Google's Pixel 11, Pro, Pro XL and Pro Fold reach shops this week, headlined by the Tensor G6 chip, upgraded cameras and new in-phone creator tools.
Following its launch last week the new Google Pixel 11 series hits shops tomorrow, and there are a lot of different models for a lot of different people. The launch lineup includes the Pixel 11, Pixel 11 Pro, Pixel 11 Pro XL, Pixel 11 Pro Fold, plus the Pixel Watch 5 and a new item tracker, the Pixel Tag.
All four phones run the new Tensor G6 chip, Google's first to be constructed on a 2 nm process. Up against the previous-generation Pixel 10 Tensor G5, the G6 offers 50% more TPU compute, up to 25% faster web browsing, 15% faster app launches, and up to 20% better power efficiency.
So, how does that all translate into photo and video quality? Not badly at all. The Tensor G6 allows Google to lean much further in on the AI/image processing side of things than, say, Samsung has with its use of the Snapdragon chip series. The Pixel series has always made a point of being good at low-light computational photography. And this launch sees it ramp up in-camera creator tools.
Pixel 11: 48 MP main, 5x telephoto reaching 30x Super Zoom, 13 MP ultrawide, selfie camera.
Pixel 11 Pro/Pro XL: new main sensor billed as “Pixel's best camera yet.” A redesigned 48 MP telephoto with 30% more light sensitivity than the previous gen, 5x native zoom, up to 120x Pro Zoom, Portrait mode now at 5x, Instant Night Sight up to 4.5x faster.
Pro Fold: New 48 MP main camera, up to 30x Super Zoom.
The Pro/XL screen is worth a mention here too, boasting an impressive peak 3600 nits. The Pro Fold's 8-inch inner display also hits 3600 nits.
An upgraded ISP introduces 4K Portrait Video for the first time. This allows real-time separation of subject and background on the Pixel 11, 11 Pro and 11 Pro XL and was previously a stills-only feature. The Pro models add Pro Stable Video and 8K Video Boost as well, both targeting footage for publishing online or even for broadcast.
The Tensor G6 has allowed Google to build in a new Creator Suite which adds a lot of decent functionality to the phone including an on-screen teleprompter, project folders, a storyboard tool for organising clips, and improved speech enhancement. There's also a new feature called Magic Capture, which records continuously as soon as you point the camera at a scene and automatically selects the best moments and HDR+ frames, rather than requiring you to have to do anything as onerous as press a shutter button.
Camera Looks is a new processing pipeline that moves certain stylistic decisions such as frame merging, sharpening, and exposure, earlier into capture rather than applying them as a filter afterward. This means they can be previewed in real-time and they vary according to a range of style presets that also include film-inspired looks such as Editorial, Classic, Velvet, Black Tie, and the digicam-styled Digi.