How much more will the Pixel 11 cost?

Google has not published final prices and will announce them on August 12, 2026. Its VP of Devices confirmed increases are coming but declined to give figures. Leaks point to the Pixel 11 starting at $899 against the Pixel 10's current $799, with the Pro XL and Pro Fold taking a similar $100 rise. Treat those numbers as unofficial until launch.

Why are Pixel prices going up?

Memory costs. Google's VP of Devices and Services, Shakil Barkat, said there has never been an increase in memory prices like the current one. Morgan Stanley data cited in those reports puts 1GB of RAM at $2.80 in 2025 and about $12 in 2026, a sixfold rise in a year.

Will the Pixel 11 Pro have less RAM than the Pixel 10 Pro?

Reports suggest the entry-level Pixel 11 Pro drops from 16GB to 12GB of RAM. Google has not confirmed this. Base storage is separately expected to double from 128GB to 256GB, which partly offsets the higher price.

Are current Pixel phones getting more expensive too?

Yes. Barkat indicated that models already on sale, including the Pixel 10a, will see price adjustments as well. Google has not given a date for those changes, so buying before the August 12 event is the safer option if you are already close to a decision.

What is Google doing to reduce RAM use in Android?

Google described a dedicated effort to cut how much memory Android and its app ecosystem require while keeping performance intact. With RAM this expensive, lowering the requirement saves money on every phone. Budget devices with 6GB or 8GB would benefit most if it works.

Google Confirms Pixel 11 Price Increase as RAM Costs Spiral

What Google actually said

Barkat's line, as quoted in that interview, was blunt: "there's never been an increase in memory prices like the world's going through right now." He added that Google has "shielded our consumers from supply fluctuations for as long as possible."

The figure behind it comes from Morgan Stanley data cited in the same reporting: 1GB of RAM went from about $2.80 in 2025 to roughly $12 in 2026. That is a sixfold rise in a year, on a component every phone needs in quantity.

What Google did not do is give numbers. Barkat declined to share specific figures, and said adjustments would be rolled out dynamically to match supply realities. So the confirmation is real, but it is a confirmation of direction, not of a price list.

Confirmed vs. rumoured — the split matters

Coverage has blurred these two together, so here is the line. Confirmed by Google: prices are rising, memory is the cause, in-market phones are affected too, and there is a dedicated effort to cut Android's RAM use.

Still only leaked, with no Google confirmation:

Pixel 11 — reported to start at $899, up from the Pixel 10's current $799.

Pixel 11 Pro XL and Pixel 11 Pro Fold — reported to take a similar $100 increase.

Base storage — expected to double from 128GB to 256GB, which offsets part of the rise.

Entry Pixel 11 Pro RAM — reportedly dropping from 16GB to 12GB.

Those come from supply-chain and pre-launch leaks, not from the interview. Anything final arrives on August 12.

Phones already on sale are affected too

This is the part most readers will feel first. Barkat indicated that in-market Pixels will eventually see an impact, naming no date. The Pixel 10a, currently $499, is the model most often flagged as next, and Google's "dynamic" phrasing suggests changes can land at any point rather than at a launch event.

Google says it will stay competitive through promotions, trade-in offers and Google One bundles rather than by holding sticker prices down — which is worth reading as a hint that the discount, not the list price, is where the value will sit.

What to do about it

Buying a Pixel 10 or 10a anyway? There is no announced date for in-market increases, so the current $799 and $499 prices are not guaranteed to hold. Buying before August 12 removes the risk.
Waiting for the Pixel 11? Check the RAM figure on the spec sheet, not just the price. A cheaper-looking configuration may have less memory than its predecessor.
Comparing on storage. If base storage really doubles to 256GB, a $100 rise is closer to flat than it looks. Compare like-for-like capacities, not headline prices.
Holding an older Pixel? Trade-in values are where Google says it will compete, so get a quote before you commit either way.

Android is going on a memory diet

The more consequential news is the engineering response. Google described a dedicated effort to reduce how much RAM Android and its app ecosystem need without losing performance. If a gigabyte costs six times what it did, cutting memory use saves real money on every phone shipped — Google's and everyone else's.

Budget hardware stands to gain most, where 6GB and 8GB configurations are already tight, and it arrives at an awkward moment: on-device AI is the main thing pushing RAM requirements up. If your current phone already feels short of memory, the symptoms are the ones covered in our guide to the Android settings that actually speed up a phone.

Not a Google-only problem

Every Android maker buys from the same memory suppliers, and Qualcomm chip prices are reported to be climbing by double digits as well, stacking a second increase on the first. Samsung faces the same arithmetic with its next flagships — see what is expected of the Galaxy S27 lineup.