Google Officially Unveils Pixel 11 Lineup With Agentic Gemini AI, New Tensor G6 Chip And Price Hikes

Google unveiled its Pixel 11 smartphone lineup this week at its Made by Google event in New York, introducing four new devices built around deeper integration of its Gemini artificial intelligence assistant, a new in-house processor, and camera upgrades, alongside price increases the company attributed to rising global memory chip costs.

The lineup includes the Pixel 11, Pixel 11 Pro, Pixel 11 Pro XL and Pixel 11 Pro Fold, all of which opened for preorder August 12 through the Google Store, Amazon and Best Buy, with retail availability beginning August 20. Pricing starts at $899 for the base Pixel 11, $1,099 for the Pixel 11 Pro, $1,299 for the Pixel 11 Pro XL, and $1,899 for the Pixel 11 Pro Fold. Each of those prices runs roughly $100 higher than the equivalent 256-gigabyte configuration from last year's Pixel 10 lineup, with Google eliminating the lower-capacity 128-gigabyte storage option entirely, meaning every Pixel 11 model now starts with 256 gigabytes of storage as standard.

Google VP Shakil Barkat confirmed that the price increases stem largely from a global shortage of DRAM memory chips, which has driven the per-gigabyte cost of mobile LPDDR5X memory from roughly $2.80 in 2025 to about $12 in 2026, according to analysis from IDC. That same memory shortage has driven price increases across much of the broader consumer electronics industry throughout 2026.

The headline feature across the new lineup is an expanded, more autonomous version of Gemini, which Google is calling Gemini Intelligence. The system can now handle multistep tasks across more than 40 different apps, including ordering groceries, booking rideshares, managing reservations, and even placing phone calls to businesses on a user's behalf, functioning across apps that don't have any dedicated Gemini integration built in. The capability relies on a technique often described as screen-parsing, in which Gemini reads and interacts with an app's on-screen interface directly, similar to how a person would navigate it manually, rather than requiring individual developers to build custom Gemini integrations for their apps. Google has said users will be able to review transcripts of any AI-operated phone calls and can take over or halt a task at any point during the process.

Powering that expanded AI functionality is the Tensor G6, Google's newest in-house chip and the first 2-nanometer processor used in any Android smartphone to date. Google says the chip delivers 50% more machine-learning compute power than its predecessor, allowing on-device AI tasks paired with the latest Gemini Nano model to run up to 3.5 times faster while consuming up to 3.5 times less energy. Baseline RAM across the new lineup starts at 12 gigabytes, scaling up to 16 gigabytes on higher configurations. Google says the full Pixel 11 lineup delivers more than 30 hours of battery life, with the company also touting a 15-minute charge capable of restoring roughly 15 hours of use.

On the camera side, the new Magic Capture feature analyzes roughly 400 frames during a typical shooting session, combining on-device processing with Gemini models to automatically produce well-timed, high-quality 12-megapixel photos, along with a companion video, without requiring users to switch between separate photo and video modes. A new Camera Looks feature lets users select a default visual aesthetic for their photos at the moment of capture, offering options including Natural, Shadows and Vanilla as new default looks, alongside six additional customizable styles named Digi, Black Tie, Minimal, Editorial, Classic and Velvet. A new Creator Suite adds tools aimed at content creators directly within the camera app, including social media framing gridlines, an on-screen teleprompter that scrolls automatically as a user speaks, and automatic organization of recorded video into project folders.

The Pixel 11 Pro and Pro XL also gain Instant Night Sight, which Google says captures low-light photos up to 4.5 times faster than before while maintaining image quality, addressing a processing-speed limitation that had affected earlier versions of the feature. Camera hardware across the lineup includes a 48-megapixel main sensor offering 56% greater light sensitivity than the prior generation, a 13-megapixel ultra-wide sensor, and a 10.8-megapixel telephoto lens supporting up to 30x Super Zoom. The Pro models additionally introduce HiLight, a ring of LEDs surrounding the camera flash that glows in different patterns to indicate when Gemini is listening, processing or responding, and can also pulse in custom colors to signal an incoming call from a specific contact.

Beyond the core lineup, Google also introduced the Pixel Watch 5 and its first dedicated item tracker, the Pixel Tag, which supports ultra-wideband precision finding and is expected to launch later this year. All Pixel 11 devices come with a commitment of seven years of operating system, security and Pixel Drop feature updates, matching the support window Google has offered since the Pixel 8 series.

Multiple carriers have rolled out early promotional offers tied to the launch. T-Mobile is offering the Pixel 11, Pixel 11 Pro and Pixel 11 Pro XL free with a new line, or up to $1,300 in trade-in credit, while Verizon is offering up to $1,100 in trade-in credit for new lines, or $900 for existing customers, paid out over 36 months. Google Fi is offering $450 off the Pixel 11 Pro for existing subscribers without requiring a long-term contract, and both Best Buy and Amazon are including gift cards ranging from $100 to $350 with qualifying preorders.

With preorders now open and devices set to reach store shelves August 20, the Pixel 11 lineup represents Google's most AI-centric smartphone release to date, positioning Gemini's expanded, task-completing capabilities as the primary selling point over more traditional year-over-year hardware upgrades.