Google Pixel 11 Professional overview: HiLight’s a dud, however the cameras rule

Google did not actually convey the warmth with many of the Pixel 11 lineup this yr. The bottom Pixel mannequin and the foldable Pixel 11 Professional Fold are each completely tremendous, however they do not stand out among the many competitors because of minor and unremarkable modifications.

That is principally true for the flagship Pixel 11 Professional as effectively, however what it lacks in unimaginable improvements, it makes up for in being an excellent, very easy-to-use Android gadget with wonderful cameras. Pictures is enjoyable on the Pixel 11 Professional, which isn’t one thing I really feel about many handsets as of late. A mix of {hardware} and software program makes your photographs constantly look good, even in difficult lighting circumstances.

Between that and acceptable ranges of efficiency and battery life, the brand new Professional is the smartphone I like to recommend getting within the Pixel 11 lineup. Simply do not buy it for HiLight.

Google Pixel 11 Professional overview: The inevitable worth enhance

Regardless of filling the lede for overview with a bunch of reward for the cellphone, I’ll pivot straight away into one thing I dislike about it: the beginning worth. At $1,099, it is $100 greater than the Pixel 10 Professional was at launch. There are some caveats to that, as I am going to cowl momentarily, however the truth of the matter is that you could’t get a Pixel 11 Professional for (technically) lower than $1,000 anymore. That stinks.

However not less than the colours this yr are good: Canyon, Olive, Fog, and Obsidian. I reviewed the Canyon mannequin and I discovered it fairly simple on the eyes. Listed here are the essential specs for the Pixel 11 Professional:

Show: 6.3 inches with 1280×2586 decision, 1-120Hz refresh price, and three,600 nits peak brightness

Processor: Google Tensor G6

RAM: 12/16GB

Storage: 256/512GB/1TB

Battery: 4,850mAh

Rear cameras: 50MP principal, 48MP ultra-wide, 48MP telephoto

Entrance digital camera: 42MP

Alright, so, there are some things to make clear right here. The show’s dimension and determination have not modified in any respect because the Pixel 10 Professional, however the peak brightness has, with an additional 300 nits on this yr’s gadget to spice up daytime efficiency. In out of doors utilization, I had no downside clearly seeing what was on the display screen, so I would say that little increase did its job. The bottom Pixel 11 did not get the identical improve, in order that’s one of many stuff you get for the additional cash.

Digicam bar is just a little thick.
Credit score: René Ramos / Mashable

One main downside, although, is that Google has minimize the RAM on the lowest-end mannequin to 12GB. Final yr, you would get a Pixel 10 Professional with 256GB of storage and 16GB of RAM. This yr, the 256GB mannequin is tied to 12GB of RAM, whereas the 512GB and 1TB fashions get these 4 additional gigs of reminiscence. I completely get that we dwell on this planet of RAMageddon, but it surely nonetheless blows to see a cellphone downgrade year-over-year like that. I suppose I ought to get used to it.

HiLight does not impress me a lot

HiLight is just a little mild module constructed into the digital camera bar on Pixel 11 Professional gadgets. That is imagined to be the one main {hardware} innovation this yr, however I simply do not see it. It solely lights up when Gemini is in use or when somebody calls you on the cellphone, two use circumstances that just about by no means occur in my life (apart from spam calls). It is theoretically an honest approach to notify the consumer that one thing is up when the cellphone is turned over, however as it’s proper now, HiLight is a dud.

Lastly, I am going to point out that the digital camera bar on the Pixel 11 Professional is way bulkier than on the bottom mannequin. That is not an enormous deal, particularly for those who put a case on the cellphone, however it’s noticeable for those who occur to have used each telephones.

HiLight stinks.
Credit score: René Ramos / Mashable

Google Pixel 11 Professional: Efficiency

I might describe the Pixel 11 Professional as “performant.” All the things hundreds shortly and easily, and on-device AI duties course of in just some seconds. It is not excellent amongst different flagship smartphones, however as of late, it is nearly unimaginable for on a regular basis efficiency to try this. Each cellphone is quick now. It is nice.

Weirdly, the Geekbench 7 benchmarking software program did not agree with my IRL evaluation. The Pixel 11 Professional acquired stunningly low scores on the take a look at I ran: 1,448 for single-core CPU testing and 4,642 for multi-core testing. That is a number of hundreds of factors worse than the bottom Pixel 11, however I swear there may be not a significant distinction in sensible use. Google’s Tensor chips have at all times underperformed in Geekbench exams, so I am guessing there’s simply one thing odd occurring right here that is not actually reflective of actuality.

Google Pixel 11 Professional: AI options

One good factor Google does is present AI characteristic parity throughout its complete gadget lineup annually, and the Pixel 11 sequence is not any totally different. As with the bottom Pixel 11 and the Professional Fold, the Pixel 11 Professional will use contextual on-screen prompts, reminiscent of a textual content message somebody despatched a couple of restaurant reservation, to floor related data or create calendar entries for you. These aren’t precisely life-changing options, however they could prevent just a little little bit of time.

The actual AI juice this yr is in Magic Seize and Rambler. Magic Seize is a brand new seize mode constructed into the Digicam app that works the identical as recording video, however when you’re executed recording, the cellphone will slice up the video into a number of clear, pristine nonetheless photographs for you, full with computerized cropping and unblurring. I’ve discovered this nice for getting good photographs of pigeons round New York Metropolis, as they’re fidgety and fast to scatter for those who transfer too all of a sudden or get too shut.

This man actually did not wish to be my pal.
Credit score: Alex Perry / Mashable

I am as massive an AI skeptic as there may be, however Magic Seize works for me as a result of it is genuinely helpful and is not actually attempting to switch any of your cognitive features. It is not creating new data; it is simply supplying you with usable nonetheless photographs from movies.

Rambler, in the meantime, is a brand new perform constructed into Gboard that is in a position to clear up your speech-to-text recordings. In case you’re susceptible to “umms” and altering course mid-sentence, Rambler does a pleasant job of turning no matter nonsense you give it right into a readable sentence. I think about this will probably be a godsend for individuals who prefer to dictate their textual content messages.

Google Pixel 11 Professional: Battery life

Who amongst us does not like mendacity flat on our faces?
Credit score: René Ramos / Mashable

Google charges every Pixel 11 gadget for 30 hours of battery life, and in my testing, that is about what I acquired out of them. The Pixel 11 Professional is not any totally different.

Our testing technique includes enjoying an HD video in full-screen on the gadget till it dies. Utilizing that rubric, I acquired about 29.5 hours of juice out of the Pixel 11 Professional. As at all times, there are many methods to squeeze much more life out of a cellphone, reminiscent of turning off 120Hz help and utilizing battery-saving modes. I’m assured you possibly can go greater than a full day with out charging this cellphone.

Google Pixel 11 Professional overview: The digital camera take a look at

The actual motive to get a Pixel 11 Professional (and that is true most years of the Pixel Professional telephones) is the digital camera array. The rear cameras might not wow you with big megapixel counts, however between the {hardware} and Google’s patented software program magic, it is really easy for even somebody like me who is aware of nothing about images to get nice photographs on a Pixel 11 Professional.

Each picture I took got here out trying roughly like this, with readability, vividness, and nice coloration accuracy.

These will not be in bloom for lengthy.
Credit score: Alex Perry / Mashable

Fall is sort of right here.
Credit score: Alex Perry / Mashable

Night time Sight is superb, too. These vegetation are nigh-invisible at night time, however with Night time Sight, it seems like I photographed them through the day.

Left:
No Night time Sight.
Credit score: Alex Perry / Mashable

Proper:
Night time Sight.
Credit score: Alex Perry / Mashable

I am at all times a fan of macro images, and the Pixel 11 Professional takes pristine pictures of issues like vegetation up shut and private.

Macro rocks.
Credit score: Alex Perry / Mashable

I would additionally prefer to shout out the digital zoom, which Google upped to 120x this yr after it topped out at 100x on Pixel 10 Professional. This has been my favourite parlor trick on Pixel telephones for a number of years now. It is actually wonderful how good photographs taken from tremendous far-off can look on this gadget. Within the picture on the left, you possibly can’t even see the church steeple that is the topic of the picture on the suitable, however I used to be standing in the identical place, trying in the identical course for each pictures.

Nothing to see right here, proper?
Credit score: Alex Perry / Mashable

It is not good, however for 120x zoom, that is actually good.
Credit score: Alex Perry / Mashable

Between all of that and the addition of Magic Seize, this can be a nice cellphone for images.

Google Pixel 11 Professional: The decision

In case it wasn’t clear, for those who completely should have a cellphone from the Pixel 11 sequence and the additional cash just isn’t a hurdle for you, I would suggest the Pixel 11 Professional. It is only a rock-solid Android cellphone with a very nice images suite. Certain, HiLight is a bust, and the digital camera bar is just a little cumbersome relative to the bottom Pixel 11, however these are compromises which are value dwelling with if you need the perfect Pixel 11 cellphone.