The Pixel 11 Pro is a great phone, no thanks to its flashiest new features
The Pixel 11 Pro offers minor hardware updates compared to its predecessor, focusing primarily on new software features designed to reduce screen time. While the software tools are helpful, they are often difficult to trigger and the hardware itself feels stagnant.
Why it matters
It highlights the growing trend of smartphone manufacturers shifting focus from hardware innovation to AI-driven software experiences to differentiate their products.
Google is trying to get you off your phone. The Pixel 11 Pro is “A Phone Designed to Help You Use It Less,” the company promises. It can proactively help you book restaurant reservations, take the best frames from a video, and help you voice-text significantly faster. The pitch is that the new features bundled with the Pixel 11 series of phones can help fix your relationship with technology — one that Google knows has badly degraded in recent years.
But the hardware of the Pixel 11 Pro and 11 Pro XL is very similar to last year’s models — and in at least one case, a downgrade — so those software features are pretty much the entire pitch.
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