Pixel 11 Pro Dim Flash: How HiLight Weakens the Flashlight
The Pixel 11 Pro has a flashlight problem. After the phone became available at $1,099.99 for the 12GB/256GB configuration, according to a listing cited by Notebookcheck, independent testing and hands-on reviews have converged on the same finding: the Pixel 11 Pro's flashlight throws noticeably less light than the phone it replaced, and less than several rivals besides.
The likely culprit is HiLight, the new rear notification light Google built into this year's Pro models. A teardown found that HiLight's diffuser sits directly over the same LED used for the camera flash and flashlight, according to Notebookcheck. 9to5Google's own review units showed the same pattern; one editor described the flashlight as "unusable" during a home repair, according to 9to5Google.
Pixel 11 Pro flashlight comparison: what the tests show
The most detailed data point isn't Notebookcheck's own lab test. It's a side-by-side comparison shared with the outlet by X user @multithreddy, run with every phone set to a fixed manual exposure and flashlight intensity cranked to maximum, according to Notebookcheck. Against the Galaxy Z TriFold, the iPhone 17e, and its own predecessor, the Pixel 9 Pro, the Pixel 11 Pro came out dimmest in both flashlight and camera-flash output.
9to5Google reached a similar verdict testing the broader lineup. Across review units of the Pixel 11 Pro, Pro XL, and Fold, the team found the flashlight "noticeably worse" than past Pixels, dimmer than a three-year-old iPhone 15 Pro, and a touch weaker than the Galaxy Z Fold 7, according to 9to5Google. One reviewer, Will Sattelberg, said he initially assumed the phone had somehow set the flashlight to half-brightness while fixing something around the house, only to realize that was just how bright it got. Another editor described walking through a dark home and finding the beam useless past the first few feet, per the same report.
Those two data points aren't measuring the same thing with the same rigor. The @multithreddy comparison is a controlled snapshot at fixed settings; the 9to5Google accounts are hands-on impressions from actual use. Together, though, they point in the same direction: weaker output than before, not a one-off glitch. Google has not commented on the brightness difference, according to Notebookcheck.
Inside the Google Pixel 11 Pro HiLight diffuser
HiLight isn't a software feature bolted onto old hardware. A teardown found it replaced the infrared temperature sensor that sat on the back of earlier Pixel models, meaning Google gave up that physical real estate entirely to make room for the new light, according to Notebookcheck.
In its place is a ring of eight surface-mount RGB LEDs arranged around the main camera flash, all sitting under one frosted-white optical diffuser meant to blend the ring into a single, even glow, per Notebookcheck's teardown. Under magnification, each of the eight LEDs shows distinct red, green, and blue diodes, confirming they're true RGB emitters rather than fixed-color units.
The trouble is that same diffuser covers the primary flash LED too, so the flash no longer has a dedicated lens or microlens to focus and project its light forward, according to Notebookcheck. Diffused light scatters instead of concentrating, which would explain both the shorter throw reviewers are describing and the softer-edged look visible in comparison shots. Notebookcheck frames this as an apparent side effect of fitting HiLight around the existing flash module, not a deliberate downgrade. Google hasn't confirmed the diffuser as the cause, but the physical layout makes it the leading explanation on offer.
The Pixel 11 Pro camera flash issue: a different picture
Flashlight performance and camera-flash performance turn out to be separate stories. The flashlight complaints are the sharpest: 9to5Google's testing found illumination becoming "useless" a few feet out, a change severe enough that one editor mistook it for a settings bug.
Finished flash photos tell a gentler story. Comparing the Pixel 11 Pro XL against last year's Pixel 10 Pro XL, 9to5Google called the results "more or less comparable," noting the newer phone's light is actually warmer and less harsh, though it requires standing closer to the subject and processing differences complicate a clean comparison, according to 9to5Google. Editor Damien Wilde pointed to the HiLight diffuser as likely at least part of the cause, while noting it's arguably a nicer look for an actual camera flash.
An X user going by aradax, quoted by Droid Life, summed up the trade-off this way: the LEDs are built to throw a diffused glow suited to a notification pulse rather than a focused point source, "which means the flash now sits behind a milky cover... less good when you're under the sink at 11pm." Less light reaching a distant subject and worse-looking flash photos aren't the same claim, and the reporting so far backs a real flashlight regression alongside a softer, warmer look in flash photography that costs range.
What HiLight adds, and what it may cost
HiLight's actual job is narrow. It glows for calls from selected contacts and during Gemini interactions, but only when the phone is lying face down, an orientation plenty of owners avoid specifically to keep the screen from scratching, according to Ars Technica. The idea echoes the notification LEDs Android phones used to carry before displays swallowed the entire front face, and it pairs with the illuminated ring Google already uses on its Gemini-powered smart speaker.
The teardown found the hardware capable of more than Google currently allows. All eight RGB LEDs are individually addressable, but software limits users to five preset colors and a small set of triggers, according to Notebookcheck. Notebookcheck's own read on that gap: Google appears to be intentionally holding the feature back for now, leaving what could be a fuller notification tool feeling underbaked at launch.
What comes next
Google has not commented on either the flashlight or camera-flash brightness difference, and there's no indication yet of a fix. The open questions worth watching are whether Google addresses the complaints directly, and whether a future software update loosens HiLight's five-color, face-down-only limits now that the teardown shows the hardware can already do more.
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