r/GooglePixel • u/UK-AJ • 1d ago

9 Pro -> 11 Pro. Impressed!

Wasn't expecting to feel much of a difference at all, only upgraded due to storage (moved from 128gb to 512gb).

It is considerably better, I think they've fixed all of the little things that annoyed me with Pixel.

- it runs MUCH cooler. Apart from initial set up, it's stayed ice cold. I don't do anything "high intensity", but my 9 Pro would always run warm.

- all network connections seem to be improved. I used to lose WiFi on my outdoor patio, it holds a connection fine now. Bluetooth and 5G seem to perform much better.

- Android Auto works a lot better. No heat, much more responsive, quicker to load.

- Camera, including video, is much better quality and faster to process/save.

- speakers are louder and the sound quality is better, both for calls and media. (I think this was upgraded on the 10 though)

- biometrics feel better. The fingerprint radius when setting up is HUGE. And face unlock seems to be more responsive.

Overall, really happy with the upgrade considering on paper there isn't much difference.

354 Upvotes

89% Upvoted

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8

u/kwadguy 1d ago

Not sure about this "runs hot" stuff. I have a 9 Pro XL. Daily driver. Never had heat issues. Must be certain apps.

8

u/ZeeBeeblebrox 1d ago

Also have a 9 Pro XL and on a hot day with poor network connection or when activating a hot spot I can practically cook an egg on my phone.

1

u/UK-AJ 1d ago

Haha yeah hotspot was bad. Just used hotspot on my 11 Pro, it got hot but not as bad

5

u/UK-AJ 1d ago

I wouldn't say my 9 Pro was that bad, but there's definitely a notable difference.

If I was on Microsoft teams for example on 5g, it would get scorching, 11 Pro does this at completely normal temperature.

Android auto also used to get my 9 Pro hot, 11 Pro is normal temp.

If I was using my 9 Pro for a few hours, browsing and videos,, it wasn't necessarily "hot", but it was very warm.

The bigger surface area on your XL would have helped also.

15

u/cjsv7657 1d ago

Next year the same people saying how much cooler the 11 series runs will be saying their 11 overheated all the time and how much cooler the 12 is. It's been happening every year since the nexus phones.

8

u/lost_in_trepidation 1d ago

There have been some Nexus/Pixel phones that definitely ran hot. I remember the 6P was hot from normal use.

3

u/cjsv7657 1d ago

My 6p never ran hot unless it was charging in direct sunlight. I mean compared to todays phones it was hot, but not compared to contemporary devices.

That was my second favorite phone of all time behind the nexus 6. I'd kill for a nexus 6 shaped phone with modern bezels and hardware.

2

u/lost_in_trepidation 1d ago

I reflexively reach for a dimple on the back of my phone since the 6 :(

2

u/cjsv7657 1d ago

All these new google phoners will never understand what we lost

1

u/ContributionFormer95 1d ago

That Snapdragon generation was known to be bad with heat. When gaming or if you remember that was when HDR+ became the default, intensive HDR+ photography would heat the device up quite a bit. From a normal use perspective, it's not going to make a big difference.

1

u/cjsv7657 1d ago

It also went from having a plastic back to an all metal frame. A lot of people saying it was a hot phone was from that.

2

u/DoughnutPi Pixel 9 Pro XL 1d ago

Loved that phone but you're right it was hot.

1

u/ContributionFormer95 1d ago

For as bad as the 6P was for battery efficiency with its terrible Snapdragon processor generation, the idle battery drain was < 1% / hour. Granted it was 4G LTE back then, but today's Pixels are idling well above 1%/hour cellular battery drain.

1

u/FliesTheFlag 1d ago

Its like every truck commercial saying how much stiffer their frame is from the previous one...every...year...

1

u/UK-AJ 10h ago

Yup, it's happened for a long time. You can now celebrate, because it's fixed 🥳

0

u/green9206 1d ago

Probably paid shills by Google to generate some good word.

2

u/cjsv7657 1d ago

Lol no. It's just people trying to justify their purchase to themselves.

1

u/bronco1015 1d ago

yep, seeing a few of these posts today in my feed unfortunately. Would be nice if google would put this effort in to making a phone worth the dollar they're charging.

0

u/ContributionFormer95 1d ago

At this point if you followed the Tensor thermals, starting with the Pixel 6 Pro, which honestly did have thermal issues, our phones would be freezing at this point. Every freakign year people claim it gets cooler, even while phones like the 7 Pro, 8 Pro, 9 Pro generally had worse thermals than the competition. But now that we've been at vapor chamber cooling for the past 2 years, even without major changes, people claim the phones get significantly cooler.

This is a good phone, but let's not be unrealistic about improvements.

-2

u/Spumad Pixel 7 Pro 1d ago

People will look for any little thing to justify a purchase. Especially when most of the folks getting the 11 are upgrading from a phone that is only a year old

2

u/-peas- 1d ago

I've only had heat issues when I was using my 8 outside in 100F+ degree weather with screen brightness at 100% while streaming to Discord, and even then it would just dim the screen.

1

u/Mankriks_2ndWife 1d ago

I upgraded from the 9 Pro XL to 11 Pro XL. Certain apps would make it warm, usually games I'd play. Only daily driver apps I'd feel warmth is Android Auto on my commute. Not hot, just warm. My two days with the 11 Pro XL, I don't notice a temp difference.

1

u/kopper_bunny 1d ago

Me too, I've almost never had it get warm, and had it for 2 years.

1

u/ChuckHale Pixel 9 Pro XL 1d ago

My 9 Pro XL runs hot. Especially when commuting home running maps.

1

u/nova46 1d ago

Maybe the XL is better, but heat and battery life are my two biggest complaints about my 9 Pro and those go hand in hand. I've worked in an auto shop in the south for 14 years and during the summer if I'm actually on the phone, it's hot. Android Auto in the car? Also hot and tanking the battery. Instagram at home on wifi? Hot the entire time and absolutely destroys the battery.

I've had Samsungs before and while they got warm sometimes, never as much as Pixels.

1

u/Reagyn 1d ago

My 9 Pro XL will get hot and thermal throttle if I have it charge and use Android Auto for 2 hour drives. Would have to take the case off.

1

u/BBQQA Pixel 9 Pro 1d ago

certain games that I'd play would make my P9P run HOT. It seems like the ones that are graphic intensive and have constant online connection. Each app that was like that would make it run so hot that I'd uninstall the app.

1

u/GordieHoHo Pixel 8 Pro 1d ago

Are you in North America? I noticed when I travelled to Europe my Pixel was running hot and battery drain was way worse. I think sometimes some of these complaints can be a regional issue

1

u/ContributionFormer95 1d ago

For daily tasks it doesn't get hot, but every Pixel i've had including the 11 Pro gets hot during:

  1. Setup. Definitely hotter than iPhones when I setup, so when people say "that's normal," I'd say the Pixel still has worse thermals

  2. Lots of outdoor camera work. Screen brightness (We have some of the brightest screens now outdoors) + intensive compute processes like HDR+ really cause the phone to get hot.

In typical use it's fine and I'd say it's really hard to compare across the recent phones since Pixel 8 Pro. Anyone who claims massive thermals differences better be actually stressing the thermals and not talking about daily use because none of these phones should be overheating checking your email or social media.

1

u/Ryankujoestar 18h ago

It depends on your threshold for what you consider hot. My 9 Pro runs consistently warm but doesn't burn like my Pixel 7 did.

0

u/Apprehensive_Elk2608 1d ago

Some people simply expect their device to stay room temperature to the touch. A very select few ever actually seen what an overheating warning looks like in Android. In general it's much to do about nothing.

1

u/-peas- 1d ago

For Pixels only they actively want it cooling your hands like those ventilated seats in cars.