/blog

During the period of peak leaks about the Pixel 11 series, I was all set on upgrading to the Pixel 11 Pro XL from my current 10 Pro XL. The promise of camera enhancements and the Tensor G6 chip being built on a 2nm process looked like it would a be decent upgrade.

It transpired that the 2nm rumours were wrong and the camera upgrades weren't as good as anticipated. Combined with the price increases and drop in base RAM, I decided to stick with what I've got.

While there are some nice features on the 11 series, knowing how I use my phone, I'm not sure I will really miss out. When you also consider that many software features eventually find their way to older devices, it might just be a case of wait and see.

The upgrade deal with my carrier means my current phone would have been traded in and refurbished, so it would not have become e-waste, but I still think this is the right decision.

It's no secret that I view phone cases as a necessary evil and am constantly looking for the thinnest, least intrusive case I can find. I went with a full body skin for a while but had problems with the side pieces coming off. I replaced the back skin and returned to a clear case as a compromise.

I've had my eye on something else for a while: a metal 'bumper style' frame that clips around the phone with a separate portion that sticks over the camera bar. While it is just a frame and doesn't have a back, the skin keeps the rest of th phone protected from scratches.

The frame is a little thicker than I expected but doesn't add anything to the depth of the phone beyond a (very) small lip which keeps the screen off a flat surface if placed face down.

I really like it.