Google Launches Pixel 11 with Higher Baseline Pricing

Google LLC is launching the Pixel 11 and Pixel 11 Pro smartphone families this week, introducing a new pricing strategy that eliminates the $799 base tier. The company is removing 128GB storage configurations, setting 256GB as the new baseline. Prices for the new lineup start at $899 for the Pixel 11 and go up to $1,899 for the Pixel 11 Pro Fold.

To facilitate local Gemini LLM workloads and reduce cloud latency, Google LLC established 16GB of system memory as the hardware requirement for these premium models. This hardware shift coincides with the release of Android 17, which implements more rigorous third-party app distribution rules.

Under the new operating system, app creators must undergo developer identity verification and provide government-issued identification. These software changes further position the Google Play Store as the central gatekeeper for the Android ecosystem.