Pixel 11 series official: higher prices, more storage, less RAM, and a small new light

Google’s new phones for 2026 are now live: the Pixel 11, Pixel 11 Pro, Pixel 11 Pro XL and Pixel 11 Pro Fold. Pre-orders have opened and the phones start shipping on 20 August. We published the leaked spec sheet on Tuesday, and Google confirmed nearly all of it.

The prices first. Every model costs $100 more than the phone it replaces:

• Pixel 11: from $899, about KES 116,000
• Pixel 11 Pro: from $1,099, about KES 142,000
• Pixel 11 Pro XL: from $1,299, about KES 168,000
• Pixel 11 Pro Fold: from $1,899, about KES 246,000

The conversions use the current rate of about KES 129 to the dollar, before shipping, duty and importer margins. Google still does not sell Pixels in Kenya, so the phones arrive through independent importers, usually weeks after the US release date.

Why the prices went up

Google killed the 128GB tier. Every Pixel 11 now starts at 256GB, and Google is pricing each phone at what the 256GB version of its predecessor cost. So the $1,099 Pixel 11 Pro is technically the same price as last year’s 256GB Pixel 10 Pro.

The catch is memory. Last year, every Pixel 10 Pro and Pro XL shipped with 16GB of RAM regardless of storage. This year, the 256GB Pixel 11 Pro and Pro XL come with 12GB, and 16GB is reserved for the larger storage options. You pay a higher entry price and get less RAM than last year’s base model. Our Tuesday article covered the reason: AI data centres are buying up the world’s memory chips, and Counterpoint Research puts DRAM and NAND at record prices. The Fold is the exception. It keeps 16GB in every configuration.

What is actually new

The whole line runs on the Tensor G6, Google’s first chip built on TSMC’s 2nm process. Google claims 20% better energy efficiency, 25% faster web browsing and 15% faster app launches than the G5, per its Pixel 11 Pro announcement.

The Pro displays are Super Actua panels that now peak at 3,600 nits, with a new anti-scratch coating Google says is more than twice as scratch-resistant as the Pixel 10 Pro’s glass. Wireless charging moves to Qi2.2 at 25W across the line, up from the 15W most Pixel 10 models managed. Wired charging tops out at 30W on the Pro.

The batteries barely changed. Google skipped the silicon-carbon cells Chinese rivals use to pack bigger batteries into the same body; the Pixel 11 Pro carries 4,850mAh and the Pro XL 5,115mAh.

The camera bump stays, but the base Pixel 11’s bar is 40% thinner and all glass, and Google says it almost disappears under the company’s own new cases. On cameras, the Pixel 11 gets a new 48MP main sensor with 56% more light sensitivity and keeps its telephoto. The Pro phones get a new 50MP main and a reworked 48MP 5x telephoto with 30% more light.

The camera app adds a Creator Suite: an on-screen teleprompter that follows your speaking pace, framing guides for social formats, and project folders for video. Instant Night Sight is claimed to shoot up to 4.5 times faster than the old Night Sight.

HiLight

The colour-shifting light Google teased, which leaks called Pixel Glow, is called HiLight and ships on the Pro phones only. It is a set of LEDs built around the camera flash, and it works when the phone is face down.

At launch it does two things. It glows in a colour you assign when one of your favourite contacts calls, with five colours to choose from in the Contacts app. It works through the Phone app. And it glows in patterns while you talk to Gemini, to show the assistant is listening, thinking or responding. That is the full list. It is not a general notification LED, third-party apps cannot use it, and you cannot set custom colours.

The Fold

The Pixel 11 Pro Fold is 1mm thinner at 10.1mm folded, about 10% lighter at 239g, and has a new gearless hinge, a ceramic glass cover screen, and a glass fibre composite back Google says is “nearly impossible to crack”. It keeps its IP68 rating, which no other mass-market foldable currently offers. It also inherits the new 48MP main camera on a larger sensor.

Google claims the phone is three times more durable than the Pixel 10 Pro Fold. The crease has not gone anywhere either.

A small upgrade

Early hands-ons agree this is a small update. MKBHD titled his impressions video “It Is What It Is”. MobileSyrup called the series “another small iterative step”.

If you own a Pixel 10, nothing here forces an upgrade. If you are buying new, the base Pixel 11 at $899 with 256GB is where the value sits, and anyone eyeing a Pro should check which storage tier they are buying, because the RAM depends on it. For Kenyan buyers, the date to watch is weeks after 20 August, when importers start listing actual Nairobi prices.