Google Confirms Pixel Price Increases, Citing Memory Component Costs

Google has confirmed that Pixel phone prices will rise, citing the ongoing RAM and storage cost increases affecting the industry, according to a statement given to 9to5Google and reported by Android Police.

The confirmation came from Google Vice President of Devices and Services Shakil Barkat, who said the company will make pricing "adjustments" across the Pixel family and will do so "dynamically to match supply realities." Google did not disclose specific prices for the upcoming Pixel 11 lineup. The Pixel event is scheduled for August 12.

Barkat said Google has worked to shield customers from rising component prices but is not immune to the increases affecting the wider market.

Pixel Prices Track Component Supply, Android Memory Use to Shrink

The central point from Google's statement is that Pixel pricing adjustments will track supply conditions rather than being set at a fixed level.

Barkat said the changes will be made "dynamically to match supply realities," which Android Police interprets to mean that continued increases in component costs will translate to higher prices at the point of sale.

Google did not reveal pricing for the upcoming Pixel series. The RAM and storage cost increases behind the change have affected the smartphone industry broadly over the past year, and Android Police notes that no company is immune to the component crisis.

Some manufacturers have attempted alternate approaches to hold prices steady, but at the cost of other tradeoffs.

Alongside the pricing confirmation, Android Police reports that Google is making a "dedicated effort" to drive down memory requirements across Android.

Reducing the memory footprint of the operating system would lessen the amount of RAM devices need, which could partially offset the impact of higher memory component costs on future hardware.

Android Police frames this as a change that could have been pursued earlier, noting that manufacturers have historically added new hardware regardless of whether previous…