I thought the Pixel 11 Pro was perfect. Then I got one
Concerns began to arise when the device actually launched, complete with a hefty price rise and gimmicky ‘HiLight’ feature. But I was still confident that it’d be the phone for me, and the benchmark against which all compact flagships should be judged.
Two weeks later, that illusion has been shattered. In its current form, the Pixel 11 Pro has been a major let-down. Instead of being the phone I could rely on every day, it’s become a liability.
Standby me
Weren’t flagship phones meant to have battery life sorted by now? Even without moving to silicon-carbon (Si-C), a comfortable full day from the Pixel 11 Pro’s 4850mAh cell should be the absolute bare minimum.
I wish that were true. While I do usually make it to bedtime, it’s not without some serious battery anxiety. And if I ever forget to charge it in the morning (as has happened a few times), I’m left scrambling around for a charger before the evening arrives. It’s simply not good enough.
Battery life has been underwhelmingAnyron Copeman / Foundry
The perverse thing is that the worst issues happen when the screen isn’t even on. The Pixel 11 Pro’s standby battery drain is truly horrendous, leaking between 10-15% every single night. Every time I come to it after a few hours, I can pretty much guarantee that a few per cent has been shaved off.
Of course, I could turn off mobile data and location services and turn down the brightness, but the phone should be able to handle them just fine. If other phones can do it, why not the Pixel 11 Pro?