Google is set to launch the Pixel 11 series smartphones at the Made by Google event globally on August 12. Ahead of the launch event, Google has confirmed that potential buyers will have to shell out more to buy the new Pixel 11 series smartphones when they hit the shelves.
What’s happening and why is Google increasing prices of its Pixel phones?
Smartphone makers are increasingly raising prices of their new and old smartphones in the market. In the past, top brands including Samsung, Xiaomi, OnePlus, Vivo, Realme and more have increased prices of their smartphones in India and elsewhere around the globe. But so far, Google hasn’t joined this conversation. But that has changed as Google’s Vice President of Devices and Services, Shakil Barkat, in an interview with 9To5 Google confirmed that the company will increase prices of its smartphones starting with the Pixel 11 series devices.
Barkat said that Google was experiencing an unprecedented surge in costs owing to the severe, supplier-driven RAM memory crisis. While the company has ‘shielded’ its customers from these supply-chain fluctuations so far, the ‘economics have fundamentally shifted’, which is what is leading the company to ‘adjust’ the prices of its upcoming smartphones.
The Google executive also said that the entire Pixel family of devices will see price revisions in the coming days and that this price change ‘will be rolled out dynamically to match supply realities’. This starts with the Pixel 11 series that will arrive next month. That said, Google will continue to offer promotional offers, trade-in offers and other perks to make the purchase worthwhile for the buyers.
For the unversed, smartphone prices have increased globally due to a rise in the DRAM prices owing to the booming demand from AI data centers. These prices are making smartphones much more expensive to build smartphones and ultimately driving the prices up.
So, how much will the Pixel 11 series cost?
Google hasn’t confirmed how much of a price hike should the buyers brace for. However, reports suggest that the company could increase the starting price of the upcoming Pixel 11 and the Pixel 11 Pro smartphones by around $100 ( ₹9583 approximately). In addition to this, the company is also planning to make RAM more efficient. The company will reportedly pack 12GB of RAM instead of the 16GB on the Pixel 11 Pro and optimize it better to save costs. However, reports also suggest that Google will also double down on the storage space, moving from 128GB as base variant to 256GB as the base variant, to soften the blow for the potential buyers.
Will Google increase prices of its older devices?
While the Google executive didn’t explicitly mention that the company would increase prices of its older devices, he did say that the ‘in-market Pixel phones’ could also face the impact of the ongoing disruption. This means that Pixel 10a could get a price bump in the coming days. That said, we will have to wait for Google to make a formal announcement.
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