Phone comparison · UK prices · October 2026
Pixel 11 Pro or Galaxy S26 Ultra: which should you buy?
The short answer
The Pixel 11 Pro leads on the screen and is smaller. The Galaxy S26 Ultra leads on battery life and speed, and has the bigger screen. The Pixel 11 Pro costs £180 more than the Samsung.
Comparing 2 phones
Pixel 11 ProOverall score 88/100
Galaxy S26 UltraOverall score 92/100
What the extra money buys
The Pixel 11 Pro costs £180 more than the Samsung.
You get: a brighter screen, a sharper selfie camera and a smaller body.
You give up: faster charging by cable, a higher-resolution main camera, a faster chip and a bigger screen.
Worth it if you want a brighter screen and a sharper selfie camera. Keep the money if faster charging by cable matters more to you.
Differences in daily life
Battery and charging
Best: Galaxy S26 UltraThe Galaxy S26 Ultra charges faster by cable (60 W vs 30 W on the Pixel), so it tops up quicker with a compatible charger.
Screen
Best: Pixel 11 ProThe Pixel 11 Pro has the brighter screen (3,600 nits vs 2,600 nits on the Samsung), so it is easier to read in strong sunlight.
Camera
Depends on youThe Galaxy S26 Ultra's main camera has more megapixels (200 MP vs 50 MP on the Pixel), so photos can capture more fine detail in good light.
The Pixel 11 Pro's selfie camera has more megapixels (42 MP vs 12 MP on the Samsung), so selfies and video calls can look more detailed.
Speed
Best: Galaxy S26 UltraThe Galaxy S26 Ultra's chip (Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5) scores higher in benchmark tests than the one in the Pixel (Google Tensor G6), so it should feel quicker in demanding apps and games.
Size and weight
Depends on youThe Pixel 11 Pro is smaller overall (152.7 × 71.9 mm vs 163.6 × 78.1 mm on the Samsung), so it is easier to reach across with one hand.
The Galaxy S26 Ultra has the bigger screen (6.9 inches vs 6.3 inches on the Pixel), which gives more room for videos, maps and reading.
Still can't decide?
Up to 3 quick questions, one tap each.
Scores
| Score | Pixel 11 Pro | Galaxy S26 Ultra |
|---|---|---|
| Battery | 70 | 78 |
| Screen | 93 | 91 |
| Camera | 95 | 97 |
| Speed | 85 | 94 |
| Toughness | 92 | 95 |
| Connections and extras | 95 | 95 |
| Overall | 88 | 92 |
How these scores are made: Each score is calculated from the maker's published specs and benchmark results, using one fixed formula for every phone. We have not tested these phones in the hand. How we score phones
Specs side by side
Display
- Type
- LTPO OLEDDynamic LTPO AMOLED 2X
- Size
- 6.3 inches6.9 inches
- Resolution
- 1280 × 2856 pixels1440 × 3120 pixels
- PPI
- 497500
- Aspect ratio
- 20:919.5:9
- Screen-to-body ratio
- 87 %≈ 90.7 %
- Display features
- Capacitive Touchscreen HDR10+ Multi-touch displayCapacitive Touchscreen, HDR10+, Multi-touch display
- Max rated brightness
- 3600 nits2600 nits
- Screen protection
- Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2, Mohs level 4Corning Gorilla Armor 2 Glass, DX anti-reflective coating, Mohs level 6, Privacy Display
Core Specifications
- Chipset
- Google Tensor G6Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5
- CPU cores
- 78
- Fabrication Technology
- 3 nm3 nm
- CPU max frequency
- 4.11 GHz4.74 GHz
- Microarchitecture
- 1x 4.11 GHz – ARM C1-Ultra 4x 3.38 GHz – ARM C1-Pro 2x 2.65 GHz – ARM C1-Pro2x 4.74 GHz – Oryon V3 Phoenix L, 6x 3.62 GHz – Oryon V3 Phoenix M
- GPU
- IMG PowerVR CXTP-48-1536Qualcomm Adreno 840 @1.20 GHz
Software
- Operating System
- Android 17 (Cinnamon Bun) , with up to 7 major OS updatesAndroid 16 (Baklava), with up to 7 major Android upgrades
Main Camera
- Matrix
- 50 MP200 MP
- Video Resolution
- 4320p @ 24/30 fps 2160p @ 24/30/60 fps 1080p @ 24/30/60/120/240 fps4320p @ 24/30 fps, 2160p @30/60/120 fps, 1080p @30/60/120/240 fps
- Video Features
- 10-bit HDR, Gyro-EIS, Optical Image Stabilization (OIS)10-bit HDR, Gyro-EIS, HDR10+, Stereo Sound Rec
- Features
- Best Take Multi-zone Laser Autofocus (AF) Panorama Pixel Shift Ultra HDR Zoom EnhanceAuto-HDR, Best Face, Horizon Lock, Laser Autofocus, Panorama
- Lenses
- 50 MP , ƒ /1.7, 25 mm ( Wide angle ), 1.2 μm , 1/1.3" Sensor size Multi-Directional PDAF Optical Image Stabilization (OIS) 48 MP , ƒ /2.8, 106 mm ( Periscope telephoto ), x5 Optical zoom, 1/1.95" Sensor size Dual-Pixel PDAF Optical Image Stabilization (OIS) 48 MP , ƒ /1.7, 123° ( Ultra-wide angle ), 1/2.51" Sensor size Dual-Pixel PDAF200 MP, ƒ/1.4, 24 mm ( Wide-angle ), 0.6 μm, 1/1.3" Sensor size - Multi-Directional PDAF - Optical Image Stabilization (OIS) 10 MP, ƒ/2.4, 67 mm ( Telephoto ), 1.12 μm, x3 optical zoom, 1/3.52" Sensor size - Optical Image Stabilization (OIS) - PDAF 50 MP, ƒ/2.9, 111 mm ( Periscope telephoto ), 0.7 μm, x5 optical zoom, 1/2.52" Sensor size - Optical Image Stabilization (OIS) - PDAF 50 MP, ƒ/1.9, 13 mm, 120° ( Ultra-Wide angle ), 0.7 μm - Dual-Pixel PDAF - Super Steady Video
Selfie camera
- Matrix
- 42 MP12 MP
- Lenses
- 42 MP , ƒ /2.2, 103° ( Ultra-wide angle ) PDAFSingle camera: 12 MP (Wide angle) 1.12 μm, 1/3.2" Sensor size, - Dual-Pixel PDAF
- Video Resolution
- 2160p @ 30/60 fps 1080p @ 30/60 fps2160p @ 30/60 fps 1080p @ 30 fps
- Video Features
- N/AHDR10+ High Dynamic Range (HDR)
- Features
- High Dynamic Range (HDR) PanoramaDual-Pixel PDAF
General
- Announced
- Wednesday, 12 August 2026Wednesday, 25 February 2026
- Released
- Thursday, 20 August 2026Friday, 06 March 2026
Battery
- Capacity
- 4850 mAh5000 mAh
- Wired charging power
- 30 W60 W
- Fast charging support
- N/AYes
- Features
- Bypass charging Qi2.2 wireless charging Qi2 wireless charging Reverse wired charging Wired charging from 0-55% in 30 minutes (as advertised) Wireless magnetic chargingQi2.2 wireless charging, Reverse wireless charging, Wired charging from 0-75% in 30 minutes (as advertised)
Design
- Height
- 152.7 mm163.6 mm
- Width
- 71.9 mm78.1 mm
- Thickness
- 8.4 mm7.9 mm
- Weight
- 204 g214 g
Network
- SIM cards
- Dual SIM (Nano-SIM + eSIM) Dual SIM (eSIM + eSIM)Dual SIM (Nano-SIM + Nano-SIM + eSIM + eSIM)
- Network Type support
- 5G, LTE, HSPA5G, LTE (CA), HSPA
- Network_5G bands
- 5G: n1 (2100), n2 (1900), n3 (1800), n5 (850), n7 (2600), n8 (900), n12 (700), n13 (700), n14 (700), n20 (800), n25 (1900), n26 (850), n28 (700), n29 (700), n30 (2300), n38 (2600), n40 (2300), n41 (2500), n48 (3500), n66 (2100), n70 (2000), n71 (600), n75 (1500), n77 (3700), n78 (3500), n79 (4700), n258 (26000), n260 (39000), n261 (28000 MHz)n1, n2, n3, n5, n7, n8, n12, n20, n25, n26, n28, n38, n40, n41, n66, n71, n75, n77, n78, n257, n258, n260, n261
- Network_4G bands
- LTE: b1 (2100), b2 (1900), b3 (1800), b4 (1700), b5 (850), b7 (2600), b8 (900), b12 (700), b13 (700), b14 (700), b17 (700), b18 (800), b19 (800), b20 (800), b21 (1500), b25 (1900), b26 (850), b28 (700), b29 (700), b30 (2300), b32 (1500), b38 (2600), b39 (1900), b40 (2300), b41 (2500), b42 (3500), b48 (3800), b66 (1700), b71 (600 MHz)b1, b2, b3, b4, b5, b7, b8, b12, b13, b14, b17, b18, b19, b20, b25, b26, b28, b29, b30, b32, b38, b39, b40, b41, b48, b66, b71
- Network_3G bands
- HSPA: 850 / 900 / 1700 / 1900 / 2100 / 800 MHzHSPA: 850 / 900 / 1700 / 1900 / 2100 MHz
- Network_2G bands
- GSM: 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 MHzGSM: 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 MHz, CDMA: 800 / 1900 MHz
Connectivity
- WiFi support
- Yes ( Wi-Fi 7 )Yes (Wi-Fi 7)
- USB ports
- USB Type-C 3.2USB Type-C 3.2, DisplayPort 1.2
- GPS features
- BDS, GALILEO, GLONASS, GPS (L1 & L5), NavIC, QZSSBDS, GALILEO, GLONASS, GPS, QZSS
- Wi-Fi features
- Tri-bandTri-band, Wi-Fi Direct
Multimedia
- Audio type
- Stereo speakersHigh-bitrate audio support, Stereo speakers