Sometimes, upgrading to the latest smartphone is a simple process. A lot of us look at the phone we have now, and if we liked it, we look for the newest version of the same thing: probably more powerful, likely introducing a couple new features, and hopefully not costing too much more. But the market doesn’t always make things so simple for us, and this year with Google’s new Pixel 11 series, some shoppers might want to take a long, hard look at exactly what those upgrades offer — and what Google wants us to pay for them.
A little over a week ago, we asked you to really break things down for us. This year’s Pixel 11 Pro phones can feel a little underwhelming depending on your expectations, but what are shoppers supposed to do about it? Well, the playing field in 2026 is sure a whole lot smaller than it’s been in years past, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t some solid options out there. And honestly, between lengthy software update guarantees and all the craziness happening now with RAM values in light of the market losing its mind, maybe it really does make sense to go with something other than the very, very latest phone.
We asked you, if you weren’t going to buy the Pixel 11 Pro XL, which other phone might be a good option to pick up? We had some ideas about where we might see your votes fall, but the results ended up a little surprising:
Stephen Schenck / Android Authority
With nearly a three-way split for first place, the Galaxy S26 Ultra, Pixel 10 Pro XL, and Moto Razr Ultra all look like solid options for the phone shopper who’s not going home with a Pixel 11 Pro XL.
The S26 Ultra is the most popular Android phone around, so its performance here isn’t that shocking. Really, we’re only a little surprised to see that it didn’t outright dominate the competition.
Google’s own Pixel 10 Pro XL also makes sense for a good showing — it’s basically the phone a lot of shoppers taking this poll are likely upgrading from. And if they aren’t, it makes all the sense in the world as a backup upgrade recommendation.
Motorola’s Razr Ultra is interesting to see do this well, the one foldable in our group. The fact that it performed so strongly suggests shoppers aren’t seeing that construction as so much of a risk anymore, and are ready to accept foldables as their daily drivers.
Nothing’s Phone 3 also put up a solid effort, but just doesn’t have quite the juice to be as popular as the other brands. And while that’s definitely not a problem for Google, the Pixel 10a just isn’t quite the same caliber of phone as the other entries on our list.
We didn’t see a ton of commentary from participants, but a few of you did let us know why your votes fell where they did. For reader pop2jandj, it’s all about the photography:
Fellow reader Mike chimes in to reinforce that point:
Thanks to everyone who helped cast a vote. Did any of you recently end up making a new phone purchase? Tell us what you chose down in the comments.
Thank you for being part of our community. Read our Comment Policy before posting.