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Tom’s Guide

Technology

Tom Pritchard

Google Pixel 11 — everything we know so far

Google Tom Guide John Velasco Apple Android

Google Pixel phones are among the best Android phones you can buy, and showcase how much Android is capable of — in terms of both hardware and software. It's the closest thing we have to a Google-made iPhone, and the Google Pixel 11 is likely to be no exception to that when it arrives later this year.

The pressure is on for Google after offering a very mixed set of upgrades with the Pixel 10 series. The Pixel 10 itself was leaps and bounds ahead of the Pixel 9, thanks to a bunch of Pro-level hardware, but the Pixel 10 Pro was barely a step up from its predecessor. Google needs to make sure not to fall into that trap with the Pixel 11, and offer something substantial, even if it isn't groundbreaking.

Whether it will succeed or not is another matter, and we're not likely to find out until the launch event this summer. Until then, here's everything we know about Pixel 11 so far.

Google Pixel 11: Rumored specs

	Pixel 11	Pixel 10
Display	6.3" OLED, 1080×2424	6.3" OLED, 1080×2424
Refresh Rate	60-120Hz	60-120Hz
Display Brightness (nits)	2,000 (HDR / 3,100 (Peak)	2,000 (HDR / 3,000 (Peak)
RAM	8 / 12GB	12GB
Chipset	Tensor G6	Tensor G5
Battery	4,840 mAh	4,970 mAh

Google Pixel 11: Rumored release date & price

(Image credit: Tom's Guide / John Velasco)

Following two consecutive years of August Pixel releases, Google will likely stick to that timeline once again. Late August is that perfect sweet spot between the release of Galaxy Z Fold 8 and iPhone 18, which makes it the perfect time to launch a brand new Pixel phone.

The Pixel 9 was released on August 22, while the Pixel 10 arrived a little later on August 29, so we should probably expect something in the last week of the month.

Pricing is still a huge unknown at this point, but it's possible that we'll see some kind of price increase. Not only has the cost of RAM and storage gone through the roof, but I'd also be surprised (and disappointed) if we didn't see the base storage increase from 128GB to 256GB.

Google already did it with the Pixel 10 Pro XL last year, and the change is long overdue, especially after Apple decided to make 256GB storage standard on every iPhone 17 model. Unfortunately, I don't see that change happening without some sort of price increase to go with it.

Google Pixel 11: Design & Display

We're not expecting major design changes with the Pixel 11 this year, and leaked CAD renders from OnLeaks suggest that the basic design will remain the same for the next year. However, there appear to be a few small changes, including slimmer bezels and an all-glass camera bar.

According to leaked specs from Mystic Leaks, the phone will have a 6.3-inch OLED display with 1080 x 2424 resolution and 60-120Hz refresh rate, which is the same as the Pixel 10. Display brightness may get a small boost, with the leak suggesting that, while HDR brightness is limited to 2,000 nits again, the peak brightness may 3,100 — 100 nits more than last year.

Google has previously said that Pixel phones will undergo a redesign every two to three years. While those renders suggest there are no major changes, other rumors claim that Google will add a new feature called "Pixel Glow," which is expected to be similar to Nothing's Glyph lights. The feature has shown up in code from the Android 17 beta, but other than the name, we don't know a great deal about it.

Google Pixel 11: Cameras

There haven't been any leaks about the Pixel 11's camera upgrades, and following the addition of a telephoto lens on the Pixel 10 I wouldn't have expected any major upgrades. But a new specs leak claims that all four Pixel 11 phones will get a new main camera lens — possibly one with 50MP resolution.

Further details are unknown, but it seems that the standard model will miss out on the telephoto lens upgrade rumored to be coming to Pixel 11 Pro and Pixel 11 Pro XL

That said, there's a lot more to camera performance than hardware specs, and there's a very good chance that Google will include a bunch of camera features and upgrades — enhanced by the Tensor G6 chipset.

It's currently unclear what those features might be, but there is speculation that Google could include a new infrared under-display camera to power an advanced facial recognition system similar to Apple's Face ID. However, a more recent leak suggests that this system isn't ready to be included on Pixel 11.

Google has attempted such a thing before, notably on Pixel 4, but this would be the first time it included an iPhone-style infrared camera. That should offer better security than camera-based face unlock systems, but we'll have to wait and see how such a feature would hold up to scrutiny.

Google Pixel 11: Performance

Pixel chips are not known for being particularly powerful, and the Tensor chips haven't really made much headway in that department. Google may say that they're better suited for AI processing and other software enhancements, but it doesn't change the fact that Pixel phones have been lagging as a result of Tensor's weak performance.

Sadly, the Tensor G6 isn't expected to make many improvements, especially in the graphics department. According to leaker Mystic Leaks, the Tensor G6 will utilize a Power VR CXTP-48-1536 GPU — which first released back in 2021. That's right, Google could be using a five-year-old graphics processor in the Pixel 11, and that doesn't bode well for its performance.

The good news is that the same leak suggests the G6 chip will use a 4.11 GHz Arm C1 Ultra core, which is the best core Arm produces — and bodes well for computational performance at the very least. It will be joined by four C1 Pro cores running at 3.38 GHz and two slightly slower C1 Pro cores that clock in at 2.65 GHz. However, the leak suggests that the G6 will also drop to seven cores, compared to the eight-core CPU in the Tensor G5.

A newer leak also promises that the chip will be made with TSMC's 2nm node, which should offer better performance and energy efficiency than a 3nm chip. Though we won't know exactly how much of an improvement is on the way.

It's also a possibility that Google may reduce the amount of RAM, likely due to the ongoing AI-induced memory shortages. Mystic Leaks suggests that Google may offer an 8GB memory option, but didn't elaborate on which Pixel 11 variants may offer it instead of the usual 12GB. My guess is that it would be certain lower storage variants, since that's what the likes of Samsung does, but we don't know that for sure right now.

Google Pixel 11: Battery & charging

We haven't heard anything about the Pixel 11's battery just yet, but I wouldn't hold my breath for any major changes this year. — especially where battery capacity is concerned. Since the Pixel 10 already offers a substantial 4,970 mAh of power, there isn't a lot of room for the Pixel 11 to add more.

Unfortunately, recent leaks suggest that the capacity will actually be reduced to 4,840 mAh. While it's not a huge loss of capacity, it would be disappointing to see a company with such a poor reputation for battery life deliberately hinder its newest devices.

Pixel battery life has improved over the past few years, but it's still quite far behind the likes of Apple and OnePlus. With the lower capacity in mind, we'd like to see some improvements to efficiency and better overall battery life as a result, even if the battery itself doesn't change that much.

Of course, we did see some major charging upgrades on the Pixel 10 Pro XL last year, with 45W wired charging and 25W Qi2 wireless charging. It would be nice to see some of those speeds make their way to smaller models, including Pixel 11 and Pixel 11 Pro. We also expect that Google will keep Qi2 charging, with Pixelsnap's magnetic connectivity around for the foreseeable future.

Google Pixel 11: Outlook

There are still a lot of unknowns where the Pixel 11 is concerned, which is actually quite surprising. Google is not known for keeping on top of leaks, and, rarely, we don't know everything about the newest Pixel before it actually launches. There's still time, though, and we're likely to hear something before the launch date rolls around.

We're not expecting a major upgrade this year, and while disappointing, that's to be expected considering the sheer amount of changes made to the Pixel 10. Of course, some of what we have heard does sound promising in certain areas, but the rumored downgrades may make this another unimpressive release by Google. I just hope that the Pixel 11 will be a little more impressive than these early leaks have let on.

We'll just have to wait and see what leaks in the coming months before we make up our mind, and failing that, see what Google has in store at the launch event. Hopefully, Jimmy Fallon isn't there this year.