Pixel 11 fans crave one upgrade most, and it's not the one Google seems to be chasing

We asked what you most want from the Pixel 11 series, and it wasn't close. A bigger battery ran away with it, faster wired charging took second, and the low-light face unlock fix Google is reportedly chasing came in dead last. Coming off a Pixel 10 that already beats the iPhone 17 on battery life in our tests, that order tracks.

What you told us about the Pixel 11

Out of those of you who voted, a bigger battery took a runaway lead, and the gap was wide.

Here's how you ranked them:

• Larger battery, at 63.2%
• Faster wired charging, at 25.88%
• Improved Face Unlock lighting, at 10.92%

The vote ran alongside our look at a quiet improvement Google slipped into Android 17 for Pixels, so plenty of voters were already eyeing the next Pixel.

Why battery and charging beat everything else

The order makes sense given where today's Pixels actually struggle. In our Pixel 10 review, the phone posted a strong 21 hours in our web browsing test, but its gaming endurance dropped to around five hours, so heavy users still feel the squeeze even on a nearly 5,000 mAh cell. A bigger battery really means closing that gap.

Charging tells a similar story. The base Pixel 10 tops out at 30W wired, and early rumors suggest the Pixel 11 likely holds at that same speed. The Galaxy S26 Ultra already does 60W, though, and some Chinese phones push 100W, so it's easy to see why faster charging took second.

The face unlock fix readers care least about

The most telling result, though, is the one at the bottom. The low-light face unlock upgrade Google is reportedly building under the name Project Toscana is the exact feature that finished last. It's a real Pixel weak spot, since the camera system struggles in the dark, but only about one in ten of you put it up top.

So if you're holding out for an iPhone-style face unlock as the Pixel 11's headline feature, you're in the minority. Most Pixel owners would rather Google spend that effort on the basics first.

Where I'd point Google next

I find it difficult to argue with how you voted. Google has a habit of quietly slipping in niche extras, like the hidden audio codec it just tucked into Android 17, and those are nice to have, but they aren't what most people are asking for. A bigger battery and a faster charge are unglamorous, sure, yet they're the things you notice every day.

If I had Google's ear, I'd want the Pixel 11 to put endurance and charging front and center, and save the clever stuff once the basics are solid.

• See how the current flagship holds up in our Pixel 10 Pro XL review.
• Still deciding which Google phone to grab today? Here are our picks for the best Pixel phones.
• For more hot takes and behind-the-scenes coverage, follow me on X and Threads.

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