Google hints next Pixel will cost more amid RAM shortage
Google is signaling a pricier Pixel 11 as Shakil Barkat cites a severe RAM crisis, raising the question of whether buyers get more than a higher bill.
Google signaled that the next Pixel phone will cost more, with Shakil Barkat, its vice president of devices and services, tying the move to a “severe, supplier-driven RAM memory crisis.” The pricing warning comes as flagship phones already sit close to the edge of what many buyers can afford.
The pressure is not limited to Google. Consumer Reports said AI data centers are “scooping up RAM,” a shift that has also pushed laptop prices higher, and IDC’s Dec. 18, 2025 report, Global Memory Shortage Crisis: Market Analysis and the Potential Impact on the Smartphone and PC Markets in 2026, warned that the shortage would hit both smartphones and PCs in 2026. That makes Google’s next Pixel decision part of a wider hardware squeeze, not a one-off move by a single brand.
Google’s own store page shows the Pixel 10 series as the company’s current flagship line, introduced in 2025, so any Pixel 11 increase would reset the pricing floor for the next generation. A July 7 leak said the Pixel 11 would come with higher prices, no 128GB model and an August release date, suggesting Google may pair the higher sticker with a storage shift rather than a simple markup. Google’s Made by Google event is scheduled for Aug. 12.
The broader market already shows how high top-tier pricing has climbed. Samsung’s Galaxy S26 Ultra starts at $1,299.99 before trade-in on Samsung’s US site, a level that leaves little room for another premium-phone jump without a clearer hardware payoff. Apple’s carrier-offers pages underscore the same reality: upgrades are increasingly managed through monthly financing and trade-in credits, not by paying the full amount up front.
For Pixel buyers, the real test is whether Google’s next phone delivers enough memory headroom, software efficiency and storage value to justify the increase. Barkat’s comment points to a company trying to respond to supply shocks, but the market will judge the Pixel 11 on whether it offers materially better specs or simply follows the industry’s inflationary drift.
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