Pixel 11 Pro: software and AI checked. Isn't something missing?

The most exciting hardware change on the Google Pixel 11 Pro is, in my opinion, the new color Canyon, a combination of Coral and Gold that I am head over heels in love with. With that, the relevant hardware developments are actually done. The exciting new things this time are in the software, with cool new features and one big annoyance.

Camera app: Magic Capture, Night Sight and zoom

• Magic Capture: The Pixel records a video and several photos at the same time. The AI automatically picks the best shot and optimizes it with Quick Edit so that you can share or send it right away. Handy when the subject moves around and won’t hold still.
• Instant Night Sight: In dark environments you no longer have to hold the phone still and no longer wait for a timer to count down. New sensors and 50% more TPU power in the Tensor G6 make that possible. As a result, shots are less blurry.
• Zoom: A new telephoto sensor captures 30% more light. From 30x zoom, a model uses generative AI for detail reconstruction. That way you can zoom up to 120x. I think it works really well. At the end you can choose between the AI-enhanced and the unedited version.
• Pro Stable Video: ultra-smooth footage in motion up to 8K, with Video Boost. According to Google, it is activated automatically in well-lit, not very crowded scenes. In my view that works quite well.
• Camera looks: You switch between color profiles or build your own presets. They are processed directly in the camera pipeline, not added afterward as a filter.
• Settings: You set which mode the app starts in and can put the most-used controls in the viewfinder.

Ad: To help choose the right device, the video also includes a recommendation: on techberater.net you can find the right tech gadget in a free quiz and get a personalized recommendation with a comparison table and price comparison.

Creator Suite: my highlight

My personal highlight is the new Creator Suite. Recordings can be organized directly in projects. For a new Short or Reel, I create a new folder, the clips are saved there and shown one after another in a timeline, so I can already do a rough cut. I can switch between folders and then export the rough cut to keep working on it in Edits or CapCut, for example. That makes everything faster than hunting for recordings in the camera roll afterward.

There is also a teleprompter. It helps when you film with the main camera and already want to record your voiceover, or film yourself with the front camera for a Reel. For social media posts, the safe zone can be displayed, and the audio visualizer shows whether sound is being recorded, for example when a mic is connected. It is basically a small editing studio in the camera app.

It would have been nice if the recording quality had kept pace. Photo and video quality are at a very high level and probably enough for 99.9% of people, but they are still not on par with the iPhone, with Samsung or with a Xiaomi, at least in video quality.

Everyday features

• LED indicators on the flash: They light up when the Pixel is lying face down and you are talking to Gemini or a favorite contact calls. You can assign a color to each contact. The idea is cool, but I don’t understand why it only works for Gemini and calls. It would be exciting for WhatsApp and the like.
• Live Translate for Media: Videos and audio in third-party apps such as YouTube are translated into the chosen language in real time. I tried it with headphones: it is no longer an AI voice, it sounds completely natural. That’s mega.
• Circle to Search in the camera: Press and hold the navigation bar while the camera is pointed at something. Then you can identify objects, translate text or ask questions about your surroundings.
• Screensaver while charging: You switch between clock, weather, charging stats or photo album with a swipe or long press.
• Quick Share with AirDrop compatibility: Android and iPhone users can exchange files directly. I think it’s great that these barriers are being torn down.

Gemini Intelligence and the big annoyance

Google calls the 11 generation “Powered by Gemini Intelligence”, and according to Google the system is in practically every app. With proactive assistance turned on, Gemini automatically makes suggestions in At a Glance, in the Phone app and in chats, based on what is happening on the screen. In Google Messages there are visual cards, for example when someone asks about your availability. With proactive Gemini Actions you can book a table at OpenTable directly from the chat or order groceries from a shopping list. At checkout, the matching Wallet loyalty card shows up.

I’m not showing any footage of this because this proactive assistance, which is the real highlight for me, is not available in Germany. I don’t know whether that is an EU issue or failed because of data protection. It annoys me that we are always left out of the cool AI developments. With Gemini Omni too, which is supposed to create video scenes with audio, sound effects and dialogue from a text description, it often says for me that the feature is not available in my region. Yet I pay just as much for the devices as everyone else. It’s the same with Apple: we only ever get new camera features, a new button or a blinking light on the back.

Rambler: voice input in Gboard

Because I drown in emails every day, Rambler is a game changer for me. The new voice input in Gboard turns spoken thoughts, including self-corrections, ums and slips of the tongue, into clean, punctuated text. You can change passages of text afterward by voice command or have the whole text rewritten in a different tone, without switching apps. I think it’s great. At the same time, I had the feeling that I was unlearning structured thinking and writing more and more. With emails it saves me an insane amount of time, but using the remaining gray brain cells now and then is maybe not a bad thing either.

Verdict

The Pixel 11 Pro and the Pro XL are less a hardware update than a software statement. Google is clearly trying to set itself apart from the competition through the user experience, not just through spec sheets. I think that’s the right development, even if the really cool features are still missing in Germany. I have firmly integrated Rambler and the Creator features into my daily life. What remains open for me is which Gemini features will also come to the previous Pixels or other Android smartphones.

I would have wished for a better camera upgrade. The zoom is great, but I would rather have really insanely good shots. In my opinion, that’s where the Pixel lags behind. If the shots were better, the Pixel 11 Pro would be the strongest smartphone on the market, because it is the smartest one we can buy right now. And not to forget: the Pixel smartphones are still the only Androids with a magnet on the back, and that makes an enormous difference in everyday use.