The Pixel 11 is set to become more expensive
Are you interested in the upcoming Pixel 11 series? If so, you should expect to pay more. Google has confirmed that the new Pixel smartphones will be more expensive due to the sharp rise in the cost of RAM. At the same time, the company is working on ways to make Android less reliant on large amounts of RAM.
According to Shakil Barkat, Vice President of Devices & Services at Google, the entire tech industry is grappling with an exceptional rise in memory prices. For example, the price of 1GB of RAM is expected to rise from $2.80 in 2025 to $12 in 2026.
Price rise for new Pixel devices
Google says it has absorbed the higher purchase prices itself for a long time, but that this is no longer possible. As a result, prices for the Pixel product range are being adjusted. This also applies to the Pixel 11 series, which will be officially unveiled on 12 August. Other devices, including the Pixel Watch, will also see price changes.
Google is keeping the exact new prices under wraps for the time being. According to earlier rumours, the Pixel 11 and Pixel 11 Pro will see a price increase of around $100, with the standard storage capacity potentially doubling to 256GB. Price increases are also expected for the Pixel 11 Pro XL and Pixel 11 Pro Fold.
It’s not just new devices that will be affected. Google has announced that existing Pixel smartphones may also become more expensive in the future. Exactly which models this applies to and when the changes will take effect is not yet known. According to the company, this depends on availability and market developments.
Android needs to become more efficient
Alongside the price increases, Google is investing in a long-term solution. The company is working on a more efficient version of Android, so that smartphones with less RAM can still run smoothly.
To this end, both Android itself and the wider app ecosystem are being optimised. The combination of Google’s own AI models, Tensor processors and software should also ensure that AI features can run efficiently without using a lot of RAM.
Whether these optimisations will ultimately mean that future Pixel smartphones can manage with less RAM remains to be seen. What is clear, however, is that the global rise in memory prices is now also being reflected in the prices of Google’s new hardware.
Via Morgan Stanley, 9to5Google
