Google has made it official. The next Made by Google event will take place on August 12 in New York, where the company will present its new Pixel 11 series, just weeks after the landing of the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8.
What Google hasn’t confirmed is the price, but a new retail leak points to Google doubling the base storage across the entire Pixel 11 line to 256GB, along with an actual price increase.
Pixel 11 price: Google is doing exactly what Samsung did
Samsung made a similar move with the launch of the Galaxy S26 earlier this year. The Korean company removed the 128GB option entirely, essentially increasing the entry price by $100 compared to the Galaxy S25. The Galaxy S26 Plus also saw a $100 increase, while the Galaxy S26 Ultra held steady at $1,299.
The Google Pixel 10 Pro. (Photo by Future Publishing via Getty Images)
T3
Dealabs, which is a French deals site with a strong track record in early phone pricing news, reported that the base Pixel 11 starts at €999 for 256GB in Europe, up from €899 for the 128GB Pixel 10.
The Pixel 11 Pro 128GB option is also gone, so it now starts at €1,199, compared to the Pixel 10 pro’s €1,099 for the 128GB model. The Pixel 11 Pro XL and Pro Fold also cost €100 more across all storage levels compared to their predecessors. No information on US pricing yet.
It’s worth noting that if you compare similar 256GB versions for the base and Pro Pixel phones, there’s no price change between last year’s phone and the new Pixel 11 devices. It’s just that you lose out on an ultra-cheap 128GB option.
For Pixel 11 Pro XL and Pixel 11 Pro Fold, there is a direct increase of €100. Additionally, Google kept prices stable from the Pixel 9 to the Pixel 10, so there was always going to be some increase.
This is a similar storage jump, with a similar price direction, to the Galaxy S26. A Samsung executive told me at the launch earlier this year that the price increases were justified due to new features, specifically the privacy screen. And to be fair to Samsung, it’s a legitimately awesome new tool that I use regularly.
How will Google justify the price increase other than pointing out the disaster that is the RAM crisis? The biggest rumored new feature, Pixel Glow, is an ambient notification light, which doesn’t sound as revolutionary as Samsung’s privacy screen.
I don’t doubt that Google will have something up its sleeve to offset any complaints about the higher prices of the Pixel 11 series. Whether it’s new hardware with some level of wow factor or it reveals new agent abilities in Gemini Intelligence, it’s anyone’s guess.
Google’s latest hardware invention, which also remains my favorite, was its 3D Face Unlock that rivaled Apple’s Face ID. That was unceremoniously abandoned after the launch of the Google Pixel 5. If Google brought it back then it could withstand a $100 price increase.
Why it will be worth waiting to buy the Pixel 11
In any case, if you plan to buy the Pixel 11, you should hold on to your money for at least six weeks because Google is always running sales. It’s running one right now that knocks hundreds off the Pixel 10 range. In fact, it’s easier to count the months when Google doesn’t have any promotions.
How can you do this amid price increases? It all comes down to what a Pixel really is for Google’s business.
Unlike Samsung, Google’s hardware is not its only source of income. It is a distribution channel for Gemini, Google One, and Google’s broader software ecosystem, for which it charges subscriptions and from which it collects its data. That gives Google much more room to discount than manufacturers who need each phone sale to be profitable on its own.
Almost all Pixels launched have demonstrated this. Discounts arrive just weeks after launch and only increase as the months go by. If the Pixel 11 is priced higher with only modest upgrades, the smart decision for most buyers is the same one that’s worked for the last few Pixel generations: wait.
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