You guys — if you were planning on picking up a new Pixel or a Watch this fall, brace yourself because Google is making us pay more and cutting options. A Dealabs report (spotted by 9to5Google) shows the base 41mm Pixel Watch 5 could hit $399 for Wi-Fi — that's a $50 jump from last year’s $349 — and LTE climbs to $499 ($50 hike). The larger 45mm version is rumored at $429 with Wi-Fi. Why? It's the memory crisis again, where HBM demand for AI chips has cannibalized consumer supply chains. We've seen this before: companies ax lower-tier storage and pass the bill to you. This isn't just Google — it's a trend across high-end mobile and desktop hardware as server demanda starves the retail market.
Europe gets hit even harder, which is hilarious because I can already hear the inevitable outcry. They could drop the 128GB entry point entirely for the Pixel 11, pushing the base price to €999 up from last year's €899 — a flat €100 hike on the lowest tier. Then there are the high-end models: Pro at €1,199, the new Pro XL at €1,399, and the Pixel 11 Pro Fold could reach as much as €1,999! For the fold alone that's a massive jump over previous generations — nearly doubling some comparisons if you factor in earlier sales pricing. The only consolation is that the 256GB configuration price might stay flat even with these tier changes, but let's be honest: still not cheaper than before and definitely doesn't make up for losing entry-level options entirely.
This story should ring a bell because it's exactly what I talked about with those massive GPU investment rounds — huge money flowing into AI infrastructure always comes out of someone's pocket at the end, usually yours. We are in an era where consumer electronics become premium tier goods because corporate server demands consume high-grade parts first. Previous rumors even suggested this year’s Pixel 11 might start with only 8GB RAM instead of last year's 12GB — another spec cut to manage costs amidst the shortage. If you need a phone or watch, my advice is simple: wait until after launch on August 12th before making any decisions. Give them time to announce official bundles and trade-in promos that might soften this blow just enough for people who still want new hardware without paying the full premium upfront.
Source: https://www.theverge.com/tech/962781/google-pixel-11-lineup-price-increase
Europe gets hit even harder, which is hilarious because I can already hear the inevitable outcry. They could drop the 128GB entry point entirely for the Pixel 11, pushing the base price to €999 up from last year's €899 — a flat €100 hike on the lowest tier. Then there are the high-end models: Pro at €1,199, the new Pro XL at €1,399, and the Pixel 11 Pro Fold could reach as much as €1,999! For the fold alone that's a massive jump over previous generations — nearly doubling some comparisons if you factor in earlier sales pricing. The only consolation is that the 256GB configuration price might stay flat even with these tier changes, but let's be honest: still not cheaper than before and definitely doesn't make up for losing entry-level options entirely.
This story should ring a bell because it's exactly what I talked about with those massive GPU investment rounds — huge money flowing into AI infrastructure always comes out of someone's pocket at the end, usually yours. We are in an era where consumer electronics become premium tier goods because corporate server demands consume high-grade parts first. Previous rumors even suggested this year’s Pixel 11 might start with only 8GB RAM instead of last year's 12GB — another spec cut to manage costs amidst the shortage. If you need a phone or watch, my advice is simple: wait until after launch on August 12th before making any decisions. Give them time to announce official bundles and trade-in promos that might soften this blow just enough for people who still want new hardware without paying the full premium upfront.
Source: https://www.theverge.com/tech/962781/google-pixel-11-lineup-price-increase