Summary
I love my Pixel 10 Pro and seriously considered upgrading it when the Pixel 11 Pro/Pixel 11 Pro XL came out recently.
This is because I upgrade my Pixel nearly every year because I like having the latest phone, but this year a 999 |
100 more than the still-available Pixel 10 Pro, but it’s an upgrade in only three areas, and a downgrade in another if you go with the base model (if you want 16GB of RAM, you’ll have to bump storage to 512GB and pay 1449) . In terms of upgrades, you get the newer Tensor G6, which should be good for a 10-15% increase in overall system performance plus some efficiency gains as the manufacturing process goes to a 2nm size versus the 3nm size on the Tensor G5 from last year.
Besides that, you get slightly faster wireless charging (from 15W to 25W), a higher base storage (from 128GB to 256GB), and a slightly brighter screen by 300 nits.
But you’ll notice a major downgrade: Pixel 11 Pro has less RAM by 4GB, which is a 25% reduction. As mentioned you can get more RAM if you upgrade your storage to 512GB or 1TB.
Does this matter? For an expensive pro-level phone that has a built-in desktop mode with floating windows, plus promises of agentic Gemini that can do tasks for you in the background, I would say that yes, going from 16 to 12GB of RAM matters when you’re using the phone’s full capabilities. If you’re a lighter user that mostly uses Pixel as an email and communications machine, the difference between 16 and 12GB of RAM won’t be as noticeable, but it’s still disappointing to have to pay more to get less.
The Pixel 11 Pro gives you worse specs for more money
The 10 Pro has never looked better, and it’ll get updates until 2032
Google promises seven years of software updates which greatly extends the life of any Pixel you buy today, giving you access to regular security updates, new feature “Pixel Drops”, and of course a fresh new version of Android each year. Since Pixel 10 Pro came out in the summer of 2025, that means you’ll continue to get updates on this phone until the summer of 2032, or six years from now. And while it’s possible Pixel 11 could get exclusive features along the way, if history is any guide, the Pixel 10 Pro and 11 Pro will be at feature parity, for the most part, for the duration of their support cycles.
it’s still disappointing to have to pay more to get less.
All of this is to say: save yourself $100 and go with the still-fantastic Pixel 10 Pro versus the 11 Pro. If you want additional savings, you can grab one used from Swappa or Facebook Marketplace, where you can save even more by not buying new (which leaves you with a huge depreciation loss from day one).
But for me, the best Pixel right now isn’t the newest one.
Google Pixel 10 Pro
- Brand
- SoC
- Tensor G5 The Pixel 10 Pro is Google’s highest-end flagship smartphone. It features an improved rear camera system, the Tensor G5 chip, seven years of software updates, and a 6.3” Super Actua display.