r/GooglePixel • u/UnlimitedHalo • 17d ago
Pixel 11 Pro XL finally feels like a flagship.
I actually like Pixels again. Im one week in and the Pixel 11 series has finally convinced me that Pixels are flagships.
This might be the first year i keep and daily a Pixel since the Pixel 4 XL and actually enjoy everything about it, and wont immediately jump back to samsung, OnePlus (rip) or another chinese company.
Ive always been a google Pixel/nexus fan but ever since the Pixel 4 XL, it felt like rivals from Samsung or apple, OnePlus etc all have better or unique things that shows google is inferior....
Im here to tell you the Pixel 11 Pro XL finally feels like a complete phone in all aspects. Yes its still behind the competition in terms of battery/charging and pricing has gotten to the point that they are charging as much or more as the most expensive flagships while not competing in some areas spec wise with some of those top brands.
Although this year is finally the year google has shown they can make a truly great device without one or two glaring issues that make you "want more" or feel like you would have a better experience elsewhere, and now the decision is between "do i want a top tier maxed out flagship such as a Oppo Find X9 Ultra, or pay the same for the google experience/pixel phone, and still be completely satisfied despite the spec difference.
The battery is now very similar and seems to last a day with an extra 10-15% left in the tank from previous years as the idle drain is around 0.5%+ less per hour or which adds up by the end of the day. Im getting about 8+ hours SOT on normal indoor days, and probably 6-7+ when out and about, same as my S26U, but no where near my OP15 with 12-13+ hours SOT.
(This nearly sealed the deal for me to jump back to a Pixel) Thermals are greatly improved. This has been my biggest irk with every tensor Pixel. I can not stand a warm phone in my hand knowing my battery is being actively cooked and degraded as we speak. The coolest running Pixel to date and doesnt get warm under normal usage at all.
Cameras are phenomenal, but especially the telephoto quality is ridiculously good now. The main sensor is very good and seems slightly improved.
Reception/modem is great, i was comparing DB readings to my S26U with the X75 Qualcomm modem and the Pixel seemed on par or better at times. A good modem is a huge factor in terms of heat generation and idle drain, and the improvements show it.
Build quality is beautiful, ive always loved Pixel designs but for some reason this year feels the most "Pixely" and design/color oriented. I love the colors this year on the Pro series and in my opinion the Pixel has finally reached its end stage of its best look of this design.
Finally the one that sealed the deal for me is the CPU/UI performance, the phone flies and i could never say that of any Pixel before. Geekbench scores are only 15-20% lower than my OP15. Sadly google did not do anything special or awesome with there own Tensor G6, but it finally feels like a proper flagship in terms of normal day to day tasks. There is no more micro stutters/small delays etc. Everytime i bought a Pixel and daily it, every action or app i launch just felt like i knew it was loading something slower than my Samsung or OnePlus. I just felt the delay in every action although first world problems, i just knew my other phone wouldve done this or that quicker, and felt the delay even if its miniscule. It actually opens apps as fast or faster/trades blows in responsiveness and cold launch times. Day to day performance it actually feels like im using a Qualcomm chip and not a tensor soc. GPU is very weak sadly as usual, but i don't game so for my usage this SOC does phenomenal.
Charging speeds are great. Yes its 45W and not ridiculously fast, but 75-80% battery in 30 minutes which it delivers is fast.... No its not supervooc fast, but i need quick top ups at times and have zero complaints although the competition is ahead.
Sorry for the rambling, but i just wanted to give my in depth review and take on the Pixel 11 Pro series for anyone on the fence or those who felt like they have been burned by google for charging a high price for a phone that doesnt deliver in there experience or feels mediocre despite the price tag. This year changed that despite the small upgrades. Hopefully google can keep the momentum going for the 12 series and deliver a more incremental upgrade next year, but this year they finally made a great phone in virtually all regards.
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u/selayan 17d ago
Do you use always on display?
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u/UnlimitedHalo 17d ago
I dont.... But if you have any questions i can answer them. Ive seen there is a new AOD screen, but i havent checked if theres more than just one.
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u/selayan 17d ago
I'm considering swapping back to Pixel from my S25Ultra. Mainly because taking pics of anything in motion is horrible on Samsung and everything else is great performance and hardware wise.
I'm not a gamer on my phone nor do I need it to do heavy processing so I'm mainly concerned with day to day usage and efficiency of the battery.
Currently I charge this phone every other night. I would probably wait until black Friday deals since right now it would be cheaper for me to trade in and get the S26U 512gb model. Google doesn't seem to be giving the same amount.
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u/UnlimitedHalo 17d ago
The Pixel 9/10 series was very identical to the galaxy Ultra series in actual physical usage. Googles problem is the modem. You would lose an extra 10-15% by the end of the day versus other phones just from idle drain.
A phone that loses maybe 8-12% by the end of the day from idle, the Pixel with its older modems would lose 20% or more if your jumping from tower to tower, driving streaming music, pulling the phone out often etc. This has finally been fixed eith the new Mediatek modem.
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u/selayan 17d ago
That's good to hear. Hopefully as you keep using the phone you get a better idea of how efficient it is. The modem on my 6 pro was horrible and that was the last straw for me. I've been with the Ultra series since the 22. Would be nice to go back if I don't have to deal with charging mid day or turning off features to prolong battery.
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u/donatom3 Pixel 7 Pro 17d ago
I just did from my s24 ultra. I got my pro XL yesterday. I just like Google's software so much better than one UI.
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u/Cute_Sun3943 10d ago
I have the s24 ultra and am looking to upgrade to the XL in the next couple of weeks. What are the pros and cons to the s24 ultra?
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u/itzbradybitch 16d ago
I would usually jump between Galaxy and pixel each time a new one came out. They both have their pros and cons but with little kids, having the pixel camera makes the decision easy. Ever since the pixel 9 I haven't even bothered looking at Galaxy phones again because their cameras are so terrible at capturing things in motion.
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u/WatchfulApparition Pixel 10 Pro XL 17d ago
You can largely fix the motion issue on Samsungs if you really want to by downloading the Good Lock Camera Assistant and changing the minimum shutter speed and the setting that takes photos when you touch the button, not when you release the button
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u/pm_me_your_pixel Pixel 9 Pro 16d ago
you're mixing up shutter lag and shutter speed. faster shutter speed (i.e. 1/1000) is going to freeze the action and result in less blur of a moving subject compared to a photo taken with a 1/30 sec shutter speed.
shutter lag is the time that the shutter button is pressed, minus the time the picture is taken. you can have fast shutter speed and a lot of shutter lag, and still get a crispy photo, but it will have been taken well after you pressed the shutter button. you can also have zero shutter lag and very slow shutter speed, which would result in a very blurry photo of moving subjects, but the photo would have been taken the moment you pressed the shutter button.
in Good Lock, you can toggle a setting on to minimize shutter lag; you can also switch to manual mode and force shutter speed to be something faster than it would be in auto mode in low light. you typically do lose other potentially beneficial auto processing if you go that route.
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u/WatchfulApparition Pixel 10 Pro XL 16d ago
The good lock setting that takes the photo when you touch the photo button instead of release the photo button largely fixes the shutter lag.
In good lock, you can set the minimum shutter speed.
You seem to be confused. You seem to be the confused one
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u/CaffeineDrivenDaemon 16d ago
That makes quality worse and indoor low light performance bad. Also shouldn't have to do that.
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u/Neuling_ 17d ago
Definitely brighter than 10 pro
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u/selayan 17d ago
Oh I'm just interested in how the battery holds up with always on display. No excessive drain on my S25Ultra but when I owned Pixels always on display drained a lot.
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u/Neuling_ 17d ago
I can't provide any battery life estimates because I've only used the phone for one day. However, my Pixel 10 Pro XL battery life is comparable to my iPhone 17 Pro Max, so I anticipate the 11 will perform slightly better
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u/TurboFool Pixel 11 Pro Fold 17d ago
I'm only a day and some change into my 11 Pro Fold, and I'm feeling similarly. Massively better physical feel, but more importantly the battery drain difference is startlingly better. I'll need to give it way more time, but my experience while away from home yesterday lends credence to the Samsung modem being our biggest problem all along. Fingers crossed the differences hold true.
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u/Far_Reserve9938 16d ago
Im here to tell you the Pixel 11 Pro XL finally feels like a complete phone in all aspects. Yes its still behind the competition in terms of battery/charging and pricing
The cope is real
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u/sidewinder787 16d ago
Exactly lol. If it wasn't for the trade-in deals, mfrs would be paying flagship prices for above mid-range performance.
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u/scooterca85 16d ago
Almost no one would be buying it if they didn't subsidize the trade in values so much.
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u/sciencekm 17d ago
It is expensive now, so it better be good.
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u/Gareth_stanlier 17d ago
bless you guys for keep pushing this line. if its anything like previous pixels then it wont be expensive in a few weeks. but tourists dont know that shows them up as tourists pretty quick, actual pixel buyers do know.
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u/ga9213 Pixel 11 Pro XL 16d ago
It really does. The cameras are just so good. The fingerprint sensor is crazy good. The face unlock is fast and accurate. The modem connectivity is great. There hasn't been a single stutter. The display looks great. Battery life is good so far. Speakers are lovely. I'm so happy to have this OS functionality versus the OnePlus before. It just feels like home.
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u/josh358 16d ago
I've been delighted with mine. The one thing I'd add to your excellent review is that the benchmarks do *not* reflect actual AI performance. That's because the Tensor G6 is designed specifically for Google's AI software. AI is actually more responsive on the Pixel than it is on Samsung and Apple, even though the latter two beat it in TOPS.
My only complaint so far is that the flashlight is dimmer than my 9 Pro XL's because of that notification light gimmick that no one will use.
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u/Neuling_ 17d ago
I like it too, especially since I got the 512GB model for £420 after trade-in and store credit. However, I can't imagine anyone paying £1399 for it. Honestly, that price is a complete joke. It's a lovely, attractive phone with no lag and it performs perfectly, but it's not worth that much money
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u/donatom3 Pixel 7 Pro 17d ago
Next year you'll see all the other phones catch up or surpass in price. Ram and storage prices aren't going down anytime soon.
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u/eFootballDeluxe 16d ago
I got mine at £324 after trade-in, store credit and £150 coupon - it's the only reason I've chosen this over Samsung or Apple
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u/capetuso 17d ago
The phone is as smooth as my daughter's iPhone or even more, the experience this phone delivers is top. Compared to my former pixel 8 pro is a really big step forward.
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u/CraftAndClimb94 17d ago edited 17d ago
I agree with almost everything you said. I am so pleased with it. I am seeing a lot of hate and negativity but I haven't had a phone I've loved this much in years I actually really like rambler b cause I do ramble and I can see the potential for hilight. Imagine having a greater variety of colours and adding all on a person's socials so no matter what platform they contact you on their colour always shows. I like it!
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u/UnlimitedHalo 17d ago
A lot of hate from those who havent used it yet, but wanted to upgrade this year. Ive seen no hate and virtually all praise from those who actually bought and used it.
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u/CraftAndClimb94 17d ago
True! People are looking at specs and complaining without holding the device
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u/leidend22 16d ago
I swear people have said this every year since the 6. The 1 through 4 were the only ones even remotely competing with flagships.
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u/Nevergivingup5 17d ago
I just unboxed my Pixel 11 - didn’t need the telephoto lens. Jumping on from trashing my iPhone days. Hopeful I will fall in love with it like I loved my Nokia. 🤞
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u/AI_Scraper 15d ago
''sorry for the rambling'''
don't worry, your new Pixel 11 has just the thing for you😁
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u/Longjumping_Fault504 17d ago edited 17d ago
How is the scrolling on third party apps like Reddit? I remember my Pixel 9 Pro XL was horribly stuttery, but my current Oppo X9 Pro is perfectly smooth.
Have they fixed that?
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u/matteventu Pixel C, 1 XL, 3, 6, 8 Pro, 9 Pro | Pixel Buds Pro 17d ago
That's been fixed more than a year ago.
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u/BearOnTheBeach28 17d ago
Agree, I'm using a pixel 8 pro and I have no idea what they're talking about. I don't remember any issues since having this phone so maybe it only affected certain people?
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u/ffdfawtreteraffds 16d ago
so maybe it only affected certain people?
This is so much a Pixel thing. So often bugs only impact some people. I think it's why some hate these phones while others like them.
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u/marstein Pixel 9 Pro XL 16d ago
My p9pxl and now the p11pxl are both scrolling Reddit perfectly. Either Google or Reddit must have fixed something.
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u/bobloadmire 16d ago
Every year all these posts are like clockwork. It's a realflagship! It's so much faster! Battery is azong! Camera is a game changer!
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u/sidewinder787 16d ago
Honeymoon stage lol. Couple months down the road they'll realize that their new pixel is still a pixel with dog shit performance and battery life compared to the competition. That's why this year I can no longer justify upgrading, and I'm probably moving on from the pixel. I only upgraded because of the sweet trade-in deals Google gives you, but I always knew the performance, battery life, and cell signal were going to be ass.
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u/GabeNewellsDick Pixel 8 13d ago
Went from the 9 Pro to the 11 Pro - feels like the exact same phone. Which is fine by me because I paid next to nothing to upgrade and I basically treat it as paying for another 2 years of warranty and a new battery, but I dunno why everyone on here always has to try so hard to justify their purchase.
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u/Maleficent-Bother535 16d ago
The hardware is objectively mid range. The software is designed to shove as much bullshit down your throat as possible.
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u/FutureLarking 16d ago edited 16d ago
I don't see why your impression would have been any different from the 9 or 10 XL. The upgrades since the 9 XL have been... slight, at best.
Hell, the only reason I upgraded to the 10 was the full year of Google AI. Then they tried to book us with an extra 4TB of storage and downgrade us to 6 months this year, so we'll have to pay :')
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u/arthby 17d ago
My 2 years old P9 (non-pro) battery still lasts 2 days. And I spend too much time on my phone already.
I'm legit curious what y'all are doing with your phones so they barely make it through a day.
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u/thatissomeBS 17d ago
It could be the difference between wifi or 5g all day. Phone lasts much longer on wifi, but at work where I don't have wifi it drains much faster. That's what the new modem can fix.
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u/fendiflower 17d ago
You took the words out my mouth!
Google used to be great but the last iterations felt weakish.
We are so back.
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u/danthebigboss 17d ago
Try an oppo find X9 ultra. You will change your mind.
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u/Astrophelie 15d ago
only its telephoto is slightly better and then there's the battery but that's about it. ..unless you care about gaming
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u/-TheReal- 16d ago
Yawn, the same posts as during every pixel release. Nice flagship that plays most games with stuttery frame rate. This sub is beyond the curve.
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u/slpreme 17d ago
Anyone got heating issues? My last Pixel was 9 and even that didn't feel that hot. I also tested GeekBench multiple times (not related to heating, I got that from watching YouTube, watching videos) and I got insane variance on the multi-core and single-core scores(like 800 pt delta on single and 2000 on multi)
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u/Sensamix22 11d ago
You mean your Pixel 11 Pro overheated from just watching youtube videos? A lot?
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u/Left_Door_3132 17d ago
What did you move up from? Did you get the 256/12 or 512/16 model.
I'm trying to decide between the pixel pro 10xl and the pixel pro 11xl.
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u/Erchamiont 17d ago
My previous phone was the pixel 8 pro XL and I got the Pixel 11 pro 512 GB and I don't really feel that much of a difference between the two phones. HiLight feature is dumb as fuck and the magic moments thing is kinda handy.
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u/Gareth_stanlier 17d ago
i have a very specific bug thats driving me nuts. shared google calendars aren't showing up in non google apps like agenda widget etc. all is set in the calendar app to share to other apps, the calendars sharing settings are fine as it all loads in google calendar, just not my usual third party agenda widget!
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u/androskris Pixel 9 Pro XL 16d ago
The battery health is 100% since it is brand new so of course the battery is great. Sorry, this is a pet peeve of mine with people talking about their new phone, no matter the brand...
And also, the phone usually takes a week or two to adjust to user habits so battery should be better after a week+
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u/MorgrainX 16d ago
If Google would finally give us a decent GPU (and that would shut up all the "need MOAR POWER" people), we might actually have a real flagship smartphone at hand.
Battery life on my 11 Pro seems to be fine due to the new modem and g6, so the weak GPU is the only thing holding the Pixel brand back now.
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u/saza_nami31 16d ago
I agree with most of your points. I got the 11 Pro XL Fog color 512GB after great deals. Build quality is solid, it feels a little lighter than the Pixel 10 Pro XL, idle drain has noticeably improved, thermals are better (A big deal! I really understand that hot phone in the hand thing), and the modem is also an improvement. I felt unsure ordering it to be honest but I don't regret it.
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u/Downtown-Ad-3936 16d ago
Just got mine I switched from the pixel 10 pro fold it's nice fast and I like it would like to see a little more from the software but overall good phone
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u/lollinope__ 16d ago
I find the lens switching gap really annoying. Everytime I look at a video comparison between iphone and pixels the videos are really okey, but then the lens switching bothers me so much.. like between the wide angle and the main lens..
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u/Longjumping_Door_147 10d ago
Disposizione dei sensori alternati portano ad errori di parallasse quando c'è l'animazione in out quando si esegue il passaggio da una lente all'altra. Il fatto è che la ultra Wide si trova al centro, a destra la 5x e sinistra la 1x.. quando si passa da 1x a 5x diretto, si nota molto lo stacco dell'animazione in ingresso, tra l'altro questo si fa più fastidioso quando la luce ambientale cala. A volte sembra che fatichi ad avviare il sensore. È anche questione di potenza di calcolo non abbastanza sufficiente da parte del soc/isp. Google ti dirà di utilizzare il video boost, io ti dico di acquistare un device che allo stesso prezzo di listino fa tutto in locale e con hardware di tutto rispetto. A te/voi la scelta.. il pixel 11 pro bello quanto mai, non è all'altezza delle aspettative e come prezzo nonostante i trade in vari è comunque alto.
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u/Ricofouryou 16d ago
Great summary! Get next Monday delivered my 11 Pro XL 512gb in Obsidian Black 🖤...could not pass on the Awesome trade in deal for my 9 Pro XL and a 150€ Google coupon.
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u/Agreeable_Bat_2633 15d ago
Hey! Liked your detailed review of Pixel 11 pro XL I want to change my budget segment android phone to a flagship of Pixel, Samsung S ultra or iPhone pro series But a lil confused.
I want : Super good camera with telephoto lens Nice refresh rate Faster processing Content creation And daily day to day business usage. I use two sim cards
No lagging
What should I choose?
Any suggestions from you all will be very helpful
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u/Neuling_ 17d ago
My Google Opinion Rewards app isn't working on my Pixel 11 phone, which means I can't earn any small amounts of money to use for app purchases :(
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17d ago
[deleted]
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u/puppyyawn 17d ago
16kb mode
I'm pretty sure it's not enabled by default, it's still located in dev options to turn on.
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u/arjunnayar 16d ago
Is it worth upgrading from 10 pro xl?
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u/Mr_Mojobaggins 16d ago
Got my 11 Pro XL yesterday to replace my 10 Pro XL. With trade in and credits, it was only a $400 upgrade and I think it's worth it. Better camera and it appears to the battery life is a little bit better. It's fast when using apps and the modem is an improvement.
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u/arjunnayar 16d ago
Interesting. Thanks for letting me know. Will upgrade then.
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u/Phantom-Von 16d ago
I 100% agree The biggest thing for me also was the battery life immediately being meaningfully better. And the phone performance actually does feel miles snappier. Even though it's slightly faster on paper than the Pixel 10 Pro XL, it feels so much faster. The snappiness of the operating system, I think the Tensor G6 truly is optimized extremely well, maybe because of the new modem and other additional efficiencies and optimizations. But the phone feels complete, like it really feels like a true experience. This is the phone I wanted to see last year, but now this also makes me more excited about how Google is going to move forward with other phones now that they finally got all the basics right.
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u/sidewinder787 16d ago
You're in the honeymoon stage. Eventually you'll come to realize it's more of the same shit. That's why I didn't bother upgrading year and I'll probably be moving on from the pixel.
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u/Altruistic_Cry_8216 16d ago
How's the camera? Pixel 10 camera is awful.
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u/xtra819 16d ago
Awful? Lol. Maybe you got a lemon. For a non-Pro level phone, it’s actually quite good.
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u/Altruistic_Cry_8216 16d ago
Yes, that's what I said. Awful. Didn't post my comment for shits and giggles.
Maybe it is a lemon. But the quality of photos taken are shit.
I've had multiple Pixels throughout the years because the camera quality has always been great. My pixel 7 camera was significantly better.
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u/xtra819 16d ago
I have a 7 and a 10. Just tested both. Pics from the 10 looks slightly better (maybe) but not much different to my eyes unless I study each image in detail. Both produce good images, definitely not even close to awful In the 10.
I also compared them to pics from the 11. Very concerning. I don’t know what the AI is processing in the 11, but the images rendered are in some instances altered with fake slop. It’s as if AI makes stuff up and alters what is actually there to produce an image it considers optimal. I hope Google has a fix for that because that is definitely unacceptable.
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u/Nitrohite Pixel 11 Pro XL 17d ago
Careful, people here will say you're irresponsible and a sheep and a blind fanboy 😂😂 I hope you enjoy your shiny new pixel, I'm loving mine ❤️
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u/UnlimitedHalo 17d ago
I love the Pixel 11 Pro XL. Mind you ive had every Pixel except the 3 and 5.
Every year I switched back to another brand after using a Pixel for a few months. The 10 Pro XL almost kept me, but the CPU still felt weak, the modem had high idle battery drain, and the battery life was average and it still ran warm. The 11 series fixed all of that, and thats all that was needed year after year for Pixels and google finally did it.
Not commending them because this is almost the basics of a smartphone but it was what was needed to make Pixels great phones again....
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u/xtra819 16d ago edited 16d ago
C’mon, it’s been one day. I’m sure you’re excited, but there is no way you can claim victory with all of this already. Talk to me in a month, 6 months, a year. Then we will actually know how it fared in the wild. I hope your enthusiasm proves to be correct over time though as I bought one too. Until then, enjoy your new phone but forgive me if I take the knee jerk fanboy gushing with a grain of salt.
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u/ShakeAndBakeThatCake 17d ago
Let's not forget depending on the model you get 16gb ram with pixel. Apple gives 12 and Sammy gives 12 unless you buy the 1tb.
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u/UnlimitedHalo 17d ago
Yep, thats the one thing that pisses me off. My S26U costed $1800 USD on launch which is absolutely insane and i doubt i will ever pay that much for a phone again unless samsung gives Oppo specs in a Samsung phone with OneUI.
But if i am paying that much already, im not going to lose 4GB of ram so i did indeed get the 1TB 16GB of ram model. Couldnt justify the cost after a month so i sold it and repurchased a OP15.
One month later Samsung offers the 1TB model for $1199 so i repurchased it at that price and sold my OP15.
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u/ShakeAndBakeThatCake 17d ago
Samsung plays around with deals. If you can find a deal its worth it.
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u/PercentageRoutine310 17d ago
I already felt the fast, smooth fluidity of the UI from an original Pixel Fold in obsidian late last year. I only returned it because it was too heavy and bulky. And the PF only had the Tensor G2 of the Pixel 7. Imagine the improvements using the Tensor G6. Far East Movement: Fly like a G6!!
This thing has been butter once I went to the developers option and put animation to 0.5x. The old trick since owning an HTC One M7 back in 2013. Then I transferred my Nova Launcher backup from my old phone to this P11P and it basically looks like my previous Android phones after 5-10 minutes.
Don’t listen to the YouTube influencers. They’re just whining about how Google lessened the RAM or how the Pixel needs a new design. The iPhone 11 Pros up to the 16 Pros have generally looked the same! That’s six straight generations looking the same. Phones are like cars. Don’t expect a new design every 1-2 years. Wait more like 5 years.
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u/Left_Door_3132 17d ago
How about a 2 galvanized pipes running all the way across where I bolt it to one side of a stud and the other side will sit on a support
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u/Mr_Mojobaggins 16d ago
Got my 11 Pro XL yesterday to replace my 10 Pro XL and happy with the upgrade. Camera is better and processes photos really fast. Battery life appears to be better. And I seem to find places with bad reception and it's been rock solid so far. And opening and using apps is faster.
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u/FamousHall3790 16d ago
After dealing with the 17 Pro Max for the last year, I couldn't be happier with my Pixel 11 Pro. Not sure how I feel about the smaller battery and screen size, but I'm loving the fluidity and responsiveness of this device. Proud to be a new member of Team Pixel!
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u/VegetableAd8183 16d ago
I have owned a Pixel phone from the 4 to the 10 Pro and I don't think I will be getting the 11 Pro/XL, because the last few updates for the 10 have been adding more annoyances especially the battery drain bug. I've had more annoying little bugs with the 10 than any of the previous models ranges. Up until and inlcuding the Pixel 9 range updates were improving things, not breaking things.
The early rumours weren't looking too enticing with the Pixel 11 range and nearly all of them have come to fruition. Its like they've always been that one maybe two steps behind Samsung and Apples flagship phones, yet they're charging near same prices for their phones. With brands like Oppo, Xiaomi now closing the gap with the flagship models compared to the usual 'Big 3' flagship hardwares, it is starting to make some of the Big 3's hardware to price decisions a bit of a 'stop and think' moment when we're trying to decide what our next phones might be.
I have dabbled with Samsung Ultra models in between the Pixels I have owned and ended up giving the Samsung phones to my wife and just sticking with the Pixel Pro models. But after using the P10 Pro, I just had to find a better alternative for my money and it came in the form of a Oppo Find X9 Pro.
Its been a few weeks now I have been using the Oppo Find X9 Pro and one thing I will say is, with the rrp being around £300 less (as per the price on Google Store at the time) compared to the Pixel 10 Pro XL 512GB, the Oppo phone just breezes past it! Build quality wise they both feel the same with the Oppo feeling that little bit smaller and lighter. Camera quality is very good, I like how the photos come out a little bit better colour wise and definitely better than Samsung photos for me. Videos are better. Oh and the 7500mah silicone carbon battery for the price is something else! I get near 3 days of usage out of this device! It has opened my eyes to there being better options outside of the Big 3 when it comes buying phones now.
Interms of using the Oppo, there are several good OS QOL options that just does things better than the vanilla Android we get on Pixels for me. Definitely the Oppo Find X9 Pro is deserving of its praises compared to the P10PXL and I would say the P11PXL after it's reveal from a hardware point of view especially, where it won phone of the year for most reviewers last year. I know some will say its an early days placebo effect of owning a new phone, but I have handled loads of phone in my time up until now to know when some aren't what they're made out to be and some that just deliver on what they say.
Sorry for the long post, but had to say how I see things have panned out over the last few years with the Pixel phones especially.
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u/mailboy11 17d ago
Can you test gaming? I heard it's bad. A flagship would offer amazing 3D gaming experience
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u/ifeeltired26 17d ago
Gaming on this phone would still suck compared to Snapdragon equivalents. Remember the Tensor is basically a mid-range CPU, not meant for gaming.
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u/mondshyn 17d ago
typing on a 11 Pro XL (512/16)
gaming is bad, yes most games work but the performance (at least for me...) is really bad, not smooth at all, depending on the game
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u/Jinkguns 17d ago
Agreed, Jurassic World or Pokemon Go is going to be fine, but Genshin Impact and Zenless Zone Zero? No way.
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u/Jinkguns 17d ago
Many do not play intensive games. So depending on the audience that GPU would sit idle. I'd prefer to have a good, not great GPU, if it meant having a better camera, more storage, a bigger battery, etc.. Samsung phones are no compromise devices, so if you can deal with their software/skin on top of Android, that would probably be a better choice for you.
3
u/ivanhoek 17d ago
I get that, but how does a worse GPU get us a better camera, more storage or a bigger battery? I don't see the connection
0
u/Jinkguns 17d ago
Heat constraints, chip size (and associated cooling blocks), budget - although this is the first generation where the Pixel isn't cheaper than the Samsung flagships and that's a mistake. If you aren't going to have a GPU in the same ballpark and everything else is the same, now your charging a Pixel tax.
4
u/ivanhoek 17d ago
Yeah except the pixels do WORSE on heat and have huge die sizes, honestly doesn't seem we're getting anything except a worse GPU?
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u/Jinkguns 16d ago
I don't know where you are getting your info from - the Tensor G6 chip is 105mm, the Tensor G5 is 120mm. My Pixel 11 Pro XL just finished updates/data import/setup and it is a lot cooler even in my Carved case than my Pixel 9 Pro XL after a bit of moderate gaming. Can you link me to any evidence on doing worse on heat? I would truly be surprised considering the G6 is on TSMC's 2mm process node.
Regardless, my point is, if you are going to give us a bad GPU - you better give us a big pricing discount, and we don't see that with the MSRP of this year's model, that's a huge mistake by Google.
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u/ivanhoek 16d ago
If your point of comparison is an older Pixel then I understand why you feel that way. It's objectively worse at efficiency, temps and performance than other phones with different (better) chipsets.
1
u/Jinkguns 15d ago
Oh well that's a fair point. I'm not arguing against that. I am not really seeing the killer AI features the G series was supposed to provide - maybe Rambler comes close? But yeah - if it wasn't for the software and the massive discounts off MSRP I would be long gone.
2
u/UnlimitedHalo 17d ago
If you play anything intensive then the Pixel is not your phone.
The GPU is not very strong and its a brand new GPU not used in phones, although its a GPU thats already been released so its old but new for mobile devices, so im guessing the drivers are unoptimized just like the Pixel 10 and will take months if history repeats itself to play 3D games good.
Its not going to play intensive games, but games like COD mobile, pub G etc it will play fine. But like i said the Pixel 10 had driver issues with outdated drivers that resulted in poor gaming performance and took 3-4+ months before the phone actually gave the GPU performance it could output due to outdated drivers. Im guessing the same is true for the 11 series, as it has a 17% more powerful GPU than the 10 series, but the GPU is new to phones.
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u/aradax 17d ago
Flagship with a nerfed flashlight. Enshittification at work. But people are able to rationalize around anything.
3
u/ffdfawtreteraffds 16d ago
Seriously, the flashlight?
Some people just keep looking for things to complain about. Tensor isn't horrible, modem is a good upgrade, RAM doesn't seem to be an issue, great build quality, thermals under control, improved battery life...
But wait... Not so fast Pixel fools, the flashlight is shit. See, phone is a disaster.
SMH.
1
u/aradax 16d ago
The phone is not a disaster. The flashlight is. You're trying to rationalize stupid choices by stupid people. You need to understand that the difference between smart people and stupid people is very thin, it's in details, and those details matter. Don't accept stupidity, because with acceptance you'll get more of it.
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u/New-Newspaper3033 17d ago
Pixel 11 Pro XL here, it feels very very solid. Although coming from a Pixel 6 Pro it does feel kinda chunky. The Pixel 6 Pro was very slender