Galaxy S26 Ultra vs Pixel 11 Pro XL: Which to Buy? — The Pixel Is $100 Cheaper at List Price, the Samsung Charges 20 Minutes Faster

GSMArena's lab results put the Pixel ahead on screen brightness and low-light zoom and the Samsung ahead on speed, charging and battery. At list prices the Pixel is $100 cheaper, so check retailers for discounts on either phone.

The Galaxy S26 Ultra and the Pixel 11 Pro XL are the two big Android flagships a US buyer can compare in a store this month, and their prices are close enough to make the comparison hard. Google's Pixel 11 Pro XL launched on August 20, 2026 at $1,299 for 256 GB. Samsung's Galaxy S26 Ultra now lists at $1,399.99 for 256 GB after an October 1 increase. At those list prices the Pixel is $100 cheaper. Retailer discounts on the Samsung come and go, so check the current price before you decide. The comparison below uses GSMArena's lab reviews of both phones, which we did not repeat ourselves; both are relevant for the US, since GSMArena's S26 Ultra review unit used the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 that Samsung sells there.

Size and weight first, because these are both big phones. The S26 Ultra has a 6.9-inch screen and measures 163.6 by 78.1 by 7.9 mm at 214 grams. The Pixel 11 Pro XL has a 6.8-inch screen and measures 162.7 by 76.5 by 8.5 mm at 226 grams. The Samsung is 12 grams lighter and 0.6 mm thinner, and GSMArena lists its thinner, lighter design as a pro. Both are rated IP68. The Pixel has Gorilla Glass Victus 2 on the front and back with an aluminum frame; the Samsung also has an aluminum frame this generation, a change GSMArena counts against it. GSMArena notes the Samsung's basic IP68 rating trails the IP69 on some other Android phones.

The displays are the first real split. The Pixel's 6.8-inch LTPO OLED is 1344 by 2992 pixels at 482 ppi; the Samsung's 6.9-inch LTPO AMOLED is 1440 by 3120. On brightness the Pixel leads in every test GSMArena ran. With automatic brightness and a 75 percent white fill it measured 2,333 nits against 1,480 for the Samsung. In a small bright area it reached 3,118 nits against 2,800. With the slider set by hand it reached 1,286 nits against 708. GSMArena calls the Pixel's maximum brightness class-leading. The Samsung's answer is the Privacy Display, which narrows the viewing angle so the person beside you on a train cannot read your screen. GSMArena says it caught everyone off guard. With it on, the Samsung's brightness falls to 329 nits manual and 751 nits automatic. GSMArena also criticizes the Samsung panel for lacking bit depth, high-frequency PWM dimming and Dolby Vision support. If outdoor readability matters most, take the Pixel. If you read sensitive things in public, the Samsung is the only one that does anything about it.

Battery life is close, with a small Samsung edge. In GSMArena's Active Use Score the S26 Ultra got 16 hours 23 minutes from a 5,000 mAh battery and the Pixel 11 Pro XL got 15 hours 45 minutes from 5,115 mAh. That is 38 minutes, enough to separate the two on a chart and not enough to change a day. GSMArena's Pixel specifications page lists a slightly different figure, 16:45, but its lab-test page gives 15:45, so we use that. Both are far above where Pixels used to sit: GSMArena's verdict says the Pixel's battery life is finally on par with Samsung and Apple. Neither phone leads the category overall, though. Phones from OnePlus and Xiaomi score far higher in GSMArena's tests, and our battery guide covers which of them you can actually buy in the US.

Charging is where the Samsung runs away. The S26 Ultra charges at up to 60 W, and GSMArena measured 51 percent in 15 minutes, 84 percent in 30 minutes and a full charge in 43 minutes. The Pixel 11 Pro XL charges at 45 W on paper and measured about 39.7 W at its peak: 41 percent in 15 minutes, 72 percent in 30 and full in 1 hour 3 minutes. With Google's Extreme charging mode on it reached 44 percent, 78 percent and full in 1 hour. The Samsung is 17 to 20 minutes quicker to a full charge. Wireless charging is a tie on paper, 25 W Qi2.2 on both, and neither review has measured results for it.

Performance is the other lopsided category. In Geekbench 6 the S26 Ultra scored 3,781 single-core and 11,566 multi-core against 2,724 and 7,535 for the Pixel. In GSMArena's 3DMark Wild Life Extreme chart the Pixel scores between 2,809 and 3,532, and the Samsung's top score is 7,744. The Tensor G6 is a real improvement on the G5 in CPU terms, but GSMArena says the Pixel's graphics have not improved and that it is still not gaming-oriented. The Samsung's weakness is heat: its review says the CPU drops below 50 percent of its peak under sustained load and that GPU throttling is worse still. Even throttled it starts far ahead. The Pixel held 71 percent stability in 3DMark's stress test, about the same as the Pixel 10 Pro XL. In everyday use both are fast. If you play demanding games, buy the Samsung.

Cameras are the hard part. On paper the Samsung has the more elaborate set: a 200 MP main camera with a 1/1.3-inch sensor and f/1.4 lens, a 10 MP 3x telephoto, a 50 MP 5x telephoto and a 50 MP ultrawide. The Pixel has a 50 MP main camera with the same 1/1.3-inch sensor size at f/1.68, a 48 MP 5x telephoto with a 1/1.95-inch sensor, a 48 MP ultrawide and a 42 MP selfie camera. GSMArena's verdicts are similar in tone. For the Samsung, the main camera is great in daylight with natural detail, the 3x lens is acceptable but sharpened and grainy, and the 5x is good without much wow. The 5x minimum focus distance doubled to 52 cm, which the reviewer dislikes, and the review says overall that the camera hardware drags behind the top Android cameraphones. For the Pixel, the main camera is excellent at 1x and merely alright at 2x, the 5x telephoto is very good in daylight, and its 10x in low light holds detail better than the S26 Ultra's. The Pixel's telephoto focuses as close as 39 cm. Selfies: strong on the Samsung; good by day and not good at night on the Pixel.

Video is a closer call than the spec sheet suggests. The Pixel records 4K at up to 60 frames per second on all rear cameras and offers 8K at 30 frames per second through Google's cloud-based Video Boost, which needs Google Photos storage. GSMArena rates its daytime video very good on all three cameras, with stabilization that still needs work when walking. The Samsung's review credits it with cool new features for videography enthusiasts, and the base S26 review notes that 4K at 120 frames per second and the APV professional codec are found on the S26 Ultra and not on the smaller phone. For a casual shooter the Pixel's output is easy to like. For someone who edits video, the Samsung gives more to work with.

Software is a draw with different flavors. Both promise seven major OS upgrades and seven years of security patches. The Pixel 11 Pro XL launched with Android 17; the S26 Ultra launched with Android 16 and One UI 8.5 and has since received stable One UI 9 based on Android 17, which 9to5Google reported on October 12 had already reached the S26 line about a month before it arrived on the S24 series in the US. The Samsung's unique feature is the S Pen, which the Pixel cannot match. The Pixel offers a cleaner Android and Google's own features; GSMArena says its HiLight rear light has very limited functionality.

Price and the verdict. At list prices the Pixel 11 Pro XL is $100 cheaper, $1,299 against $1,399.99, and GSMArena's Pixel review ends by saying that at this price you had better check the alternatives first, naming the S26 Ultra as cheaper and more powerful, with an S Pen and similar camera quality. If you find the Samsung discounted by $100 or more, the decision becomes easy for most people: the Samsung is faster, charges in 43 minutes instead of 63, lasts slightly longer and has the S Pen and the Privacy Display. Buy the Pixel 11 Pro XL if you want the brightest screen, the better low-light zoom and Google's Android, or if you cannot find a Samsung discount. Buy the S26 Ultra for everything else. We have not tested either phone; the figures are GSMArena's, and the prices were checked on October 19, 2026.