We’re only a month away from Google’s next big hardware event, with the Pixel 11 series officially arriving on August 12.
After living with the Pixel 10 Pro and the Pixel 10a over the past year, I’ve come to appreciate what Google’s phones do well — and, more importantly, where they still fall short. With the smartphone landscape evolving faster than ever, there are three upgrades I’m hoping Google finally delivers this year. If you’re a fellow Pixel user, chances are these are on your wishlist too.
Google, it’s time to stop my Pixel from cooking itself
More than anything else, I want Google to fix the Pixel’s thermal issues. If you’ve used a Pixel, you probably know what I’m talking about. This isn’t me nitpicking after a week with one phone, either. I’ve been using Pixels since the Pixel 8, so by the time the Pixel 11 arrives, it’ll be my fourth generation. And if there’s one complaint that’s followed me from one phone to the next, it’s overheating.
The thing is, it’s easy to write it off as a summer problem. Sure, every phone gets warm outdoors, but I’ve noticed the same behavior while sitting indoors in an air-conditioned room. Sometimes it’s after taking a handful of photos, while navigating with Google Maps, or maybe for no obvious reason at all.
That’s also why I don’t think this is limited to one particular device. I’ve experienced it on multiple Pixel generations, and while Tensor has improved in several areas, thermal performance still feels inconsistent. Some days everything runs perfectly, while on others the phone gets warmer than I’d expect during fairly ordinary tasks. Out of curiosity, I even put a few Pixels through CPU throttling tests, including the Pixel 9, Pixel 9a, Pixel 10 Pro, and Pixel 10a. These tests deliberately push the processor to its limits to see how well it can sustain performance without overheating. Across all four phones, the results told a similar story: performance dropped significantly once temperatures climbed.
That was reassuring in a way because it matched what I’d already been experiencing every day. It’s one thing for a benchmark to expose a weakness, but it’s another when you can actually feel it while using the phone. That’s why thermal management is at the very top of my Pixel 11 wishlist. If Google can finally solve this long-standing issue, it’ll improve almost everything else about the Pixel experience. If not, I may finally have to start looking elsewhere.
My Pixel seems allergic to charging quickly
While we’re at it, Google seriously needs to improve the Pixel’s charging speeds. I’ve noticed something odd with my Pixel 10a whenever I plug it in. Not only does it take its own sweet time to charge, but it also gets surprisingly warm in the process — sometimes hot enough that I instinctively pick it up just to check if something’s wrong. Considering my issues with thermal management, the experience only gets even more frustrating.
The slow charging is easy enough to ignore when I’m at home. I can plug it in, get back to work, and eventually it’s ready to go. The real problem is when life doesn’t wait. If I suddenly need to head out, topping up the battery is almost out of the question. Waiting well over an hour for a full charge feels painfully outdated in 2026.
What’s disappointing is that this isn’t an industry-wide limitation anymore. Plenty of Android phones can give you hours of battery life from just a quick 15 or 20-minute top-up, yet Pixel still feels stuck in the slow lane.
That’s why faster charging sits near the top of my Pixel 11 wishlist. At this point, it feels like Pixel users are making excuses for a compromise they shouldn’t have to make. Google doesn’t need to chase 100W charging speeds, but it does need to stop lagging behind everyone else.
Tensor, let’s pick up the pace
I’ve never been the kind of person who buys a phone to chase benchmark scores. I rarely spend hours playing demanding games like Call of Duty: Mobile or Genshin Impact. What I do expect, though, is for my phone to handle everyday moments without falling apart.
That hasn’t always been my experience with Pixel phones. Whenever I’m out exploring a new place, I tend to take dozens of photos, record plenty of 4K videos, and constantly jump between the Camera and Google Photos apps to see how everything turned out. It’s a routine I’ve repeated countless times, and it’s also when my Pixel seems to struggle the most.
As the phone heats up, I’ve noticed everything starts slowing down. Switching between apps can be really sluggish, sometimes taking nearly a minute before everything feels responsive again. I’ve even had the phone lose its network signal while I was still out taking photos, which is the last thing you want when you’re relying on Google Maps or trying to share pictures with friends.
That’s why I don’t think this is about chasing more power for its own sake. Tensor is already smart in all the right ways, but I’d love to see Google squeeze more sustained performance out of it. I want to capture photos, record videos, and multitask without constantly wondering whether the phone is about to slow down from overheating. That’s the kind of dependable performance I’m hoping Google finally delivers with the Pixel 11 series.
Fix the little things, and you’ve got a winner
The Pixel experience has never been about having the most cameras, the fastest processor, or the most eye-catching design. That’s part of what makes Google’s phones so appealing in the first place. But after living with multiple Pixel generations, I’ve also realized that it’s the little frustrations — not the missing features — that stick with you.
For me, better thermal management, faster charging, and more consistent performance would do far more for the Pixel experience than another camera upgrade or a sleeker design ever could. Here’s hoping Google feels the same way with the Pixel 11 series. Because if it can finally iron out these long-standing issues, I think it’ll have its best Pixel yet, and I’ll happily keep recommending it.
Stephan is the sports journalist for the Maple Grove Report.
