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 $100 price hike (likely thanks to the memory shortage caused by the AI data center build-out) on the new Pro, plus a corresponding downgrade for something I consider to be important, has made me change my mind about upgrading this year and has made me realize that the best Pixel for me (and probably you) is not the newest one.

HiLight is the main “new thing” on Pixel 11 Pro

But it’s not the notification system we wanted

Credit: Robin John / MakeUseOf

The main physical change with Pixel 11 Pro this year is a feature called HiLight, which replaces the temperature sensor on the previous Pixel that most people didn’t use. It’s only available on the Pixel 11 Pro models, and not the regular Pixel 11.

HiLight is a multicolored programmable LED that does two things. First, it pulses while you’re using Gemini, whether it’s thinking, listening or responding. I think Google set out to give Pixel 11 Pro a physical manifestation of AI to make it feel more “alive” and HiLight kind of gets there (if your phone happens to be screen-down such that you can even see HiLight).

The second more useful thing HiLight does is it lets you assign a favorite contact to one of five colors so that, for example, when mom calls, the light pulses red.

But as reviewers point out, HiLight has two major limitations.

It only notifies for calls

Credit: Robin John / MakeUseOf

HiLight only works for calls, which is very surprising in a world where most people don’t make phone calls at all. It would be much more useful if you could assign a color to a contact whether they call or text or send you a WhatsApp.

So overall, HiLight is not a feature worth upgrading for and hopefully Google comes to its senses and expands the functionality of this limited feature. In fact, I found an app that brings HiLight-like notifications to any phone.

This can be easily fixed with software, and Google just needs to look back on older phones from the early 2000s that came with a fully-programmable multi-colored notification light.

The 11 Pro does offer a few upgrades

A slightly brighter screen, more base storage, slightly faster charging, and a processor bump

If you compare specs, you’ll notice that the Pixel 11 Pro is $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 $1219 or 1TB for $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

Credit: Brandon / MUO

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.

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.

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Google

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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.