Pixel 11 Pro shines worse than its predecessor. A matte glass is to blame. How is this possible?

This year, Google replaced the thermometer on the back of the Pixel 11 Pro with a light ring called HiLight. It looks impressive, can flash colors according to the caller, and signals that it’s listening to Gemini. However, it has one side effect that marketing apparently didn’t account for: it ruined the ordinary flashlight that absolutely everyone uses.

What the measurements showed

Complaints first appeared on Reddit, where users reported significantly weaker light even at maximum intensity. Android Authority verified this with a light sensor and measured approximately 89 lux for the Pixel 11 Pro XL in flashlight mode. Last year’s Pixel 10 Pro XL yielded 123 lux, and the iPhone 16 Pro even reached 490 lux.

A similar comparison was published by one of the X network users. With a fixed exposure and maximum flashlight intensity, the Pixel 11 Pro performed the worst of all tested phones – it lost to the Galaxy Z TriFold, iPhone 17e, and its own predecessor, the Pixel 9 Pro. This was true both in flashlight mode and when using the flash.

9to5Google editors describe the same practical experience. According to them, the light practically ceases to be useful a few steps away from the phone, whether you’re walking around the apartment at night or trying to shine a light under the sink.

A matte glass is to blame for everything

The cause is purely mechanical. HiLight consists of eight RGB diodes arranged in a ring around the main flash, and a single common matte diffuser is stretched over them, designed to spread their light into a continuous ring. However, this diffuser also lies over the main flash LED itself.

If you look at the Pixel 9 Pro under a microscope, you’ll see Fresnel lens elements and a structured surface in the flash opening, designed to prevent overexposed areas. In the Pixel 11 Pro, there’s a diffuser instead. The flash has therefore lost its own optics that would concentrate and project the light forward – and diffused light, by its nature, behaves contrary to what a flashlight would desire.

It’s not all bad news

Fairly, it must be added that the diffuser has one advantage. For short-distance flash photography, softer and warmer light is beneficial – a face two meters away looks more natural than under a harsh spotlight.

The problem is therefore specific: long-range reach suffers, not close-up photos. However, this doesn’t change the fact that you use the phone’s flashlight significantly more often than the flash.

And most importantly – don’t wait for an update. The diffuser is a physical component in the light path that software cannot bypass. Google has not yet commented on the matter. If you rely on your phone’s flashlight, expect a shorter range, or get a real flashlight.

Do you use your phone’s flashlight often, or do you not care how bright it is?

Sources: Notebookcheck, 9to5Google, PhoneArena, Droid Life