Phone comparison · UK prices · October 2026
Galaxy S26 FE or Pixel 11: which should you buy?
The short answer
The Galaxy S26 FE is thinner and has the bigger screen. The Pixel 11 leads on the screen, the camera and speed, and is smaller. The Pixel 11 costs £68 more than the Samsung.
Comparing 2 phones
Galaxy S26 FEOverall score 83/100
Pixel 11Overall score 86/100
What the extra money buys
The Pixel 11 costs £68 more than the Samsung.
You get: faster wireless charging, a brighter screen, a longer zoom and more memory (RAM).
You give up: faster charging by cable, a bigger screen and a thinner body.
Worth it if you want faster wireless charging and a brighter screen. Keep the money if faster charging by cable matters more to you.
Differences in daily life
Battery and charging
Depends on youThe Galaxy S26 FE charges faster by cable (45 W vs 30 W on the Pixel), so it tops up quicker with a compatible charger.
The Pixel 11 charges faster without a cable (25 W vs 15 W on the Samsung), so cable-free top-ups are quicker.
Screen
Best: Pixel 11The Pixel 11 has the brighter screen (3,000 nits vs 1,900 nits on the Samsung), so it is easier to read in strong sunlight.
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: Pixel 11The Pixel 11 has more memory (12GB vs 8GB on the Samsung), which helps it keep more apps open at once.
Size and weight
Depends on youThe Pixel 11 is smaller overall (152.8 × 72 mm vs 161.6 × 76.9 mm on the Samsung), so it is easier to reach across with one hand.
The Galaxy S26 FE has the bigger screen (6.7 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 | Galaxy S26 FE | Pixel 11 |
|---|---|---|
| Battery | 74 | 72 |
| Screen | 82 | 86 |
| Camera | 85 | 89 |
| Speed | 87 | 85 |
| Toughness | 89 | 92 |
| Connections and extras | 82 | 91 |
| Overall | 83 | 86 |
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
- Dynamic AMOLED 2XOLED
- Size
- 6.7 inches6.3 inches
- Resolution
- 1080 × 2340 pixels1080 × 2424 pixels
- PPI
- 385422
- Aspect ratio
- 19.5:920:9
- Screen-to-body ratio
- 88.7 %86.1 %
- Display features
- Capacitive Touchscreen HDR10+ Multi-touch displayCapacitive Touchscreen, HDR10+, Multi-touch display
- Max rated brightness
- 1900 nits3000 nits
- Screen protection
- Corning Gorilla Glass Victus+, Mohs level 5Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2, Mohs level 4
Core Specifications
- Chipset
- Samsung Exynos 2500Google Tensor G6
- CPU cores
- 107
- Fabrication Technology
- 3 nm3 nm
- CPU max frequency
- 3300 MHz4.11 GHz
- Microarchitecture
- 1x 3.3 GHz – Cortex-X925 2x 2.74 GHz – Cortex-A725 5x 2.36 GHz – Cortex-A725 2x 1.8 GHz – Cortex-A5201x 4.11 GHz – ARM C1-Ultra, 4x 3.38 GHz – ARM C1-Pro, 2x 2.65 GHz – ARM C1-Pro
- GPU
- Samsung Xclipse 950IMG PowerVR CXTP-48-1536
- RAM
- 8GB12GB
- Storage
- 128GB, 256GB, 512GB256GB, 512GB
Software
- Operating System
- Android 17 (Cinnamon Bun) , with up to 7 major OS updatesAndroid 17 (Cinnamon Bun), with up to 7 major OS updates
Main Camera
- Matrix
- 50 MP48 MP
- Video Resolution
- 4320p @ 24/30 fps 2160p @ 30/60/120 fps 1080p @ 30/60/120/240 fps2160p @ 24/30/60 fps, 1080p @ 24/30/60/120/240 fps
- Video Features
- Gyro-EIS, HDR10+10-bit HDR, Gyro-EIS, Optical Image Stabilization (OIS)
- Features
- Best Face High Dynamic Range (HDR) PanoramaBest Take, Multi-zone Laser Autofocus (AF), Panorama, Pixel Shift, Ultra HDR
- Lenses
- 50 MP , ƒ /1.8, 24 mm ( Wide angle ), 1.0 μm , 1/1.57" Sensor size Dual-Pixel PDAF Optical Image Stabilization (OIS) 8 MP , ƒ /2.4, 75 mm ( Telephoto ), 1.0 μm , x3 Optical zoom, 1/4.4" Sensor size Optical Image Stabilization (OIS) PDAF 12 MP , ƒ /2.2, 123° ( Ultra-wide angle )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, PDAF
Selfie camera
- Matrix
- 12 MP10.5 MP
- Lenses
- 12 MP , ƒ /2.2, 26 mm ( Wide angle ), 1.12 μm , 1/3.2" Sensor size10.5 MP, ƒ/2.2, 20 mm (Ultra-wide angle)
- Video Resolution
- 2160p @ 30/60 fps 1080p @ 30/60 fps2160p @ 30/60 fps, 1080p @ 30/60 fps
- Video Features
- Gyro-EIS, HDR10+High Dynamic Range (HDR)
- Features
- N/APanorama
General
- Announced
- Thursday, 27 August 2026Wednesday, 12 August 2026
- Released
- Friday, 04 September 2026Thursday, 20 August 2026
Battery
- Capacity
- 4900 mAh4985 mAh
- Wired charging power
- 45 W30 W
- Wireless charging power
- 15 W25 W
- Fast charging support
- N/AYes
- Features
- Qi2 compatible Reverse wireless charging Wired charging from 0-69% in 30 min (as advertised)Bypass charging, Qi2.2 wireless charging, Reverse wired charging, Wired charging from 0-55% in 30 minutes (as advertised), Wireless magnetic charging
Design
- Height
- 161.6 mm152.8 mm
- Width
- 76.9 mm72 mm
- Thickness
- 7.4 mm8.6 mm
- Weight
- 193 g197 g
Network
- SIM cards
- Dual SIM (Nano-SIM + Nano-SIM + eSIM + eSIM)Dual SIM (Nano-SIM + eSIM), Dual SIM (eSIM + eSIM)
- Network_5G bands
- 5G: n1 (2100), n2 (1900), n3 (1800), n5 (850), n7 (2600), n8 (900), n12 (700), n20 (800), n25 (1900), n26 (850), n28 (700), n38 (2600), n40 (2300), n41 (2500), n66 (2100), n75 (1500), n77 (3700), n78 (3500 MHz)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, n261
- Network_4G bands
- LTE: b1 (2100), b2 (1900), b3 (1800), b4 (1700), b5 (850), b7 (2600), b8 (900), b12 (700), b13 (700), b17 (700), b18 (800), b19 (800), b20 (800), b25 (1900), b26 (850), b28 (700), b32 (1500), b38 (2600), b40 (2300), b41 (2500), b66 (1700 MHz)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, b71
- Network_3G bands
- HSPA: 850 / 900 / 1700 / 1900 / 2100 MHzHSPA: 850 / 900 / 1700 / 1900 / 2100 / 800 MHz
Connectivity
- WiFi support
- Yes ( Wi-Fi 6 )Yes (Wi-Fi 6)
- Bluetooth support
- Yes, v5.4Yes, v6.0
- USB ports
- USB Type-C 2.0 USB On-The-GoUSB Type-C 3.2
- GPS features
- BDS, GALILEO, GLONASS, GPSBDS, GALILEO, GLONASS, GPS (L1 & L5), NavIC, QZSS
- Wi-Fi features
- Dual-band or Tri-band: Varies by market or region, Wi-Fi DirectTri-band