After playing with the Pixel 11 series, I realized how Google has singlehandedly raised the bar for AI on your phone

I get excited every year when we know there’s going to be new Google Pixel phones. I'm even more excited about these phones because I consider them the base hardware for other Android OEMs to follow. I got to try Google’s new Pixel 11 series, and nearly everything about this year’s phones is perfect, except that nothing really has changed with the hardware. So you may be thinking…are these phones even worth it?

In my opinion, this year is the year Google really should be focusing on perfecting Gemini, and these phones are proof in the pudding. Google spent less time on hardware modifications and more time refining, tweaking, and perfecting Gemini.

I think that’s what the future of smartphones is going to be. You’re either going to gravitate towards a dumb phone that has no access to anything AI-related, or you’re going to want a phone that makes your life easier.

Here are my initial thoughts after spending some hands-on time with the Pixel 11 series.

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The Pro and Pro XL are Pro-ing and Pro XL-ing

Anytime anyone asks me about which Pixel device they should get, I always recommend going Pro over the base model. Why? Because why not? Because the Pro phones are spectacular: convenient, beautiful, and packed with tools that I promise will make you question why you haven’t gone Pro before. And you can get it in the same size as the base, so you might as well go Pro.

The Pro and Pro XL models are basically the exact same models as last year, but really what you’re paying for is the hardware improvements and software upgrades.

If you’re going to get one of these devices, go for the Canyon or Olive variant. Google knocked it out of the ballpark with the new color options. I’ve generally liked the regular black, but these colors are gorgeous, and I love them so much!

At my content capture in Toronto, Canada, I spent time watching how some of these new features came to life.

I think HiLight is a pretty cool feature, but was it absolutely necessary? Probably not. That being said, watching my Google rep show me how it works was pretty cool. The feature itself is a small glowing LED light that is emitted on the camera bar. It turns on when you trigger Gemini, and you can use it for notifications as well.

As the Pro XL was face down on the table, my Google rep spoke out, “Hey Google, can you tell me the weather in Toronto?” Flashing between white and blue as Gemini was thinking, it responded without my Google rep ever having to lift his phone.

With Pixel devices, my attention is usually on the camera, and this year the features are exceptional.

I know my colleague Nick Sutrich will particularly enjoy playing around with Magic Capture. This new feature captures a moving subject and breaks it down into a sequence of sharp, crystal-clear still photos.

I also found the new Translate Video in real time super fascinating. My Google rep showed me a video in Spanish, and as the woman started speaking, the voice I heard was that of a person who dubbed the video into English.

Finally, my absolute favorite feature just got a huge upgrade. Circle to Search in camera mode. You can now take a picture within the Camera and directly use Circle to Search, a very convenient feature.

I’ll also add that the new devices have even more zoom capabilities: the base has 30x zoom, while the Pro models have 120x zoom.

The Pixel 11 Pro starts at $1,099, which is $100 more than last year’s Pixel 10 Pro, but you also get more base storage at 256GB, so the pricing still matches last year’s. Meanwhile, the Pixel 11 Pro XL now starts at $1,299 for the same base 256GB storage, so it gets a bit of a price bump, which should be no surprise given the current industry trends.

The Pixel 11 is cute, vibrant, fun, and that’s really what it’s about

I can’t really say much about the base Pixel 11 model because it really didn’t feel like it changed much from previous years. What did catch my eye was the colors.

Google really outdid itself with the fun and vibrant colors. I’m not a huge fan of pink, but the bright magenta pink stood out, and to me, if you were to give your teenage kid or even a young adult one of these phones, then I approve!

While other companies have launched phones this year with mild and muted colors, which I love and appreciate, I think Google had a little fun this year, and I’m glad they did.

Why I never care for the base model is because if I’m going to spend the money on a phone, I want it to have Pro features, and the base model rarely gets them. That said, like the Pro models, the base model is powered by the Tensor G6 with 12GB of RAM, so you’ll still get many of the same features, with some exceptions. That includes the new Gemini Intelligence, which lets the AI handle tasks for you or make suggestions based on your interactions in Messages, At a Glance, and other areas.

However, you’re missing out on other features, like the 120x zoom and HiLight, to name a couple. So, if you're getting this phone for your kid and want them to have a good experience without spending too much or exposing them to too much AI, this is the phone they should be getting.