The Pixel 11 Pro Shines Beyond Its Flashy New Features

Google is on a mission to help you spend less time glued to your phone. The Pixel 11 Pro is marketed as “A Phone Designed to Help You Use It Less,” with features aimed at streamlining tasks like booking restaurant reservations, capturing the best moments from videos, and speeding up voice-to-text. The idea is that these new capabilities can improve your tech relationship, something Google acknowledges has suffered in recent years.

However, the Pixel 11 Pro and 11 Pro XL share much of their hardware with last year’s models, and in some aspects, they even take a step back. This means that the software features are the main selling point.

After a week of testing the 11 Pro, I’ve explored its features to see if they can genuinely encourage me to put my phone down. As with many Google software experiences, when they function as intended, they can be quite helpful. But getting them to work often hinges on very specific scenarios that seem to come straight from a tech utopia.

The Pixel 11 Pro and 11 Pro XL are only slight hardware upgrades from the previous Pixel 10 Pro and 10 Pro XL. They boast brighter 3,600-nit displays, improved charging speeds, and a 5x optical telephoto camera with a larger sensor for better light intake. Storage now starts at 256GB instead of 128GB, and there’s a new “notification light” feature, which I’ll discuss shortly.

Unfortunately, the base model has seen a downgrade in RAM, dropping from 16GB to 12GB, which is the same as the standard Pixel 11. I’m testing the 16GB / 512GB version, so I can’t comment on the impact of this RAM reduction. Additionally, the base model is now priced at $1,099, which is $100 more than last year.

With minimal hardware changes, Google has focused heavily on software this year, aiming to help you reduce phone usage or at least speed up mundane tasks so you can get back to real life.

One of the standout features is the new “Proactive Assistance.” This feature activates dynamic chips during specific interactions, like when a friend asks about your schedule or if you’ve made a dinner reservation.

For basic tasks like checking availability or adding calendar events, Proactive Assistance is genuinely useful. I often find myself deep in my calendar, and when a friend texted me about my availability, the feature suggested checking my calendar. However, outside of straightforward scenarios, it becomes less reliable. For instance, it’s supposed to help book dinner reservations if you’re discussing going out to eat, but it only works with very specific messages, and even then, it’s hit or miss.

If I receive a text like “Can you make a reservation at Frankie Spuntino next Saturday at 7pm?” it prompts the feature to try and make the reservation. But if the message lacks a date or time, nothing happens. Often, the chip disappears as soon as I reply, and it only sticks around if the AI thinks we’re still discussing the restaurant, which doesn’t happen often. It would be great if Google allowed the chip to linger for a few messages or float around in the chat.

While large language models promise to understand context better, it’s odd that Proactive Assistance still relies on explicit keywords. I see the potential here, but the execution is inconsistent. Plus, I had to manually enable Proactive Assistance and link OpenTable in the settings, which most users might not know to do. As a colleague pointed out, “You need to be proactive to get Proactive Assistance to work.”

Proactive Assistance is also supposed to help with other scenarios, like providing flight information when asked or pulling up specific photos. However, these features were either inconsistent or failed altogether during my tests. For example, asking about my flight didn’t yield any results, despite having the information in my Gmail, and when a friend requested a photo from 2024, it pulled up images from that year, but none of me. It’s frustrating that this feature only works in such limited situations.

Another hyped feature, HiLight, has also underperformed. The temperature sensor is gone, replaced by a multicolored LED ring that lights up for specific notifications. While the concept is appealing—allowing you to keep your phone face down and only alerting you when necessary—the execution is lacking.

Currently, HiLight only activates for two scenarios: when you’re speaking with Gemini while the phone is face down, and for calls from favorite contacts. I rarely use Gemini in that position, and if I’m getting a call from a favorite contact, I just want my phone to ring. If it were an additional feature, it might be fine, but since the call comes through anyway, it’s not much effort to flip the phone over. To make matters worse, you can only choose from five colors, one of which is white!

Customizable RGB LEDs used to be a standard feature, allowing users to map notifications to specific colors. Google has mentioned plans to add text notifications for favorite contacts to HiLight, but why not allow customization for any app? This feels like a missed opportunity.

On a positive note, I’ve found some genuinely useful features that help me stay present. Rambler, an enhanced voice-to-text tool powered by Gemini, is a standout. It eliminates filler words, applies proper grammar and punctuation automatically, and even corrects mistakes mid-recording. The Pixel’s voice-to-text has always been impressive, but Rambler takes it to another level, making it feel like a real-time conversation while texting.

Google has also introduced several new camera features this year, with Magic Capture being a highlight. This feature allows you to record moments and then automatically selects the best photos and video clips afterward. During a demo, Google showcased it by recording a basketball game, suggesting you could enjoy the moment without focusing on your screen.

In practice, however, it’s challenging to keep your subject in frame without looking at your screen. While Magic Capture does a good job of selecting relevant images when you’re focused, it’s unrealistic to think you can completely ignore your phone unless it’s on a tripod. That said, I appreciate the feature for capturing both videos and photos effortlessly, especially for parents wanting to document their kids without fussing over perfect shots.

While Magic Capture was heavily promoted, another talked-about feature is Camera Looks. This new photography tool offers various styles, akin to Fujifilm’s film simulations, allowing for subtle tweaks to your images. There are four standard modifications—Original, Natural, Shadows, and Vanilla—along with six creative options like Editorial, Velvet, Classic, Digi, Black Tie, and Minimal.

Each look can be customized with adjustable settings, and what’s intriguing is that Google adjusts the computational processing based on your choices, rather than just applying filters afterward. For instance, the Digi mode uses less frame stacking, while Minimal applies less sharpness and contrast.

I’m impressed with the looks, which range from basic edits to more artistic options. They provide a “film simulation look” straight out of the camera, which is a welcome addition, especially given the limited third-party camera options on the Pixel. I’ve settled on the Minimal mode for its understated aesthetic, but I also see myself using Velvet and Editorial for their film-like qualities. The less processed images reveal more texture, which is often lost in noise reduction.

Overall, the camera quality on the Pixel 11 Pro series is excellent, making it a compelling choice for anyone looking to upgrade, especially if you want a larger device with the XL model. The primary sensor is new but retains the same size as last year’s, and the larger telephoto sensor captures more light, which is noticeable. Even at 10x zoom, the quality holds up well, with a smooth transition between lenses.

The Pixel 11 Pro also features a 120x Pro Zoom mode, utilizing the new image signal processor in Tensor G6. Like the previous model’s 100x zoom, it employs generative AI to enhance highly zoomed images. While it performs well on simpler subjects, more complex images can appear distorted or muddy. I’d recommend using this feature primarily for practical purposes rather than artistic ones.

Additionally, the Night Sight feature has been improved, now operating about three times faster than before. Most Night Sight images only require a one-second hold, delivering the same quality benefits as longer exposures. This is a fantastic quality-of-life improvement.

I genuinely enjoy Rambler, Magic Capture, and Camera Looks. If you’re considering a phone upgrade this year, these features are worth it. However, after a week of use, it’s clear that the Pixel 11 Pro isn’t quite the solution for reducing phone dependency, despite Google’s claims. Proactive Assistance may save you a few taps, but it doesn’t fundamentally change how you interact with your device.

If you were hoping the Pixel 11 Pro would help curb your phone addiction, you might be disappointed. But if you’re in the market for a device with top-notch voice-to-text capabilities, impressive cameras, and solid hardware, the Pixel 11 Pro certainly delivers.