I love Pixel phones, but the Pixel 11 camera system isn’t enough

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Google’s flagship and budget smartphones made a name for themselves for their exceptionally consistent photography capabilities, a theme the brand is keeping alive with the Pixel 11 series . The latest flagships sport some, but in typical Google fashion, it’s playing it safe and staying consistent.

While this strategy means we virtually always know what we’re getting when a new Pixel lands, being too predictable has allowed some rivals to leapfrog the brand with more modern, superior camera hardware, resulting in better pictures. As a Pixel fan, I want my next Google phone to take pictures that I simply can’t grab on other phones in the business.

Sadly, with the Pixel 11, it’s more of the same, and that’s not just good enough when Pro models now cost upwards of $1,000.

After that, Google experimented with a secondary camera to augment its preference for the 12MP main sensor. The Pixel 4 introduced a dedicated 2x telephoto camera for improved Super Res Zoom snaps, while the budget Pixel 5 swapped this out for an ultrawide lens. However, by the fifth generation, the 12MP main camera stack was starting to show its age, and the dual-camera companion still felt weak in an age when competitors had already moved to triple-lens arrays. Fans were clamoring for a more meaningful upgrade.

Enter the Pixel 6 Pro in 2021, undoubtedly the biggest shake-up to Google’s camera stack since the series’ launch. The main camera, which had been in service since the Pixel 2, was swapped out for a larger, far more modern 50MP sensor, paired with a 12MP ultrawide and a 4x telephoto zoom with 48MP resolution to boost Super Res Zoom snaps with additional pixel data.

Since then, Google has gradually refined and tweaked this formula but has kept this tried-and-tested trio as its backbone. The Pixel 7 Pro moved up to a 5x telephoto, the 8 Pro improved the ultrawide, and the 9 Pro offered a similar package in a slightly smaller form than the XL. However, the Pixel 10 Pro and XL were mostly about software features and improvements, with the regular Pixel 10 finally receiving its own telephoto camera.

Now, with the Pixel 11 Pro and Pro XL, there are some notable tweaks to the form factor that should help improve quality, at least marginally. The ultrawide and telephoto sensors are now both a little larger, with the latter representing the biggest jump, from 1/2.55-inch to 1/1.95-inch. Still not huge, but that extra light capture is probably what’s allowing Google to extend its max zoom from 100x to 120x and should help keep noise down in low light.