Google’s latest Pro phone is out to prove it has the best camera on a smartphone while embracing customisation, allowing you to change the look and feel of your photos far beyond simple filters even if that means making them technically worse.The Pixel 11 Pro packs the best of Google’s hardware and software into a still-pocketable and easy to handle frame, instantly making it a contender for best smaller phone of the year.Being smaller doesn’t make it cheap. The 11 Pro sits above the regular £879 Pixel 11 and costs from £1,079 (€1,199/$1,099/A$1,849) – £80 (€100/$100/A$150) more than last year, with double the storage but less memory owing to the cost of RAMageddon.Little has changed on the outside for the Pro Pixels in several years. The new model is 0.1mm smaller in all directions and 3g lighter but has the same size 6.3in OLED screen, same polished aluminium and glass body and a large camera bar sticking out the back. It is an attractive design that has aged well.The temperature sensor from previous Pixel Pro generations, which always felt like a gimmick, has been replaced by a coloured HiLight LED that works as a camera flash and notification light. The LED glows when you talk to Gemini or pulses with one of five colours when your favourite contact calls. But it doesn’t work for notifications of any other kind, so is a wasted opportunity.The HiLight LED swirls different colours when you talk to Gemini, but only when the phone is face down, which is not something I’ve ever wanted to do. Photograph: Samuel Gibbs/The GuardianThe 11 Pro has the same Tensor G6 chip as the regular Pixel 11 and has 12 or 16GB of RAM depending on the storage version. It can’t match the raw performance of the top Qualcomm or Apple chips for games but is snappy in day-to-day tasks.Battery life is just shy of two days with the screen actively used for about seven hours across a mix of wifi and 5G for browsing, messaging apps and photos. This is a bit behind the regular Pixel 11 but should see out even the heaviest of use days with some left in the tank. Most people will need to charge the 11 Pro every other day for general use.Specifications