[Android 0]

Sometimes, upgrading to the latest smartphone is a simple process. A lot of us look at the phone we have now, and if we liked it, we look for the newest version of the same thing: probably more powerful, likely introducing a couple new features, and hopefully not costing too much more. But the market doesn’t always make things so simple for us, and this year with Google’s new Pixel 11 series, some shoppers might want to take a long, hard look at exactly what those upgrades offer — and what Google wants us to pay for them.

A little over a week ago, we asked you to really break things down for us. This year’s Pixel 11 Pro phones can feel a little underwhelming depending on your expectations, but what are shoppers supposed to do about it? Well, the playing field in 2026 is sure a whole lot smaller than it’s been in years past, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t some solid options out there. And honestly, between lengthy software update guarantees and all the craziness happening now with RAM values in light of the market losing its mind, maybe it really does make sense to go with something other than the very, very latest phone.