Pixel 11 vs Pixel 11 Pro: What do you get for the extra money?

Google's Pixel 11 series marks a shift in the company's smartphone strategy, with 128GB storage configurations gone entirely and starting prices rising across the board. The Pixel 11 starts at $899, while the Pixel 11 Pro comes in at $1,099 for the base model. That's a $200 gap that raises a simple but important question: What exactly does that extra money buy you?

Both phones run on the same Google Tensor G6 chip, launch with Android 17 and share a number of features. But the differences between them are meaningful, particularly for photography enthusiasts, video creators and power users who demand the best features. Here's what paying extra can get you in Google's new Pixel 11 era.

The two phones may look the same from a distance, but up close you'll see clear differences. Both phones have a 6.3-inch display, but that's where the similarities end. The Pixel 11's Actua OLED display delivers a resolution of 1,080 x 2,424 at 422 PPI, with a variable refresh rate of 60-120Hz and a peak brightness of 3,000 nits. The Pixel 11 Pro steps up to a Super Actua display with a sharper 1,280 x 2,856 LTPO OLED panel at 495 PPI. The refresh rate is also more refined at 1-120Hz, meaning it can drop much lower to conserve battery, and peak brightness also climbs to 3,600 nits. While both models have Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2 cover glass, the Pro model comes with an additional anti-scratch shield that might come in handy if you have noodles instead of arms like yours truly.

The bottom line is that if you spend a lot of time outdoors or frequently view HDR content, the Pro's display offers a sharper, brighter and more durable screen.

The Pixel 11 series truthfully looks very similar to last year's models. There are some key differences in colors and finishes — the Pixel 11's aluminum frame has a satin finish, while the Pro's is polished — but the main feature gap boils down to HiLight.

Remember when almost every phone had a little notification light that would flash when you had a message or your battery was low? Google is bringing it back. HiLight is a cross between that concept and the more modern interpretations like the Nothing glyph bar . It's an array of ambient LED lights around the camera flash that can, say, let you know someone important is calling without cancelling do not disturb, or pulse when Gemini is listening to you. It's probably the most outwardly interesting feature from this batch of Pixel devices, and it's exclusive to the 11 Pro, the Pro XL and the Pro Fold.

Funky LEDs aside, the two models look almost identical when decked out in Google's off-black Obsidian. Away from that blackish option, the Pro offers up an off-white, a barely green and a (slightly unwell?) salmon for color options. The base 11 has a bolder set of colors, with a pastel pea green, a lavender and an unreasonably hot pink.

This is where Google has made a massive change for the entire Pixel 11 series: the 128GB option is gone. Both phones now start at 256GB. There are only two options for the Pixel 11, namely 256GB and 512GB, while the Pro also offers a 1TB model. Both phones have 12GB RAM as standard, although the 1TB model of the Pro has 16GB RAM. (That's a downgrade on last year's Pro offering, which was 16GB across the board.)