This article may contain personal views and opinion from the author.
This Pixel 11 Pro render omits the rumored Pixel Glow feature. | Image by Android Headlines
Remember the time when you thought you wanted to quit your smartphone? Yeah, me neither.
Despite mindless scrolling erasing hours from my life, distracting me from my bigger purpose (or perhaps my current Kindle read), I never once thought to replace my smartphone.
Dumbphones and minimalist AI assistants have been unsuccessfully trying to lure customers away from smartphones. For the less daring, screen-time-blocking apps exist.
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The world appears to have converged around the idea that smartphones are mostly evil, and you would be better off if you tossed them or at least spent a little less time glued to them.
As a smartphone maker, Google can't quite embrace that message. The company will instead put its own spin on the wellness trend with the upcoming Pixel 11.
Disappoint me with the hardware, but never comfort me with a light
Lights didn't work for the Nothing Phone (2) and won't work for the Pixel 11. | Image by PhoneArena
The Pixel 11 is reportedly set to flaunt Pixel Glow, a hardware feature that will use light and color on the rear to notify you of important alerts when the screen is facing down.
Coming from any other manufacturer, that might have been adorable. Heck, even Nothing has almost given up on flashing lights.
Google, on the other hand, doesn't need such gimmicks. More importantly, there are more pressing hardware issues that Google needs to tend to.
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A fancy light array will be nothing more than a party trick. However, considering the Pixel 11 will reportedly look pretty much the same as the Pixel 10 and be devoid of notable spec upgrades, I can see why Google wants to distract us with a light. Trouble is, I am not a cat. I need more than a laser pointer to stay enthralled.
Lights are so 2000
What's the coolest smartphone ever? Whichever one an adult had at a time when you didn't own a smartphone.
For me, that was a Samsung device whose name I have forgotten. It existed long before smartphones and featured a light indicator. I don't remember what it did, but at that time, that may have been reason enough for me to pull the trigger. Except that I didn't have the money or the permission to carry a phone then.
As displays expand to swallow the entire chassis, physical lights will amount to nothing more than a tacky add-on.
I am over them, and I despise change. Google should, too.
What does the Pixel 11 need instead of Pixel Glow?
Better ways to disconnect
The proponents of hardware-based notification systems are screaming at their screens for me to realize that lights on the back of a phone will make it that much easier to detach.
After all, if we don't have it in us to get rid of these not-so-small bricks that are killing our attention spans, straining our eyes, and making us anxious, the least we can do is invent ways to unlock them less often.
That's wrong on so many fronts, especially so for a Pixel.
For starters, the modern smartphone already lets you silence interruptions, while allowing important notifications to come through. Resourceful users have also found other ways to lessen the attraction, such as grayscaling the screen or simply keeping their devices in another room when they are working.
If those tips and tricks have been unable to get you off your phone, what makes you think the Pixel 11's lights will?
Besides, the Pixel 11 is already walking on thin ice. The last thing it needs is to disrespect its customers by installing lights on the back, while not attending to the more pressing issues.
The Pixel 10, now with lights
A Pixel 11 render. | Image by Android Headlines
The Pixel 10a is basically a repackaged Pixel 9a, and Google got away with it. It even got praise for a flat back *This is the part where we roll our eyes*. That'swhat progress has come to in the smartphone market.
The Pixel 11 isn't going to be a lot different from the Pixel 10 either. We can always count on Google introducing AI-powered features that have no place in everyday life, though.
Meanwhile, the battery woes will likely continue for another year. The camera will keep losing its edge. The phone will have an existential crisis every time you play a demanding game on it. The value will continue to erode.
AI is calling the shots
I don't believe in AI gaining consciousness or AI destroying us one day. However, if there's one thing AI may destroy, it's the Pixel brand.
The Pixel Glow lights won't just be a notification interface. They will also be billed as a way to have hands-free interactions with Gemini. As if we needed more of Gemini in our lives.
In a way, Pixel Glow will be Google's take on AI assistants that have yet to take off.
Another blow
Google isn't moving as many units as Apple and Samsung, but Pixel shipments are climbing. Yet, as the brand grows, it drifts further from its soul: killer cameras and unbeatable value. Today's Pixels command flagship prices while offering mid-range reliability.
Pixel Glow is exactly the kind of showy feature Google should avoid if it doesn't want its loyal fanbase to skip the Pixel 11. The company needs to care less about decorating the back of the phone and more about what's under the hood.
Anam Hamid is a computer scientist turned tech journalist who has a keen interest in the tech world, with a particular focus on smartphones and tablets. She has previously written for Android Headlines and has also been a ghostwriter for several tech and car publications. Anam is not a tech hoarder and believes in using her gadgets for as long as possible. She is concerned about smartphone addiction and its impact on future generations, but she also appreciates the convenience that phones have brought into our lives. Anam is excited about technological advancements like folding screens and under-display sensors, and she often wonders about the future of technology. She values the overall experience of a device more than its individual specs and admires companies that deliver durable, high-quality products. In her free time, Anam enjoys reading, scrolling through Reddit and Instagram, and occasionally refreshing her programming skills through tutorials.
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