Google's Pixel 11 Pro: Cameras Shine, But Price and Features Fall Short
The Google Pixel 11 Pro is a solid smartphone with excellent cameras, but it falls short in other areas. The device's starting price of $1,099 is a $100 increase from last year's model, and while it offers some minor upgrades, they are not enough to justify the higher cost. One notable feature is the camera bar, which is bulkier than on the base model.
The Pixel 11 Pro's display has seen an improvement in peak brightness, but its size and resolution remain unchanged from last year. The device also comes with a reduced amount of RAM for the lowest-end model, down to 12GB. However, the cameras make up for these drawbacks, delivering consistently good images even in challenging lighting conditions.
The HiLight feature, a light module built into the camera bar, is underwhelming and only serves a few niche purposes. Nevertheless, the Pixel 11 Pro excels in performance, with quick loading times and smooth on-device AI tasks. The device's battery life also meets Google's rating of 30 hours, with approximately 29.5 hours of juice obtained through testing.
One notable AI feature is Magic Capture, which allows for automatic cropping and unblurring of still images from video recordings. Another useful tool is Rambler, a function within Gboard that can clean up speech-to-text recordings. While the Pixel 11 Pro has its drawbacks, its cameras make it an attractive option.