Google’s New Pixel 11 Phones Get Higher Starting Prices — Blame the RAM Shortage

A slew of new phones and gadgets were revealed at the Made by Google event on Wednesday, including new Pixel phones, a foldable, a smartwatch and a personal item tracker. Following industry trends, most of these are pricier than their predecessors.

Like every other corner of the broader tech industry, phone makers have had to grapple with the RAM shortage and subsequent increased prices for memory and other components. Google acknowledged the shortage, noting that its pricing reflects that current reality. For the record, Samsung said much the same , citing the RAM shortage to justify the price increase for its foldables that launched last month.

The Pixel 11 fronts Google’s new phone lineup and starts at $899, a $100 bump over last year’s Pixel 10 — though it also comes with 256GB of storage, which is twice the minimum of its predecessor. In short, Google scrubbed the 128GB option and is forcing everyone to buy a higher tier as the new entry point. That will probably dim the chances of Google’s latest baseline flagship from living up to being a “feature-packed value monster,” as CNET Director of Content Patrick Holland described the Pixel 10 .

While the Pixel 11 and 11 Pro more or less kept their predecessors’ prices the same, the Pixel 11 Pro XL and Pixel 11 Pro Fold both got flat $100 price hikes across all their storage options.

But another sign of the shortage’s increased toll is a reduction in RAM. Last year’s Pixel 10 Pro and 10 Pro XL both came with 16GB of memory, which you’ll still get in the 512GB and 1TB versions of the new Pixel 11 Pro and 11 Pro XL — but the starting 256GB versions come with only 12GB of RAM. In a briefing ahead of the event, Google said that its 2026 Pro phones are faster and smoother than last year’s thanks to optimizations in silicon and software. We’ll have to wait for our full reviews to test that claim.

All four phones can be preordered now, with a full release on Aug. 20. We’ve assembled a list of preorder offers from different retailers and carriers, or you can click below to secure one directly from Google.

The Pixel 11 starts at $899 for 256GB of storage, which is the new entry point. While there’s no 128GB option, there is a higher 512GB option that’s new for this year, priced at $1,019, over $100 more.

The Pixel 11 Pro also got rid of its 128GB option, but kept the others at mostly the same prices as on the 10 Pro. The phone starts at $1,099 for 256GB, goes up to $1,219 for 512GB and tops out at $1,499 for 1TB ($50 higher than its predecessor).

The Pixel 11 Pro XL, Google’s priciest flat phone, suffered a $100 price bump across the board even though its storage options didn’t change. The phone now starts at $1,299 for 256GB, goes to $1,419 for 512GB and maxes out at $1,649 for 1TB.

Similarly, the Pixel 11 Pro Fold got a $100 price hike across all its storage options. The foldable starts at $1,899 for 256GB, rises to $2,019 for 512GB and peaks at $2,249 for 1TB.

Let’s be clear, $2,249 is still a lot of money to spend on a device.