The Pixel 11 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro now have the same starting price: $1,099 with 256GB of storage.

That makes the comparison unusually direct. Google emphasizes Gemini and long-range still photography, while Apple leans on professional video tools and its wider device ecosystem.

At the same price, the choice comes down to which strength fits how you use your phone.

Quick comparison

Same price, different camera strengths

Pixel 11 Pro’s $1,099 entry point follows Google’s confirmed Pixel 11 price increase, although Google also doubled the base storage from 128GB to 256GB. Its official hardware specifications show 12GB of RAM on the 256GB model and 16GB on the 512GB and 1TB versions.

The camera hardware points to different priorities. Pixel 11 Pro has a 50MP main camera, 48MP ultrawide, 48MP 5x telephoto, and 42MP front camera. Google’s Pro Zoom reaches 120x, giving the Pixel considerably more digital reach on paper.

The iPhone 17 Pro uses three 48MP rear cameras and an 18MP Center Stage front camera. Apple lists an 8x optical-quality telephoto option and digital zoom up to 40x. Those numbers alone do not determine image quality, but buyers who regularly shoot distant subjects get substantially more advertised zoom range from the Pixel.

Apple has the clearer advantage for advanced video workflows. The iPhone supports ProRes RAW, Apple Log 2, genlock, 4K Dolby Vision at up to 120 fps, and Dual Capture. Those tools give creators more options for footage headed into professional editing or multi-camera setups.

Gemini, Apple Intelligence, and long-term support

Google is putting Gemini closer to the center of the Pixel experience. Its Pixel 11 features include proactive assistance, Rambler voice input that removes filler words, Live Translate, and Circle to Search directly in the camera viewfinder.

Pixel 11 Pro also includes six months of Google AI Pro, with expanded Gemini limits, 5TB of cloud storage, and Google Health Premium.

Apple Intelligence takes a different approach. Current iPhone features include Live Translation across Messages, FaceTime, and Phone, visual intelligence for onscreen content, and intelligent actions in Shortcuts. Existing Apple users also retain tighter integration with products such as Mac, Apple Watch, and AirPods.

Google promises seven years of OS, security, and Pixel Drop updates for Pixel 11 Pro. Apple describes the iPhone 17 Pro as receiving long-term software support but does not state a fixed number of years in its launch materials.

At $1,099, Pixel 11 Pro makes the stronger case for buyers prioritizing Gemini, long-range photography, and a defined update window. iPhone 17 Pro is easier to justify for buyers already invested in Apple devices or who want its deeper professional video toolkit.

Also read: Apple recently raised trade-in values across iPhones, Macs, iPads, and Apple Watches, with some devices gaining more than $100 in estimated credit.

An unusual glitch has resulted in the xAI’s Grok chatbot speaking gibberish to many users.

After asking the model to generate a PDF, one user received the response: “match it without and your they and two for planets can practical and often cheese…” with similar nonsense continuing for several paragraphs.

Checking source links, another user found a string of links to reinforcement learning research sites.

Affected users who spoke to TechCrunch said they were using Grok Lite, and noticed the issues as early as Wednesday morning. TechCrunch was unable to reproduce the issue in our own testing, and it is likely affecting only a small subset of users. X.ai did not respond to a request for comment.

Still, the result has been a lot of confused Grok users. The chatbot’s Reddit community has been overwhelmed with complaints. Refreshing the session often restores normal function, but some users reported that the gibberish responses continued even after multiple refreshes.

The bug appears to be limited to direct queries on Grok.com, and the Grok account on X.com has been unaffected.

Responding to unhappy users, the Grok account confirmed the issues on X.

“That pure word salad is a rare temporary generation glitch. Official status at https://status.x.ai shows all Grok services fully operational with no incidents. Start a fresh chat or regenerate—it usually clears right away. Sorry about the gibberish,” the account wrote Thursday morning.

X.ai has seen significant staff turnover in recent months, losing most of its founding team and at least 50 researchers and engineers, according to a report from The Information in May. The company released its most recent foundation model in July, describing it as “an Opus-class model, but faster, more token-efficient and lower cost.”

TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 is built around one question for founders: How do you build an enduring company in the AI era? For investors, it’s the opposite: How do you find that company before someone else does?

At Disrupt, the volume and competition are the point for investors, not a drawback. Year after year, investors who’ve explored the Expo Halls, met founders, and learned from peers at panels and Side Events have proven why you need to be on the ground to get ahead of the curve.

Consider that every founder pitching during the Startup Battlefield competition does so in front of a packed room of VCs. Why? Because they know their next cohort could be sitting right there. All it takes is making the trip to San Francisco this October 13-15.

This guide is for the investors who recognize that three days spent at Moscone West are well worth it and who plan to walk away with the insights and prospects that yield returns.  

And speaking of returns, we have up to $300 in savings with our current ticket tiers, which end Friday, August 21 at 11:59 p.m. PT, so act swiftly to get an even greater ROI on Disrupt.

Let’s dive in!

How Disrupt works for different investors 

Disrupt features numerous tracks, depending on the check sizes you’re able to write and the stage of startup you specialize in.

Angel, pre-seed, scout

If you’re coming to build out your portfolio of early bets and get in on rounds before they’re priced, prioritize the Startup Battlefield 200 semifinalist pitches, the Builders Stage, and the Expo Hall.

Seed, Series A

Disrupt will be all about volume and speed of qualified deal flow. Prioritize the founder list, our curated 1:1 meetings, and the Deal Flow Café. 

Growth, late stage

This stage is best suited for those coming to the event as much for market intelligence and strategic partnership scouting as for deal sourcing. Prioritize the Smart Money and Smart Systems Stages, as well as the exclusive StrictlyVC investor-only session.

Why Disrupt? 

More than 20,000 curated meetings take place over just three days, within dedicated environments like investor receptions and structured networking sessions. Investor-founder connections aren’t hallway luck –they’re built into Disrupt’s infrastructure.

You get direct access to 200 pitch-ready, TechCrunch-vetted startups through Startup Battlefield 200. And we’ll put an emphasis on “vetted.” Our Startup Battlefield team, working alongside TechCrunch’s incredibly discerning team of editors and writers, has done a significant amount of diligence for you already.

Past speakers have included investors like Elad Gil and Vinod Khosla, and this year’s lineup puts you in the room with the operators you’re underwriting, too. We’re talking Rivian’s RJ Scaringe, Amazon’s Panos Panay, Replit’s Amjad Masad, and Cerebras’ Andrew Feldman, just for starters.

The Disrupt crowd is your signal. With a mix of 10,000 founders, investors, and operators filling Moscone West, the companies worth knowing will get discovered by someone. This is your chance to make sure it’s you.

Startup Battlefield 200 is a sourcing engine, not just a pitch competition 

For founders, Startup Battlefield is a visibility engine and a trial by fire. For investors, it’s a filtered shortlist that the TechCrunch team has spent months narrowing down for you.

Consider that:

• 200 pre-Series A startups, handpicked by our Startup Battlefield and editorial teams and sharpened through the SB 200 program, are competing for $100,000 in equity-free funding. 
• Battlefield alumni have collectively raised over $32 billion and produced 250+ exits, which is evidence we produce fundable companies. 

Startup Battlefield is intensely competitive. Thousands of global startups apply, while just 200 make the cut and only a handful reach the finals. That funnel is doing your top-of-pipeline filtering for you before you ever take a meeting. If you’re not circling around these startups, your competitors are.

The exclusive access that an Investor Pass grants 

We have several different passes for Disrupt, and by joining the community via an Investor Pass, you get access to perks like…

The Deal Flow Café

This is a space exclusively for founders and investors, fostering impromptu run-ins with founders actively seeking capital. Grab coffee or a beverage of choice, explore opportunities, and start conversations that can turn into your next deal.

The founder list

You’ll get early access to the full list of Disrupt founders looking for connections with investors. The next addition to your portfolio can be identified before the event even begins, giving you more time to find even more opportunities.

Curated meetings

Through the Disrupt app, you can schedule 1:1 and small-group meetings with founders matching your focus areas, with AI helping match you by mutual interests instead of waiting on fate.

The investors who make the most out of Disrupt don’t leave sourcing to chance — they’ve already scanned the available resources and set up their agendas in advance.

The Disrupt programming that matters most to Investors 

Our editorially curated programming, including all three days of sessions and panels, is available here, stretching across six stages, breakout sessions, roundtables, and Side Events. Here are some of the stages that might be of interest:

The Smart Money Stage: Interested in capital markets, embedded finance, and stablecoins? Everything within the fintech realm, especially within the intersection of AI, is included.

The Smart Systems Stage: It’s all about compute, infrastructure, and energy economics. If you need to build a justification for underwriting AI infrastructure bets, this is the place to start.

The AI Stage and Real World AI Stages: Get market intelligence on where the fastest-growing startups are deploying, not just building.

The Disrupt Stage: This is where operators and CEOs set the narrative your current and future portfolio companies will be measured against.

Is Disrupt 2026 worth it? 

Disrupt’s value isn’t found in the size of the crowd, though that certainly helps. It’s in the potential, the expertise, the value of that crowd and the feedback it gives you. With so much overlapping investor attention, the companies worth knowing are getting found fast — regardless of whether you’re in the room. The cost of attending is a ticket and three days of your time. The cost of not attending is finding out about your next portfolio company from someone else’s term sheet.

Disrupt 2026 logistics for investors 

We’ve gone in depth about the benefits to you, your portfolio, and the opportunities Disrupt offers you. But there are always matters of hotels, expenses, and travel to sort out. Our Disrupt site has the bulk of these issues covered, but to tackle some common questions and pressing opportunities:

Disrupt passes are discounted until August 22, after which our next pricing tier begins. That means up to $300 discounts on tickets relative to their final prices.

For your hotel needs, we have partnerships with several stellar hotels near Moscone West. You’ll get exclusive discounts, easy access to Disrupt and anything else you might want to explore in San Francisco, and yes, you’ll get points for your accommodations.

If you’re bringing a large cohort or are interested in having a company in your portfolio take part in our Expo Hall to get wider visibility, check out our bulk ticket options here and our Exhibit Table options here.

For all other questions, you can explore our full Disrupt page to find more specific FAQs, and we hope to see you in San Francisco this year!