I’ve always liked the Pixel flagships, pairing genuinely smart, helpful software features with cameras you can rely on. But with the Pixel 11 range struggling to stand out in the areas that matter most, I’m finding it harder to recommend one on the strength of its software alone.

That’s particularly true now that I’ve spent a few days with the new Motorola Signature 27. It offers many of the same headline Gemini features as this year’s Pixels, but pairs them with a flagship Snapdragon chipset, capable cameras, a huge battery and a design that, to my eyes, feels much more special.

It’s too early for a definitive verdict, but if you’re disappointed by Google’s latest phones, Motorola’s new flagship could be the perfect alternative.

The Pixel 11 range leaves a lot to be desired

Let’s start with the elephant in the room: the price. The Pixel 11 range is Google’s most expensive yet, with the standard Pixel 11 starting at £879/$899 and the Pixel 11 Pro XL at £1,279/$1,299.

That might be easier to stomach if you were getting a lot more phone for your money, but you’re not. The base-level Pixel 11 is a particularly hard sell, especially lacking elements like an LTPO screen – something you’ll find on much cheaper phones.

The bigger issue is, of course, the Tensor G6. Google’s chipsets have never been about raw power, but the gap between Pixel and the competition has become more of a chasm this year.

The Pixel 11 Pro XL’s GPU score is less than half that of the Galaxy S26 Ultra, and roughly a twentieth of the iPhone 18 Pro’s – and that’s not just in benchmarks either. In testing, it couldn’t even manage a steady 30fps in demanding games without dropping graphics to their lowest level. That’s simply not good enough for a phone that costs over a grand.

Even the camera, which was long the Pixel’s trump card, doesn’t stand head and shoulders above the competition like it once did. Don’t get me wrong, the Pixel 11 range still takes reliably great shots, particularly in good light, but rivals have well and truly caught up.

Battery life doesn’t do much to redeem things either. It’s fine – the Pixels will get most people through the day – but it’s far from class-leading, with the Pixel 11 Pro XL’s 5115mAh cell falling behind much of the modern smartphone competition.

Add in new elements like the HiLight notification light, which is pretty much pointless in its current form, and it’s hard to shake the feeling that Google has focused its efforts in the wrong places this year.

The Motorola Signature 27 offers many of the same Gemini smarts

Just like the Pixel 11 range, the new Motorola Signature 27 supports the same suite of Gemini Intelligence features. That’s not just a fancy way of describing the Gemini AI assistant or long-time features like Circle to Search either; these are wholly new Gemini-powered features that made their debut only a few months ago.

That starts with a big one – on-device Gemini automation. It essentially allows Gemini to take control of apps on your phone to perform actions on your behalf, be it ordering your favourite meal on a takeaway app or booking an Uber to an event in your Google Calendar. The catch is that it’s US-only – though hopefully we in the UK and Europe will also get it sooner rather than later.

As part of the Gemini Intelligence suite, you’ll also find the experimental Create my Widget feature on the Signature 27. As the name suggests, it uses Gemini to create bespoke widgets that sit on your home screen, surfacing anything from night out suggestions in your area to the status of the train line you use to go to and from work. There’s Rambler support too, essentially Google’s take on smarter voice-to-text transcription.

It is pretty smart, and as one of the few Pixel 11 features I found myself using past initial testing, I’m pleased about its inclusion here – even if it’s not ready for the Signature 27’s launch. The question is, with all that on offer, what makes the Pixel unique any more?

It’s also faster, with more capable cameras and a bigger battery

Not only does the Signature 27 offer most of the same smarts as the Pixel 11 range – but it’s also a wholly more capable phone in other regards.

Most notably, it’s a processing powerhouse, sporting Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6 chipset. While I’ve not yet had the chance to benchmark the phone, it feels super snappy in everyday use. Now, while the same can be said for the Pixel 11 range in general use, the disappointing GPU grunt means it falls down when it comes to gaming. I don’t think the Signature will have the same issue.

It also has a huge 7000mAh battery powering the experience, a massive 1885mAh more than the Pixel 11 Pro XL, the model with the biggest battery in Google’s current line-up. Again, this should translate to solid battery life – it certainly seems that way given the battery longevity I’ve seen over the past few days anyway – and with faster 90W charging than the Pixel’s 45W, it’ll go from 0-100% quicker too.

Motorola even have the edge in the photography department. The hardware is capable enough, with a combination of a 50MP main, 200MP 3x periscope lens and 50MP ultrawide, along with a dedicated EVS action sensor (a first for smartphones) that Motorola claims helps capture fast-moving subjects without the motion blur – though there’s much more to a great camera than its megapixel count, so I’ll reserve judgement on that front for now.

And, more than anything, I think the Signature 27 just a lot better than the Pixel 11 range. The use of textured materials, small design elements like etched aluminium sides to aid grip and the way the camera housing seems to protrude from the phone itself, rather than being an element simply attached to the rear, all add up to a luxurious in-hand feel.

Motorola has always had a flair for design, using materials like wood and Pantone-certified colour options to separate its phones from the competition, and the Signature 27 feels like a culmination of that.

Yes, it’s expensive at £1,299/$1,599, but that’s not much more expensive than the Pixel 11 Pro XL – in the UK, at least.

Not the perfect replacement, but it’s near enough

Of course, there are some elements to the Pixel experience that aren’t offered by Motorola’s alternative – but I’d argue that these are smaller elements that don’t impact the day-to-day experience. Not in the same way that things like battery life, camera quality and day-to-day performance do, anyway.

That said, niceties like automatically recognising music playing in the background, the Material 3 Expressive UI and Google’s ultra-powerful version of the At a Glance widget aren’t available on the Signature 27.

But when you’re getting a phone that’s better-looking, (orders of magnitude) faster and more powerful, boasts a bigger battery with the potential for multi-day battery life paired with rapid charging, and a just-as-capable camera setup, I think those smaller elements are easy enough to overlook.

Could Motorola be coming for Google’s crown? It’s hard to say, but it’ll be an interesting few months, that’s for sure.