Google Pixel 11 Pro XL vs Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra

Looking for a premium Android flagship? The Google Pixel 11 Pro XL and Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra are two compelling options, but they take rather different approaches. Google's latest Pixel emphasizes its camera experience and tightly integrated Google software, while Samsung offers more powerful hardware, a broader feature set, and extras like Privacy Display and the S Pen. And due to the fact that the Galaxy is now the older model, it can now be found at a lower price.

But does Samsung's hardware advantage translate into a better overall experience? And which phone comes out ahead in our camera tests? Let's find out.

Table of Contents:

For starters, you can compare the complete specs sheets or directly continue with our editor's assessment.

Size comparison

When it comes to design, both Google and Samsung seem stuck in their ways. Neither brand goes beyond standard IP68 water resistance, and both continue to refine - or simply recycle - the same design language across generations.

The Pixel 11 Pro XL relies on Gorilla Glass Victus 2 protection and an aluminum frame. Its slightly smaller screen translates to a slightly smaller footprint, but it’s 12 grams heavier and features a far more prominent camera bar than the Ultra.

The Pixel 11 Pro XL also features HiLight, a set of multicolor LEDs inside the camera flash that glow in different patterns when interacting with Gemini or receiving calls from favorite contacts, with customizable colors for each contact. It's a neat idea, but its functionality is surprisingly limited, making it feel more like a gimmick than a genuinely useful feature.

The Galaxy S26 Ultra’s larger display makes it taller and wider, but its lighter weight, superior Gorilla Armor 2 glass, and the more streamlined camera layout make it the cleaner design overall.

Winner: Galaxy S26 Ultra.

Display comparison

The Pixel 11 Pro XL packs a 6.8-inch LTPO OLED with 486ppi pixel density, 120Hz refresh rate, and HDR10+ support. It is protected by Gorilla Glass Victus 2. We measured 2,333 nits of maximum brightness with a 75% fill of the screen and 3,118 nits of peak brightness with a 10% fill.

The Galaxy S26 Ultra features a larger 6.9-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X display with a 500 ppi density, a 120Hz refresh rate, and HDR10+ support.

Just like Google, Samsung did not take the extra step of offering proper 10-bit color depth on its panel. However, it includes things the Pixel does not: a Privacy Display feature and S-Pen support.

The Galaxy screen also offers superior protection with Gorilla Armor 2. Its brightness measurements are less impressive, though still very good: 1,480 nits max brightness with a 75% fill of the screen and 2,800 nits peak with a 10% fill of the screen.

Winner: Galaxy S26 Ultra. The Pixel gets considerably brighter in our tests, but the Galaxy counters with better anti-reflective properties, Gorilla Armor 2 protection, Privacy Display and S Pen integration.

Battery life

The Pixel 11 Pro XL is powered by a 5,115mAh, while the Galaxy S26 Ultra has a 5,000mAh cell. The two phones posted similar Active Use Scores on our battery life tests – 16:45h vs 16:23h. The Pixel offers longer web browsing endurance, while the Galaxy has longer call time.

Winner: Tie.

Charging speed

The Pixel 11 Pro XL supports up to 45W fast wired charging and up to 25W fast wireless charging, and most importantly, it has the needed magnets integrated. It's got a new Extreme Charging mode, which can be enabled for individual charging sessions when the battery level is below 50%, and it will provide a more aggressive charging curve. The charging speeds we've listed are achieved with this Extreme charging mode turned on.

The Galaxy S26 Ultra supports up to 60W fast wired charging and up to 25W wireless charging, but it requires the use of a case with magnets to reach that.

Winner: Galaxy S26 Ultra. Both phones have similar battery capacities, but since the Galaxy S26 Ultra achieved a higher charging speed than the Pixel 11 Pro XL, it deserved the win here.

Speaker test

Both the Pixel 11 Pro XL and the Galaxy S26 Ultra offer hybrid stereo speaker setups where the earpiece is pulling a double duty.

The speakers on both devices earned a Very Good rating in our loudness test. Both phones deliver superb vocals and an overall rich sound profile. The Pixel offers better high-frequency presentation, while the Galaxy delivers stronger low frequencies.

Winner: Tie.

Performance

The Pixel 11 Pro XL employs the 3nm Tensor G6. With this new chipset, Google promises better efficiency and a 50% increase in AI computational power.

The GPU at hand is IMG CXTP-48-1536 by Imagination. It doesn't use a competitive flagship architecture, so it has worse support across game developers compared to other phones and does not even support ray tracing for realistic rendering of shadows and light sources in games.

Memory-wise, the Pixel 11 Pro XL relies on either 12GB or 16GB of RAM, depending on the storage configuration. The base 256GB storage comes with 12GB of RAM, and only the 512GB and 1TB variants get 16GB of RAM.

The Galaxy S26 Ultra doesn't run on the regular flagship SoC from Qualcomm. It employs an overclocked version of the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, and Samsung calls it SD 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy, or SM8850-AD. The "AD" suffix indicates that the main 2x Oryon V3 Phoenix L cores are clocked at 4.74 GHz instead of 4.6 GHz.

The Adreno 840 GPU is also clocked higher. The AD version of the SoC should have its Adreno 840 clocked at 1300 MHz, as opposed to 1200 MHz on the vanilla AC version.

The available memory configurations for the Galaxy S26 Ultra are 12GB/256GB, 12GB/512GB and 16GB/1TB.

Benchmark performance

As we established, the Galaxy S26 Ultra has the more powerful hardware platform, so it’s not a surprise the Galaxy scores a lot better across all of our benchmark tests.

Winner: Galaxy S26 Ultra. The two manufacturers have taken completely different routes with their choice of silicon for these two phones, and the Galaxy has more advanced and more powerful hardware.

Software

The two phones offer distinctly different takes on Android. Google's Pixel interface has its own design language and tight integration with Google's services, while Samsung's One UI offers more extensive customization, multitasking features, and DeX for a desktop-like experience on an external display.

Both manufacturers also put AI features front and center. Their capabilities have reached a considerable degree of parity, although each offers a handful of proprietary features that you won't find on the other, but we wouldn't say these few features are key selling points.

Both manufacturers promise seven years of OS and security updates and have a solid track record of delivering timely updates. Ultimately, the choice largely comes down to personal preference and how much you value Samsung's additional functionality.

Winner: Tie.

Camera comparison

The two phones take different approaches to their camera systems. The Galaxy S26 Ultra has a dedicated 3x telephoto camera in addition to its 5x unit, while the Pixel 11 Pro XL makes do with a single 5x telephoto featuring a substantially larger sensor. Their main and ultrawide sensors are more closely matched.

They have a different approach to the front-facing cameras - the Galaxy's selfie camera is wider this year, at 23mm, but the Pixel is in ultrawide territory with its 17mm lens (18mm as per the EXIF), and the sensors are also different - a conventional 12MP on the Galaxy, a Quad Bayer-type one on the Pixel (not that that in itself will make much of a difference).

Image quality

Daylight

Main camera photos from the two phones in daylight at 1x carry characteristic traits of each brand's processing, but they're also quite similar too. The Pixel has a grainy detail rendition but it just might have an actual advantage in resolved detail, small as it may be. The Galaxy, meanwhile, has a bit more saturation and warmth in its colors.

Daylight comparison, main camera (1x): Pixel 11 Pro XL • Galaxy S26 Ultra

Detail at 2x is particularly disappointing from the Pixel, and the Galaxy has a somewhat significant advantage here. That's not to say that it's actually good when compared to the industry-leading efforts; it's just that the Pixel is not very good.

Daylight comparison, main camera (2x): Pixel 11 Pro XL • Galaxy S26 Ultra

We've seen on previous occasions that the Galaxy's 3x camera is hardly an asset and that gets proven once more in this comparison against the Pixel.

At 3x, the 11 Pro XL shoots composites, merging a center of the frame image sourced from its telephoto with a periphery sourced from the main camera. Sure, there's a relatively visible (not necessarily in-your-face) difference in sharpness between the two areas, but the center where your subject is most likely going to be, is nicely sharp, which you can't say about the Galaxy's images from its dedicated 3x camera.

So despite having a dedicated 3x telephoto camera, the Galaxy doesn't consistently outperform the Pixel at that zoom level. Google's image processing allows it to produce surprisingly competitive 3x photos without a dedicated camera.

Daylight samples, telephoto camera (3x): Pixel 11 Pro XL • Galaxy S26 Ultra

The 5x zoom cameras have different takes on detail rendition - the Pixel shots are grittier but likely finer in their presentation, while the Galaxy's sharpening is more heavy-handed. We'd prefer the Pixel take, but it's a small difference, and it just might be subjective.

Daylight comparison, telephoto camera (5x): Pixel 11 Pro XL • Galaxy S26 Ultra

Oddly enough, the Galaxy takes a relatively convincing victory at 10x, at least in brightly lit outdoor scenes - here its detail is noticeably better defined. Then again, dimmer indoor scenes are inferior on the S26 Ultra.

Daylight comparison, telephoto camera (10x): Pixel 11 Pro XL • Galaxy S26 Ultra

There are nuances between the ultrawides too, though they're about as inconsequential as they come. The Pixel's detail is grittier and there's a bit of noise in there as well, while the Galaxy's images are smoother and ever so slightly less detailed. The Galaxy's greens do tend to be more lush, though it's not like the Pixel's shots are starved for color.

Daylight comparison, ultrawide camera (0.5x): Pixel 11 Pro XL • Galaxy S26 Ultra

Low light

In the dark, the main cameras don't produce dramatically different images either. The Pixel's color rendition with certain types of street lighting leans towards yellow a little, while the Galaxy is a touch more neutral. Detail is comparable too.

Low-light comparison, main camera (1x): Pixel 11 Pro XL • Galaxy S26 Ultra

The Galaxy has a distinctly different rendition in the dedicated Night mode in many scenes and it may pay off to try with and without it to see what gets you the image you're after. The Pixel doesn't really show that much of a difference between full auto and Night Sight.

Low-light comparison, main camera (1x), Night mode: Pixel 11 Pro XL • Galaxy S26 Ultra

The Galaxy has a pronounced detail advantage at 2x, though there's plenty of noise to go with it and some may not like it. The Galaxy's Night mode does clean up that noise, but it comes with some drawbacks itself.

Low-light comparison, main camera (2x): Pixel 11 Pro XL • Galaxy S26 Ultra

Low-light comparison, main camera (2x), Night mode: Pixel 11 Pro XL • Galaxy S26 Ultra

The Pixel is doing just fine at 3x too even though it doesn't have a 3x camera - we'd say it actually outperforms the Galaxy's 3x shooter every now and then. The Galaxy does liven up a bit in Night mode, but that doesn't really affect the balance all that much.

Low-light samples, telephoto camera (3x): Pixel 11 Pro XL • Galaxy S26 Ultra

Low-light samples, telephoto camera (3x), Night mode: Pixel 11 Pro XL • Galaxy S26 Ultra

The gap in white balance widens further at 5x, the Pixel rendering those buildings a lot yellower than they are, while the Galaxy is staying conservative and neutral. The Pixel does have somewhat of a detail advantage and its overall exposures and dynamic range paint a more likeable picture than the Galaxy's dim and desaturated take. Some more deliberate Night mode action does help the Galaxy.

Low-light comparison, telephoto camera (5x): Pixel 11 Pro XL • Galaxy S26 Ultra

Low-light comparison, telephoto camera (5x), Night mode: Pixel 11 Pro XL • Galaxy S26 Ultra

The Pixel is better at 10x as well, when shooting in full Auto, though the Galaxy does narrow the gap in Night mode.

Low-light comparison, telephoto camera (10x): Pixel 11 Pro XL • Galaxy S26 Ultra

Low-light comparison, telephoto camera (10x), Night mode: Pixel 11 Pro XL • Galaxy S26 Ultra

As we noted in a couple of Pixel 11 Pro vs. Pixel 10 Pro comparisons, the latest Pixels appear to be doing a worse job on their ultrawides in low light compared to the previous generation. So what would have been a toss-up between the S26 Ultra and the Pixel 10 Pro XL, has now turned into somewhat of a victory for the Samsung. It's fairly consistent across various scenes too, though it's not a massive difference.

Low-light comparison, ultrawide camera (0.5x): Pixel 11 Pro XL • Galaxy S26 Ultra

Low-light comparison, ultrawide camera (0.5x), Night mode: Pixel 11 Pro XL • Galaxy S26 Ultra

Selfies

On the selfie front, the Pixel wins for coverage, its 18mm(ish) lens allowing a lot more in the frame. The Galaxy's 23mm lens isn't as wide, but it's arguably wide enough, and the S26 Ultra selfies are higher quality, in good light, and at night. Both feature AF, which can be handy for shots at shorter distances.

Selfies comparison: Pixel 11 Pro XL • Galaxy S26 Ultra

Video quality

Even with the new generation of Pixel now out, the Galaxy's video recording feature set remains more expansive. The S26 Ultra has a fairly decent Pro video mode, while the Pixel doesn't go much further than a point-and-shoot experience. The Pixel needs to resort to cloud-based processing to give you 8K, and it doesn't record 4K120 - the Galaxy will happily do 4K120 and will also encode 8K locally, though we're not sure just how important either of those is. The Galaxy also features the pro-grade APV codec (Advanced Professional Video) and the super-stable Horizon Lock mode.

The Pixel has a bit of an advantage in sharpness when looking at the ultrawide videos. At 1x, things are nearly identical, though the Galaxy's higher contrast might be giving it an edge. Neither phone's 2x is too great, but they're about on par. While the Pixel is doing just fine in stills at 3x, it can't match even the relatively soft Galaxy 3x footage, for what that's worth. The Galaxy has a bit of an advantage at 5x and is notably better at 10x.

Daylight video screengrabs, Pixel 11 Pro XL: 0.6x • 1x • 2x • 3x • 5x • 10x

Daylight video screengrabs, Galaxy S26 Ultra: 0.6x • 1x • 2x • 3x • 5x • 10x

The Galaxy's low-light videos contain plenty of chroma noise, but they're still generally sharper than the Pixel's - all three of them. That said, the Pixel is still doing alright at 1x and 5x, but its ultrawide is best avoided.

Low-light video screengrabs, Pixel 11 Pro XL: 0.6x • 1x • 2x • 3x • 5x • 10x

Low-light video screengrabs, Galaxy S26 Ultra: 0.6x • 1x • 2x • 3x • 5x • 10x

Verdict

The Pixel 11 Pro XL remains a compelling camera phone, with excellent image quality across much of its zoom range and particularly wide selfies. Its display also gets substantially brighter in our tests and it's got built-in magnets for wireless charging. But while these are meaningful advantages, the Pixel struggles to match Samsung's broader feature set and raw performance.

The Galaxy S26 Ultra offers considerably more processing power, faster charging, a more versatile video recording experience, and distinctive extras such as Privacy Display, DeX and the integrated S Pen. Its cameras aren't universally better, and the Pixel can sometimes outperform it despite having one fewer rear camera, but the Galaxy offers a more complete package.

With the Galaxy S26 Ultra also available at a lower street price, it's the easier phone to recommend for most buyers. The Pixel 11 Pro XL remains worth considering if you particularly value Google's approach to photography, its wider selfies or the Pixel software experience. Otherwise, the Galaxy is the more convincing all-rounder.