Smartphones have come a long way in the last twenty years, and every year we expect new and better features when a new device comes out. Unfortunately, this trend is no longer relevant, due to the RAM and storage crisis. As such, Google’s Pixel 11 is a perfect example of how the consumer gets the shorter end of the stick compared to previous years.
Not only has the Pixel 11’s price hike made Google’s competition even more attractive, but it has also made Google’s previous models a better deal, especially if you can buy a Pixel 10 at a discount. You see, the Pixel 11 makes a few sacrifices that make the old phone a superior device. The Pixel 10 is simply the better buy, and here are the top five reasons why you should upgrade now and skip the Google Pixel 11.
Higher price for each model
We knew the Pixel 11 series would see a price hike since it was announced in July, and while the Google Pixel 11 offers plenty of new features, there are also a handful of compromises. So why spend more to potentially get less when there’s ample stock of older Pixel models that compare and, in some cases, even surpass the last generation?
Google has discontinued the 128GB Pixel 11 model, dropping to 256GB and 512GB for its two options, which partly explains the higher price where each model now costs $100 more than last year. But when it comes to RAM, the top-end Pixel 11 Pro with 512GB of storage only offers 12GB this year instead of 16GB (more details below), so even when you spend more, for some models you actually get less. This is ultimately what makes the Pixel 11’s higher price difficult to swallow when there are still Pixel 10 Pros on the market.
Basically, thanks to the RAM crisis, what’s old is new again while the latest models released this year have done little to differentiate themselves from previous generations in an effort to reduce manufacturing costs. Consumers don’t need to worry about the cost of building something; all they need to know is which phone offers the best specs at the best price, and it’s the Pixel 10 hands down, thanks to its lower price and comparable performance.
Negligible camera improvements
Pixels have been known for their photographic quality for years, thanks to good sensors and lots of software tricks. Although the Pixel 11 still takes great photos, so does the Pixel 10. Since the only changes are in the size of the main sensor and the ultra-wide, the Pixel 11’s camera performs slightly better in low light. The two main sensors on both models are still 48 MP, and the updated zoom from 100x to 120x is mostly a software trick that relies heavily on AI upscaling to begin with. It also appears that the flash is dimmer this year, with the Pixel 10 offering brighter output. Things are similar on the video side as well, with both generations producing video whose difference is barely noticeable, and that comes down to the software available on the Pixel models.
So rather than spending $100 more on a smartphone that has a slightly better camera while offering a weaker flash, it makes more sense to save your money and get last year’s model. You don’t even have to look far to see this opinion on tech blogs like Android Authority; slightly better cameras just aren’t worth the extra cost. And since much of the improved images are software related, we expect that software to come to the Pixel 10, which is only a year into its seven years of support.
Tensor G6 uses the same 3nm node as G5
There were rumors that Google would move to a 2nm process for the Pixel 11’s internal Tensor chip, ideally adding 25-30% power savings, but that turned out to be false as Google stuck to a 3nm node, similar to the Pixel 10. While fans were hoping for big gains, the phone only received incremental improvements that barely justified the Pixel’s higher price. 11.
In the case of the latest Tensor G6 used in the Pixel 11, there is one less core in its chip, making it seven cores instead of the Pixel 10’s eight. However, the Pixel 11 only uses Arm’s new C1 series architecture, which helps negate the loss of that core and actually speeds things up now that the speed of the main core has been increased to 4.11 GHz. So there are some improvements on paper, but in reality Google’s Tensor is well behind its competitors and still struggles to handle demanding games.
When the choice is between chips that both struggle to perform (one costs more with negligible real-world gains for things like browser speed and the other is cheaper in a similar form factor), the choice seems pretty simple. Opt for the Pixel 10 to save a few bucks while still giving yourself a phone with comparable performance, especially when you can buy a 10 Pro with 16GB of RAM instead of the 11 Pro’s reduced 12GB to make your multitasking easier.
The Pro model offers less RAM at the lowest level
The Pixel 11 Pro tops out at 12GB of RAM until you reach the Pro and XL models packing 512GB of storage offering 16GB of RAM, while the Pixel 10 offers 16GB on all Pro and XL tiers. If you don’t mind having less storage, you can save $100 by purchasing a 128GB Pixel 10 Pro with 16GB of RAM for $1,000. Even if you choose the 256GB Pixel 10 Pro at $1,100, that’s the same price as the 256GB Pixel 11 Pro which offers less RAM. The base Pixel 10 Pro is the much better deal because it packs more RAM, giving you extra headroom when multitasking.
As noted above, the differences between chipsets are minimal, meaning specs like RAM are that much more important. Of course, you can still get 16GB of RAM with a Pixel 11 Pro if you upgrade to the 512GB storage model at $1,219, which is the same price as the Pixel 10 Pro sporting the same storage size, but if you’re looking to save money rather than spend, the Pixel 10 Pro with less storage is the more economical option. While it’s understandable that Google used less RAM for the Pixel 11 Pro this year for its 256GB model, given that RAM prices are skyrocketing, the choice to upgrade to a Pixel 10 over a Pixel 11 is an easy one.
Very similar appearance and construction
The current design of the Pixel line stands out thanks to its iconic camera bar. The design hasn’t changed much with the launch of the Pixel 11, but it has changed just enough that the Pixel 10 cases can’t be used with the Pixel 11. In fact, if you pick up a Pixel 10 in any shape or size, its cases are often discounted now that the Pixel 11 is on the market, which helps drive the price down even further.
So if you’re looking to save beyond the cost of the Pixel 10, its accessories are seeing plenty of sales. After all, there are plenty of useful accessories that work best with Google Pixel phones. So not only do you retain the advantage of a very similar-looking phone, but many Pixel 10 accessories and cases are now the news of last year, allowing consumers to clean up while still treating themselves to a very capable device that compares quite well to its younger sibling. Simply put, the need to push users towards new accessories every year with very slight changes in hardware size and shape is to your advantage for once, so it’s recommended to take advantage while you can by grabbing comparable older technologies that save you money.
