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The last time we saw the Pixel in a speed test, it lost to all the other flagships we compared it to. So today we'll see if the all-new Pixel 11 Pro can change that by going up against the fastest phone we've ever tested-the Galaxy S26 Ultra. So, on paper, Google claims that the new Tensor G6 is 25% faster at web browsing compared to last year's Pixel, and also launches apps 15% faster At the same time, Google had to reduce the amount of RAM from 16 GB to 12, which, frankly, is quite acceptable, since the Galaxy has the same amount. The real difference will likely be how this Tensor chip compares to the overclocked Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5. Will the Pixel be able to close the gap and prove that it also delivers flagship
performance, or will it lose out again like last year? Let's find out. This release is sponsored by Zapier, a service that allows you to connect AI models like Claude and ChatGPT to over 9,000 apps. Lately, I've been using it to deal with my daily email, where I'm just inundated with everything from emails from real companies to just irrelevant junk. But now I just tell Claude to sort my inbox, and using Zapier MCP as the infrastructure, he just gets to work. First, Claude accesses my Gmail through Zapier MCP to actually view the emails. It then checks our database in Google Sheets to see if we have already verified this sender. And then, if we have n't done that, it digs deeper: not only searching the
web, but also using the Whois service to check things like the age of the domain and whether everything matches. Next, I instruct Claude to tag the emails with the tags I configured, such as " reviewed" or " questionable content." And when he's done with all of this, he sends me a quick summary on Slack. This way, when I look at my inbox, I can immediately tell which emails are truly worth my time and which ones I can just skip. You might be thinking, "I'm not sure I'm comfortable giving artificial intelligence access to my email." And, honestly, I felt the same way. But my attitude has changed because Zapier gives you granular control over what AI can do. So while Claude can read my
emails and add labels, he can't delete anything and he certainly can't send anything. He just takes over the whole routine while I maintain control over everything else. Which for me means less time checking email and more time doing real testing. You can view and learn more at the first link below. So, let's start by running stopwatches on each phone, then move on to the first row, where the Pixel is immediately faster at recognizing a QR code, beating out the Galaxy, while we move on to the portrait shooting test, where we take 10 portrait shots as quickly as possible. Unfortunately for the Pixel, it started to slow down, stopped responding to every tap, and now it takes significantly longer to process those portraits in the photo gallery, which
means that by the time we start working on that 1-minute 4K video, the Galaxy is about 8 seconds ahead of it. We're now playing this video at 4x speed so you don't have to sit and watch a video where nothing happens. But this test is important because it stresses the phones' cooling system, which, in theory, should be better in the Pixel than in last year's model. Because the Tensor G6 chip is 20% more power efficient, along with improvements Google may have made to the vapor chamber. But in any case, Pixel has driven itself into a dead end, barely getting started with the browser. But Galaxy is already finishing with him. At least, the Pixel doesn't appear to render our locally hosted website any faster than the Galaxy, which means that
any improvements to Google's web browser have only allowed it to match, but not surpass, the Snapdragon chip. The good news for the Pixel is that it was also able to replicate the Galaxy's performance on Facebook, Starbucks, and even Microsoft Word. But in Excel it was about a second slower. So, moving on to the gaming lineup, Galaxy is now officially ahead by one app. And judging from our previous tests, I do n't think the Galaxy is going to give up. So Pixel will have to try hard if it wants to make a comeback. But, at least for the first two games, Subway Surfers and Flip Diving, this doesn't seem to be the case, as the Pixel loads both games a bit more slowly.
Galaxy, on the other hand, has already moved to the back row in Adobe Scan, where it uses the camera to scan a contract and then converts it into an editable PDF, which is a fairly resource-intensive task. So, as Pixel finishes with Zombie Fire and joins Galaxy in Adobe Scan, it will be very interesting to see if it can close the gap. But in the meantime, Galaxy has already dealt with this and is moving to Lightroom, where each phone has to edit a huge 68- megapixel photo. First by removing the object to get rid of the umbrella in the background, and then by recognizing the sky to perform color correction.
The Galaxy just flew through it, while the Pixel not only failed to close the gap in Adobe Scan, but also fell behind by another 6 seconds. So things are n't looking good for Pixel at this point. Galaxy shows no signs of slowing down, it handled the export in no time and is already working on the final task- unpacking the files. Whereas Pixel in Lightroom spends 4 seconds longer on removing the umbrella from the background and 2 seconds longer on recognizing the sky, allowing Galaxy to complete the first lap by a significant margin, showing a time of only 3 minutes 27 seconds. And you know, at this point, assuming the Galaxy can keep all those apps open and ready to go, it's possible that the Galaxy will complete the entire test
before the Pixel even finishes the first round. And since the Pixel was 5 seconds slower when exporting video, while the Galaxy has no problem keeping all apps in RAM, it looks like that's what will happen. Galaxy officially shows a total time of 3 minutes 58 seconds. So, a huge advantage for the Galaxy in the first round, while the Pixel is only now finishing the task of unzipping files, showing a time of 4 minutes 10 seconds. But now that we've answered the question of how these phones perform during initial app launches and tasks, I'm still curious to see how the Pixel 11 handles the move from 16GB in last year's model to 12GB. And unfortunately, it doesn't perform as well as the Galaxy: it couldn't keep Subway Surfers open, and in fact, couldn't
keep any other apps open after Subway Surfers either, which only pushed it further behind the Galaxy, completing the entire test almost a full minute slower, making the winner and undisputed champion of the Well, that's all I have for this video. Thanks for watching, and as always, see you in the next episode.
