practical and meaningful in everyday use.

For durability, the Pixel 11 Pro comes with an IP68 rating for dust and water resistance and Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2 protection, making it sturdier.

Coming to the display experience, the Pixel 11 Pro features a 6.3-inch QHD+ OLED display that supports a 120Hz refresh rate and up to 3600nits peak brightness. In terms of content viewing across OTT platforms, the smartphone delivers impressive visual detail, clarity, and vibrant colours, making it perfect for someone who consumes the majority of content on their phone. 
The smartphone remained equally responsive and smooth throughout the usage; app switching remained quick and lag-free. The brightness on the screen is also impressive; content retains good visibility and detail even in brighter environments.

However, my only complaint with the display is the thick bezels. While, its evenly distributed, it is distracing at times, especially for a smartphone which is priced over Rs 1 lakh. Slimmer bezels would have made the screen feel more immersive.

Google Pixel 11 Pro review: Camera

The Google Pixel 11 Pro features a triple-camera setup with a 50MP wide-angle main camera, a 48MP ultra-wide camera, and a 48MP telephoto lens with up to 5x optical zoom. Google’s biggest selling point for Pixel phones is the camera, and it excels thanks to its hardware-software combination. All three sensors on the phone capture breathtaking images with clarity and vibrant colour.

In daylight conditions, the Pixel 11 Pro manages to capture crisp and vibrant images, thanks to the larger sensor on the main camera. It offers strong dynamic range and contrast with punchy tones. However, for a more natural look, you may want to switch to Raw 50MP mode.

Coming to low-light performance, the Pixel 11 Pro camera retains realistic aesthetics with accurate colours, clarity, and good control over highlights and shadows. When you switch to Night Sight mode, it makes the process even faster, and it brings more light into the frame without requiring a long exposure, resulting in brighter images.

Its other strengths are zoom and portraits that offer detailed shots and convincing depth. The smartphone offers up to 120x digital zoom, but the optical quality is limited to 10x. Despite going a little over 10x zoom, the camera manages to retain detail, and colours also appear promising. In terms of portraits, while the smartphone struggles with subject separation, it is often difficult to notice at a glance. Overall, portraits remain promising, with natural-looking skin tones, good detail, and depth.

The 48MP ultrawide camera also captures promising images, but it has a weaker dynamic range.

Furthermore, the Pixel 11 Pro model is filled with impressive AI-powered camera features such as Magic Capture, Camera Coach, Auto Best Take, and others, which offer greater value in capturing better photos with less effort.

Google Pixel 11 Pro review: Performance

The Google Pixel 11 Pro is powered by the in-house Tensor G6 processor, paired with the Titan M3 security chip, up to 16GB LPDDR5X RAM, and 512GB UFS 4.0 storage. Over the years, Tensor chips have improved drastically, and with the Pixel 11 Pro, you feel the upgrade in everyday performance, offering smooth app switching, faster processing, and better handling of demanding tasks. Throughout the usage, the smartphone remained lag-free and was responsive throughout, even during multitasking.

Coming to its gaming performance, well, Google does not market its Pixel series as gaming-focused smartphones, but the Pixel 11 Pro can still handle demanding games without any stutter. However, long-duration and high-graphic settings can produce some heating, and a gradual dip in performance can be noticeable.

The Google Pixel 11 series is touted as an AI phone, bringing deep Gemini integration across the software experience with AI-powered features. Some new additions include Rambler, which converts speech into text. Above, we mentioned the new Magic Capture feature that turns video into still photos.

Gemini can also manage multi-step actions across apps, and it's context-aware, which makes the usage efficient as well as seamless. Compared to Apple, Google is way ahead in integrating AI across its ecosystem. It includes other AI features such as Gemini Live, Circle to Search, and Call Assist as well, which makes everyday interactions smarter and more convenient.

Google Pixel 11 Pro review: Battery

The Google Pixel 11 Pro is backed by a 4,850mAh battery that supports 30W wired charging. With moderate day-to-day use, the smartphone can last you a full day on a single charge. However, if you are a heavy smartphone user, the phone may give 15 to 16 hours of usage time per day, which, in my opinion, is not quite sufficient.

For a heavy user like me, who constantly scrolls through social media, attends hundreds of calls, takes meetings on the phone, and relies heavily on it for office work, the battery can feel limiting, especially on particularly busy days.

In terms of charging time, the Pixel 11 Pro takes about 90 minutes to fully charge the device from 1 to 100%, which is decent, but not as fast as competitors. Therefore, we can say that battery and charging may not be its biggest strengths, especially if you are a heavy user who expects quick top-ups.

Google Pixel 11 Pro review: Verdict

The Google Pixel 11 Pro is built on its predecessor’s strengths, but it brings some meaningful upgrades. It offers a sharper display, dependable performance, impressive software integration, and a refined camera with practical AI features. Google’s deep integration of Gemini AI continues to outshine its competitors, offering an intelligent smartphone experience for everyday use.

However, it does not come without a few compromises. Priced at Rs 1,19,999, it has relatively thick display bezels, average battery endurance for heavy power users, slower 30W charging speeds, and it's not built for people who prefer gaming on a phone. Additionally, the new HiLight LED feature on the rear panel has limited use and lacks deep utility, but we have higher hopes with upcoming upgrades.