Google’s newest Professional cellphone is out to show it has the very best digicam on a smartphone whereas embracing customisation, permitting you to vary the feel and appear of your pictures far past easy filters even when meaning making them technically worse.
The Pixel 11 Professional packs the very best of Google’s {hardware} and software program right into a still-pocketable and simple to deal with body, immediately making it a contender for finest smaller cellphone of the 12 months.
Being smaller doesn’t make it low-cost. The 11 Professional sits above the common £879 Pixel 11 and prices from £1,079 (€1,199/$1,099/A$1,849) – £80 (€100/$100/A$150) greater than final 12 months, with double the storage however much less reminiscence owing to the price of RAMageddon.
Little has modified on the skin for the Professional Pixels in a number of years. The brand new mannequin is 0.1mm smaller in all instructions and 3g lighter however has the identical measurement 6.3in OLED display screen, similar polished aluminium and glass physique and a big digicam bar protruding the again. It’s a pretty design that has aged nicely.
The temperature sensor from earlier Pixel Professional generations, which at all times felt like a gimmick, has been changed by a colored HiLight LED that works as a digicam flash and notification mild. The LED glows once you speak to Gemini or pulses with one among 5 colors when your favorite contact calls. Nevertheless it doesn’t work for notifications of every other form, so is a wasted alternative.
The 11 Professional has the identical Tensor G6 chip because the common Pixel 11 and has 12 or 16GB of RAM relying on the storage model. It might probably’t match the uncooked efficiency of the highest Qualcomm or Apple chips for video games however is snappy in day-to-day duties.
Battery life is simply shy of two days with the display screen actively used for about seven hours throughout a mixture of wifi and 5G for looking, messaging apps and pictures. This can be a bit behind the common Pixel 11 however ought to see out even the heaviest of use days with some left within the tank. Most individuals might want to cost the 11 Professional each different day for common use.
Specs
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Display screen: 6.3in 120Hz QHD+ OLED (495ppi)
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Processor: Google Tensor G6
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RAM: 12 or 16GB
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Storage: 256, 512GB or 1TB
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Working system: Android 17
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Digicam: 50MP + 48MP UW + 48MP 5x tele; 42MP selfie
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Connectivity: 5G, eSIM, wifi 7, UWB, NFC, Bluetooth 6, Thread and GNSS
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Water resistance: IP68 (1.5m for half-hour)
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Dimensions: 152.7 x 71.9 x 8.4mm
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Weight: 204g
High quality Android 17 expertise and AI
The 11 Professional runs the identical Google model of Android 17 because the common Pixel 11 and will likely be supported till August 2033 with working system and safety updates, making it one of many longest-lasting gadgets obtainable.
It’s a sophisticated expertise with clean animations, good touches of haptic suggestions throughout the system and sufficient customisation to make it yours. However as with different Pixel gadgets, the cellphone is a showcase for Google’s most superior AI instruments which can be littered all through the software program.
The 11 Professional comes with six months of Google AI Professional subscription, which supplies you entry to Gemini Omni to generate surprisingly good eight-second movies, larger AI utilization limits, 5TB of cloud storage and Google Well being Premium.
However essentially the most fascinating instruments are the native AI ones, together with the brand new Rambler voice dictation characteristic in Gboard, which produces totally shaped succinct sentences and paragraphs out of your ramblings, eradicating pointless pauses, ums, ers and deviations. Gemini’s proactive help has additionally improved with extra time-saving recommendations, though it solely works in sure apps and never WhatsApp, Sign or different third-party apps.
Digicam
The explanation you purchase a Pixel Professional is for the digicam. The 11 Professional has an excellent 42-megapixel selfie digicam on the entrance and an analogous profitable triple digicam system on the rear from final 12 months: a 50MP extensive, 48MP extremely extensive and a 48MP 5x telephoto digicam.
All three cameras seize actually implausible pictures throughout a spread of lighting circumstances with little or no effort. The extensive and telephoto cameras now seize extra mild and barely higher element, however the greatest increase is the brand new On the spot Night time Sight. It dramatically hastens low-light pictures by as much as 4.5 occasions, which makes taking nice photographs in very darkish scenes rather a lot simpler.
The 5x telephoto digicam manages an excellent 10x crop zoom earlier than stretching as much as 120x magnification, first with an excellent conventional digital zoom to 30x then utilizing native generative AI to transcend. The digicam retains the common digital zoom picture and the one processed by AI so as to add again misplaced element, which will be outstanding or crammed with artefacts.
Magic Seize takes video and pictures robotically with only one button for point-and-shoot recording, which works nicely for occasions reminiscent of a birthday celebration.
However Digicam Seems is essentially the most fascinating characteristic for getting artistic with images. It means that you can modify how the digicam processes your pictures, beginning with refined adjustments reminiscent of darker shadows and ranging to extra distinctive seems reminiscent of “minimal”, which reduces the computational images processing for a extra uncooked picture. Different choices embrace “digi”, which replicates the look of outdated digital cameras which have turn out to be in style, and “velvet”, which mimics the look of some movie cameras. Every look will be additional customised, permitting nice artistic licence.
The Pixel shoots nice video with a lot of stabilisation and processing instruments together with the brand new “Creator Suite”, which captures clips straight right into a folder for storyboarding and trimming, with a teleprompter, framing for social media and pace enhancement.
Sustainability
The battery is rated to final in extra of 1,000 full-charge cycles with at the least 80% of its authentic capability. The cellphone is repairable by Google, third-party outlets or self-repair with manuals and elements obtainable.
The Pixel 11 Professional accommodates 31% recycled supplies by weight. The corporate breaks down the cellphone’s environmental influence in its report and can recycle outdated gadgets totally free.
Value
The Google Pixel 11 Professional prices from £1,079 (€1,199/$1,099/A$1,849) in a alternative of 4 colors.
For comparability, the Pixel 11 prices £879, Pixel 11 Professional XL prices £1,279, Pixel 11 Professional Fold prices from £1,799, the Pixel 10a prices £499, the Samsung Galaxy S26 prices £879, the Samsung Galaxy S26 Extremely prices £1,279 and the Apple iPhone 17 Professional prices £1,099.
Verdict
The Pixel 11 Professional is a refinement of a number of generations of Google’s Professional telephones moderately than an outright revolution, however that’s no dangerous factor.
It is without doubt one of the absolute best smaller telephones, packing all of the top-end {hardware}, cameras and AI options of Google’s most greatest and costly mannequin right into a barely cheaper and extra pocketable kind. You purchase a Professional Pixel for the digicam, which doesn’t disappoint with arguably the very best images on a cellphone in the mean time.
The power to customize the processing of your pictures goes far past rivals for fascinating artistic potential. The dramatically quicker Night time Sight can also be a big enchancment.
Gemini’s proactive instruments present nice potential however rely on utilizing the correct apps. The supercharged Rambler voice dictation system is implausible, and there are a lot of different little AI instruments which can be helpful infrequently.
With simply shy of two days battery life, a good chip and high quality software program, the Pixel 11 Professional is a superb pocketable cellphone. It simply isn’t a large improve on the already wonderful Pixel 11 or latest Pixel Professional fashions.
Professionals: nice digicam with prolonged zoom and in depth customisation, seven years of software program updates, wonderful display screen, spectacular dictation and native AI options, Qi2 wi-fi charging and magnetic accent help, good battery life, nice measurement, quick fingerprint and face recognition, six months of Google AI Professional included.
Cons: fairly costly, much less reminiscence on least expensive mannequin than earlier than, face unlock possibility not as safe as Face ID, uncooked efficiency and battery life in need of best-in-class, no bodily sim card slot within the US, not a large improve.
