Does the Pixel 11 Professional’s modem nonetheless lose to the competitors? I ran a take a look at to search out out

The Google Pixel 11 collection could not look that completely different from final 12 months’s Pixel 10 lineup, however Google has clearly labored on some main under-the-hood upgrades this 12 months. You get a extra environment friendly Tensor G6 chipset, which is nice, however maybe the larger change is the modem.

Google has ditched Samsung’s Exynos modem in favor of a brand new MediaTek modem on the Pixel 11 telephones. We just lately in contrast the Pixel 11 Professional’s modem with final 12 months’s Pixel 10 Professional and noticed clear enhancements in obtain speeds, sign reception, and battery effectivity.

However how does the Pixel 11 collection’ new modem evaluate to what you get on different top-tier Android flagships? To search out out, I put the Pixel 11 Professional in opposition to the Samsung Galaxy S26 Extremely to see how the brand new MediaTek modem fares in opposition to among the best Android telephones.

Earlier than we get into the outcomes, it’s value noting that I examined each the Samsung Galaxy S26 Extremely and the Google Pixel 11 Professional below as related circumstances as potential. I made positive each units had been operating the newest obtainable software program and began the assessments with each telephones at near 100% battery. I additionally used the identical SIM card on each telephones to maintain issues as truthful as potential.

The S26 Extremely and Pixel 11 Professional had been disconnected from Wi-Fi and relied fully on cellular knowledge all through the take a look at. To match the 2 modems, I ran three completely different assessments protecting sign energy, mobile speeds, and battery consumption whereas streaming video.

The primary take a look at I ran was to check the precise sign energy on each telephones. Android exhibits sign bars within the standing bar, however these don’t essentially replicate the precise energy of the mobile connection.

As a substitute of counting on these bars, I went into the Settings app and checked the precise sign energy reported by each telephones in dBm. For these unfamiliar, dBm is a measurement of sign energy, and since these values are adverse, the nearer the quantity is to zero, the stronger the sign. So, for instance, -75 dBm is best than -95 dBm.

To correctly evaluate the 2 telephones, I examined them in three areas with weak, common, and robust mobile reception, conserving their positions as related as potential.

The outcomes had been fairly shut total, particularly in areas with weak and common reception, the place neither telephone had a significant benefit. The Galaxy S26 Extremely, nonetheless, pulled noticeably forward within the robust reception space, the place it picked up a significantly stronger sign (-74 dBm) than the Pixel 11 Professional (-84 dBm).

The subsequent take a look at I ran to check the Pixel 11 Professional and Galaxy S26 Extremely modems was the great previous web pace take a look at. Sign reception is one factor, however I additionally wished to see whether or not the Pixel 11 Professional may really ship aggressive mobile speeds.

For this, I ran three pace assessments on every telephone, each indoors and open air, measuring obtain speeds, add speeds, and ping. I then took a median of all three runs to get a greater concept of how every telephone carried out.

Outside, the Galaxy S26 Extremely got here out forward. It averaged round 581 Mbps obtain speeds in comparison with 545 Mbps on the Pixel 11 Professional. That’s not an enormous distinction, however Samsung had a a lot larger benefit when it got here to uploads, averaging round 100 Mbps in comparison with simply 62 Mbps on the Pixel. Ping was additionally barely higher on the Galaxy S26 Extremely at round 16ms, in comparison with 18ms on the Pixel 11 Professional.

Indoors, although, issues flipped round. The Pixel 11 Professional averaged round 473 Mbps obtain speeds, whereas the Galaxy S26 Extremely managed round 407 Mbps. That’s roughly a 16% benefit for the Pixel in an space the place mobile reception wasn’t as robust. The Galaxy S26 Extremely nonetheless held onto a slight lead in add speeds and ping, however the variations had been a lot smaller right here.

At the very least from my testing, the Galaxy S26 Extremely nonetheless appears higher when you will have robust reception, however I’m fairly (pleasantly) shocked by the Pixel 11 Professional’s efficiency indoors. It managed to ship quicker obtain speeds in my testing regardless of having related reception. This isn’t one thing I’d’ve anticipated from a Pixel a few generations in the past.

Lastly, considered one of Google’s large claims concerning the Pixel 11’s new modem is that it’s extra power-efficient. To place that to the take a look at, I performed the identical hour-long 4K YouTube video on each telephones over mobile knowledge and measured how a lot battery every one misplaced. I saved the show brightness at related ranges on each units and had the amount muted all through the take a look at.

The Pixel 11 Professional began at 91% and, after an hour of video playback, dropped to 86%, leading to a 5% battery drain. The Galaxy S26 Extremely, in the meantime, began at 95% and completed at 89%, shedding 6% over the identical interval.

In fact, an hour-long take a look at isn’t sufficient to inform the entire battery life story, and there are many different elements at play past simply the modem. However below related circumstances, the Pixel 11 Professional really used barely much less battery, and it seems like Google has lastly gotten modem effectivity a lot nearer to what you get on different flagship Android telephones

Based mostly on the three assessments I carried out, I believe Google has lastly gotten fairly near the modem efficiency you anticipate from different flagship Android telephones.

Positive, the Pixel 11 Professional nonetheless falls behind the Galaxy S26 Extremely in areas like pure sign reception and add speeds. However it delivered aggressive, and typically quicker, obtain speeds whereas additionally matching Samsung when it got here to effectivity.

And people are two stuff you’re really going to note in on a regular basis use. The Pixel 11 Professional’s modem isn’t outright higher than the Galaxy S26 Extremely’s, nevertheless it not feels just like the telephone’s apparent weak level both. For Pixel telephones, I’d say that could be a enormous step ahead.