Google's VP of Devices and Services, Shakil Barkat, confirmed that the Pixel 11 lineup, set to be unveiled on August 12, will carry higher prices as a global memory shortage driven by AI data centers pushes RAM costs to unprecedented levels. Citing Morgan Stanley data, Google says the price of 1GB of RAM has jumped from $2.80 in 2025 to $12 in 2026 — a sixfold increase in a single year.
Leaks suggest the base Pixel 11 and Pixel 11 Pro could rise by roughly $100, with the entry Pixel 11 Pro's RAM dropping from 16GB to 12GB while storage doubles to 256GB to soften the blow. "There's never been an increase in memory prices like the world's going through right now," Barkat said, adding that Google is racing to optimize Android's memory footprint using its AI and silicon expertise to preserve performance despite less RAM.
The shortage stems from memory makers redirecting manufacturing capacity toward high-bandwidth memory for AI data centers, squeezing supply for consumer devices. Samsung has already raised prices across its Galaxy Z8 foldable lineup for the same reason, signaling the RAM crunch is reshaping smartphone pricing industry-wide.