Phone comparison · UK prices · October 2026
Pixel 11 or Galaxy S26: which should you buy?
The short answer
The Pixel 11 leads on battery life and the camera. The Galaxy S26 leads on speed and is thinner and lighter. We have no current UK price for the Galaxy S26.
Comparing 2 phones
Pixel 11Overall score 86/100
Galaxy S26Overall score 87/100
Differences in daily life
Battery and charging
Best: Pixel 11The Pixel 11 has the bigger battery (4,985 mAh vs 4,300 mAh on the Samsung), which may help it last longer between charges.
It also charges faster without a cable (25 W vs 15 W on the Samsung), so cable-free top-ups are quicker.
Screen
EvenBoth have similar peak brightness (3,000 nits and 2,600 nits) and similar sharpness (422 ppi and 411 ppi), close enough not to matter much day to day.
Camera
Best: Pixel 11The Pixel 11's zoom lens reaches further (5x vs 3x on the Samsung), for closer shots of faraway subjects.
Speed
Best: Galaxy S26The Galaxy S26's chip (Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 (United States), Samsung Exynos 2600 (International)) 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
Best: Galaxy S26The Galaxy S26 is thinner (7.2 mm vs 8.6 mm on the Pixel), so it feels slimmer in the hand.
It is also lighter (167 g vs 197 g on the Pixel), so it is easier to hold and carry.
Still can't decide?
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Scores
| Score | Pixel 11 | Galaxy S26 |
|---|---|---|
| Battery | 72 | 64 |
| Screen | 86 | 88 |
| Camera | 89 | 89 |
| Speed | 85 | 94 |
| Toughness | 92 | 92 |
| Connections and extras | 91 | 93 |
| Overall | 86 | 87 |
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
- OLEDDynamic LTPO AMOLED 2X
- Resolution
- 1080 × 24241080 × 2340
- PPI
- 422411
- Aspect ratio
- 20:919.5:9
- Screen-to-body ratio
- 86.190
- Max rated brightness
- 30002600
- Screen protection
- Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2, Mohs level 4Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2, Mohs level 5
Core Specifications
- Chipset
- Google Tensor G6Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 (United States), Samsung Exynos 2600 (International)
- CPU cores
- 78 (United States), 10 (International)
- Fabrication Technology
- 3 nm3 nm (United States), 2 nm (International)
- CPU max frequency
- 4.11 GHz4.6 GHz (United States), 3.8 GHz (International)
- Microarchitecture
- 1x 4.11 GHz – ARM C1-Ultra, 4x 3.38 GHz – ARM C1-Pro, 2x 2.65 GHz – ARM C1-Pro2x 4.6 GHz – Oryon V3 Phoenix L, 6x 3.62 GHz – Oryon V3 Phoenix M (United States), 1x 3.8 GHz – C1-Ultra 3x 3.25 GHz – C1-Pro 6x 2.75 GHz – C1-Pro (International)
- GPU
- IMG PowerVR CXTP-48-1536Qualcomm Adreno 840 @1.20 GHz (United States), Samsung Xclipse 960 @985 MHz (International)
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
- 4850
- Video Resolution
- 2160p @ 24/30/60 fps, 1080p @ 24/30/60/120/240 fps4320p @ 24/30 fps, 2160p @ 30/60 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 HDRAuto-HDR, Best Face, Horizon Lock, Panorama
- Lenses
- 48 MP, ƒ/1.7, 24 mm (Wide angle), 1.0 μm, 1/1.56" Sensor size, 10.8 MP, ƒ/3.1, 112 mm (Telephoto), x5 Optical zoom, 1/3.2" Sensor size, Dual-Pixel PDAF, Optical Image Stabilization (OIS), 13 MP, ƒ/2.2, 120° (Ultra-wide angle), 1/3.1" Sensor size, PDAF50 MP, ƒ/1.8, 24 mm ( Wide angle ), 1.0 μm, 1/1.56" Sensor size, - Optical Image Stabilization (OIS), - predictive dual pixel (PDAF) 10 MP, ƒ/2.4, 67 mm ( Telephoto ), 1.0 μm, x3 Optical zoom, 1/3.94" Sensor size - Optical Image Stabilization (OIS) - predictive dual pixel (PDAF) 12 MP, ƒ/2.2, 13 mm, 120° ( Ultra-wide angle ), 1.4 μm, 1/2.55" Sensor size - Super Steady Video
Selfie camera
- Matrix
- 10.512
- Lenses
- 10.5 MP, ƒ/2.2, 20 mm (Ultra-wide angle)12 MP, ƒ/2.2, 26 mm ( Wide angle ), 1.12 μm, 1/3.2" Sensor size, predictive dual pixel (PDAF)
- Video Resolution
- 2160p @ 30/60 fps, 1080p @ 30/60 fps2160p @ 30/60 fps, 1080p @ 30 fps
- Video Features
- High Dynamic Range (HDR)HDR10+ High Dynamic Range (HDR)
- Features
- Panoramapredictive dual pixel PDAF
General
- Announced
- Wednesday, 12 August 2026Wednesday, 25 February 2026
- Released
- Thursday, 20 August 2026Friday, 06 March 2026
Battery
- Capacity
- 49854300
- Wired charging power
- 30 W25 W
- Wireless charging power
- 25 W15 W
- Features
- Bypass charging, Qi2.2 wireless charging, Reverse wired charging, Wired charging from 0-55% in 30 minutes (as advertised), Wireless magnetic chargingQi2 wireless charging, Reverse wireless charging, Wired charging from 0-55% in 30 minutes (as advertised)
Design
- Height
- 152.8149.6
- Width
- 7271.7
- Thickness
- 8.67.2
- Weight
- 197167
Network
- SIM cards
- Dual SIM (Nano-SIM + eSIM), Dual SIM (eSIM + eSIM)Dual SIM
- Network Type support
- 5G, LTE, HSPA5G, LTE (CA), HSPA
- Network_5G bands
- n1, n2, n3, n5, n7, n8, n12, n13, n14, n20, n25, n26, n28, n29, n30, n38, n40, n41, n48, n66, n70, n71, n75, n77, n78, n79, n258, n260, n261n1, n2, n3, n5, n7, n8, n12, n20, n25, n26, n28, n38, n40, n41, n66, n71, n75, n77, n78
- Network_4G bands
- b1, b2, b3, b4, b5, b7, b8, b12, b13, b14, b17, b18, b19, b20, b21, b25, b26, b28, b29, b30, b32, b38, b39, b40, b41, b42, b48, b66, b71b1, 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 6)Yes (Wi-Fi 7)
- Bluetooth support
- Yes, v6.0Yes, v5.4
- 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 standards
- 802.11/a/b/g/n/ac/ax802.11/a/b/g/n/ac/ax/be
- Wi-Fi features
- Tri-bandTri-band, Wi-Fi Direct
Multimedia
- Audio type
- Stereo speakersHigh-bitrate audio support, Stereo speakers