Google has shifted from Samsung to MediaTek for the Pixel 11’s modem, promising improved connectivity and efficiency, a move that could mark a significant upgrade in Google’s hardware story.
Google’s Pixel 11 series is built around a familiar promise: modest changes on the outside, more meaningful work under the hood. At last week’s Made by Google event, the company unveiled four models, including the Pixel 11 Pro, Pixel 11 Pro XL and Pixel 11 Pro Fold, and the clearest hardware shift appears to be in connectivity rather than design.
According to reporting from Android Authority and 9to5Google, the new phones are tied to Tensor G6 and to FCC filings that point to a switch away from Samsung-made modem parts in favour of MediaTek silicon. That matters because modem behaviour has been one of the longest-running complaints around Google’s Tensor line, especially in earlier generations where network stability, efficiency and heat were recurring concerns.
Google has not presented the change as a side note. On its store material, the company says the new modem is “reliable, faster, and more power-efficient”, though the footnote attached to that claim makes clear the figures come from pre-production devices in controlled lab testing. In other words, the headline is encouraging, but the real test will come once retail units are in ordinary use on live networks.
That distinction is important for Pixel buyers. Google’s own security blog shows the company has already been working to harden the modem layer, including by bringing Rust into Pixel baseband code earlier this year, which underlines how central connectivity has become to its hardware roadmap. If the MediaTek switch delivers as advertised, the Pixel 11 could mark the first time Google’s modem story improves as visibly as its camera and AI features.
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