---
title: 'Google Pixel 11/Pro/Fold Impressions: It Is What It Is'
source: 'https://youtube.com/watch?v=o4SSoURPODY'
video_id: 'o4SSoURPODY'
date: 2026-08-17
duration_sec: 673
channel: 'Marques Brownlee'
---

# Google Pixel 11/Pro/Fold Impressions: It Is What It Is

> Source: [Google Pixel 11/Pro/Fold Impressions: It Is What It Is](https://youtube.com/watch?v=o4SSoURPODY)

## Summary

This video provides hands-on impressions of Google's 2026 Pixel 11, 11 Pro, and Pro Fold smartphones. The reviewer notes that while the phones offer incremental improvements like brighter displays and new camera sensors, they lack major leaps and come with price increases. The video also covers the new Pixel Watch 5 and Google Tag, and criticizes the limited functionality of the new 'Highlight' LED feature.

### Key Points

- **Introduction and Expectations** [00:02] — The reviewer has used Pixel phones for a long time and hoped 2026 would be the year Google makes a huge jump, but the new phones are a frustratingly incremental improvement from the Pixel 10 series.
- **New 'Highlight' LED Feature** [00:45] — Every new Pixel has a multicolored LED on the back combined with the flash. It can glow when talking to Gemini or light up for specific contacts, but it does not support text messages or third-party apps, which the reviewer finds underwhelming.
- **Base Pixel 11 Specs** [02:22] — The base Pixel 11 comes in a new fuschia color, has a less prominent camera bump, a primary camera sensor, ultrawide, and 5x telephoto. It has 25W wireless charging (up from 15W), Snap magnets, a Tensor G6 chip, 12GB RAM, and doubled 256GB base storage.
- **Price Increase for Base Model** [03:21] — Google increased the price by $100, eliminating the 128GB $800 spec. The new entry price is $900 for the base Pixel 11.
- **Pixel 11 Pro and Pro XL** [03:33] — The Pro models have shinier sides, a redesigned camera bar with edge-to-edge glass, a new 50-megapixel main sensor (1/1.3 inch), a new 48-megapixel telephoto, and a 48-megapixel ultrawide. The display is brighter, peaking at 3,600 nits.
- **RAMageddon and Pro Pricing** [04:41] — The Pixel 11 Pro starts at $1,100 with 12GB of RAM, down from 16GB in the Pixel 10 Pro which started at $1,000. The 512GB and 1TB versions have 16GB RAM. The Pro XL starts at $1,300.
- **Pixel Pro Fold Updates** [05:29] — The Pro Fold gets the Tensor G6 chip, a new camera bar with the highlight light, a 48-megapixel main camera, brighter displays, and a new hinge. It is 1mm thinner and slightly lighter, but the price increased by $100 to $1,900 for the 256GB model.
- **Pixel's Identity: Software Over Hardware** [07:06] — The reviewer notes that since the Pixel 2 days, Google has focused on clever software features rather than the fastest hardware. Features like call screening, Now Playing, and Gemini integration are what make the Pixel unique.
- **Pixel Watch 5 and Google Tag** [08:41] — Google announced the Pixel Watch 5 with a Snapdragon W5 Gen 2 chip (12% faster CPU, 50% more RAM) for $399/$429. They also introduced Google Tag, an AirTag competitor at $29 or $99 for a four-pack, shipping in November.
- **Overall Verdict** [09:50] — The reviewer concludes that 'RAMageddon' is real, everything is more expensive, and while the Pixel still takes risks, the features are often neutered or under-baked. The Pixel remains the only phone that can be recommended as a good deal.

### Conclusion

The Pixel 11 series offers solid but incremental improvements with notable price increases, making it a frustratingly familiar experience. The new hardware features like the 'Highlight' LED feel underutilized, but the software experience remains the Pixel's core strength.

## Transcript

>> You know, I've been using Pixel phones for a long time. >> [music] >> this is the year Google's finally going they're finally going to care enough to make [music] a huge jump.
And every year they don't. So, this year is 2026 and we have a whole new set of phones, Pixel 11, 11 Pro and Pro XL, and Pixel 11 Pro my hopes up thinking this would be the year Google would finally get over the
hump? Yes, I absolutely did. And did Google finally make that leap? Uh, you know, it's a Pixel. It it is what it is. These phones are a frustratingly incremental improvement from the Pixel 10 series, including one
very, very annoying small way. In fact, I want to start with that way cuz it have seen some rumors behind the scenes about like this Pixel glow or some sort of like a glowing thing on the back of these new phones, and it turns out that
is real. On the back of every new Pixel from the base to the Pro Fold, combined with the LED flash, is this neat little multicolored LED. It's subtle, but it's there and it gets pretty bright and it's colorful. So, all right, cool. What can
officially branded as highlight. And if you go into the system settings, you can customization you can do with this new piece of hardware, which is you can have a glow when you talk to Gemini and light up a certain color when
a specific contact calls you. And that's it. That's it? You put a a shifting, pulsing, glowing LED in the back of the phone, brand new, something interesting for the Pixel, all to just have it glow when we
talk to Gemini or get phone calls? Not even text messages? Like I can't even anything else? No no third-party developer support, no just phone call I can't even remember the last time I made a phone call. There
actually doing all sorts of semi-interesting things with keeping your phone face down and giving you information on the back of your phone so look at it. It's basically half the identity of that phone company. But you
don't even have to do all that. We just want colored notification LEDs back from like 2017. But here Google has relegated it to just That's it. It is what it is. Here's everything that's new for the
base Pixel 11. So you can see this bright new color fuschia in the same love, still recognizably and lovably Pixel. The camera bump is a bit less they've actually designed their first-party case to basically be the
disappears to zero. Cool. primary camera sensor. Still has an ultrawide, still has a 5x telephoto as testing to see how big of a difference this new camera makes. Get subscribed to
there's slightly faster wireless charging now, 25 watts instead of 15. Snap magnets. And of course inside is the new Tensor And of course inside is the new Tensor G6 with 12 gigs of RAM, which I will
paces, but there doesn't seem to be any eye-popping mega leaps here. The phone is as smooth as it can be in my hands-on, but it always is. And it's finally caught up to the pack by having a new doubled 256 gig base storage.
And they also increased the price by 100 bucks. So they essentially got rid of the 128 gig $800 spec, and now the price of entry is $900. So for the 11 Pro, it
still comes in the same two sizes, the 6.3-inch Pro and the 6.8-inch Pro XL. It also looks just like the Pro Pixel has for a while with the much shinier sides. And this time the camera bar is also slightly redesigned. So instead of doing
temperature sensor and the flash, it's edge-to-edge glass all the way across And it's also rocking a new main camera sensor, a 50-megapixel one that's theoretically the best yet. It's a big one, it's 1 over 1.3 in, so pretty
substantial. That should let a lot more light in. New 48-megapixel telephoto as well. And then the same 48-megapixel ultrawide. And this super actua display is not high resolution, not higher refresh rate, not bigger, but is
refresh rate, not bigger, but is definitely brighter. It peaks at 3,600 nits now. Not that the 2,200 from last year was terrible, but you know, that's seems like the brightness slider was in
mostly lower brightness, and then the last quarter of the slider was extremely they got some tweaking to do there. But then this thing also gets faster 25-W Qi 2.2 wireless charging. And that's it.
No crazy ultra-fast charging, or like huge silicon-carbon batteries, or Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, or any massive 1-in camera sensors. other thing you need to know is that RAMageddon is real, and it is
very much affecting these phones. Because last year, the Pixel 10 Pro started at a thousand bucks, and had 16 gigs of RAM. This year, the Pixel 11 Pro starts at 1,100 bucks,
and 12 gigs of RAM. So yeah, the Clearly memory is very expensive. The 512-gig and 1-TB versions will have 16 gigs of RAM. So it's just the the 256 Pro that is down to 12. Um but yeah, the the Pro XL starts starts at $1,300.
So then last but not least, for the phones anyway, the new Pro Fold. And at probably already do this with me. So new chip, Tensor G6, new camera bar with the highlight light, and a new 48-megapixel main camera, slightly faster wireless
charging, the new displays that are just brighter. And there is in fact a new hinge mechanism, but the difference it's making here is for sure more subtle than some of the other new gen foldables that I've seen. I mean, this phone is 1 mm
thinner and slightly lighter overall. And I guess those inner screen bezels got a little tiny bit slimmer, but this is not the thinnest foldable out there. not terrible, and it does kind of still disappear to the eye when you're looking
at content, but it doesn't make the big step up that like Samsung and Oppo and that would be nice if they could have matched that since you are still paying the same premium for this phone. I personally still love these aspect
ratios and these screens. I think it's awesome to use the Pixel Fold closed. water resistant, which is something a lot of other foldables can't say. But the price also went up. It's also it's starting at $1,900
for the 256 gig fold, which is 100 bucks more than last year. Now, Google also did mention they have this new composite glass fiber back cover material that's or break. Obviously, I wasn't trying to break it or crack it when I was there on
leave that to the professionals and see if it's actually better, but I would glass is glass. But you know, I had to look back and and try to remember when I started calling the Pixels like the smartest
smartphones. And it turns out it's back in like the Pixel 2 days. So, 9 years ago. And if you if you watch those reviews, even back then you can see the doesn't seem to care about making the fastest phones or the best hardware or
the biggest battery or really taking any particular risk. They just have the most clever software features, and that's just what makes the Pixel the Pixel. So, here we are nearly a decade later, and that's still true. Pixels have so many
features that you miss when you go to other phones like call screening, now playing, the classics. Gemini is intertwined everywhere you look. And There's a clever feature built into the camera now that lets you write a bunch
of stuff into a teleprompter, and then when you hit record and start talking, it auto-advances the text based on how fast you're talking. It's neat, and third-party app for somebody somewhere. They also have talked about using Tensor
to do faster Night Sight and smoother zoom while recording 8K video. These are all neat tricks, very much appreciated, and probably also not exclusive to these phones. I can see them easily coming back to older Pixel phones as well, cuz
that's the Pixel thing. It is what it is. So, yeah, I'm going to put my eSIM in a Pixel again, like I always do, probably the matte black one with the new matte black rails, and I'm going to get really into it and do all my
benchmarks and take lots of photos and videos and probably get really excited should set the countdown timer to see how long it takes for me to start missing the 2-day battery life or the 80-W charging or the substantially less
for the same premium price. But, Now, there's two other nuggets that Google did drop today. The new Pixel Watch 5, which looks just like the Pixel Watch 4 and the Watch 3, etc., etc., but
Watch 4 and the Watch 3, etc., etc., but there's a new accelerated Snapdragon W5 Gen 2 chip inside that should be, they say, 12% faster with CPU, and it has about 50% more on-device RAM for a whole bunch of AI stuff it can do like
generative watch faces and raising your wrist to start talking to Gemini and start a workout, etc. It should also have more accurate GPS, and they also have more accurate GPS, and they also have new prices, $399 and $429 for the
two sizes. And then they also dropped an AirTag competitor called Google Tag. Uh this tiny little thing here does exactly what you think it does. You can Hub, which takes advantage of the network effect of Android phones being
everywhere, and you can use Gemini to find the thing super quickly. It's also 29 bucks for one or 99 for a four-pack, which, you guessed it, is exactly the same price as AirTags. So, that ships in November. So, there you have it.
Bramegeddon is real. Everything [snorts] is more expensive. The Pixel still risks, but when they do finally take one, the feature is totally neutered or under-baked. And now, more than ever, it
only one that you can recommend or say is the closest thing to a good deal in It is what it is. But, you know what else is always ready like clockwork? the gate with cases for everything. [music] They've got you covered with the
classic grip case, the zero yellowing ghost case, [music] and new for the Pixels, their super rugged tank case. And the tank case it's actually backlisted for last year's Pixel [music] 10 series, too. And if
you're picking up a Pixel 11 Pro Fold, they've got you covered here with their folding grip case. Just like the Samsung folds, it's [music] got spine coverage matter which case you pick up, you can also grab one of dbrand's idiot-proof
screen protectors with it for a $5 discount on the bundle. And not only is Buys, but they're also, for the first time, going to be sold first party in just pick it up alongside the new phones, whichever one you get. So, I
below. Either way, [music] thank you for watching. Let me know what you want to see in the full review of these phones, and I'll catch you guys in the next one. and I'll catch you guys in the next one. Peace.