Google stuns many by raising the price of a currently offered Pixel model

Just when Google should be cutting Pixel 10a prices, it hikes them instead

As a result of the DRAM memory shortages and price increases, Google has hiked the price of the 128GB Pixel 10a by $100 or 20% to $599. The 256GB variant rose $100 to $699, a 16.7% increase.

I don't think that Google did this at the request of President Trump, but in Canada, the price of the 256GB Pixel 10a has risen a whopping 25% from $679 Canadian Dollars to $849 Canadian Dollars. In Europe, the 256GB Pixel 10a has seen its price rise by €100 Euros from €499 Euros to €599 Euros, a 20% increase.

In the UK, the price of the 256GB Pixel 10a rose by £100 Great British Pounds, or 20%, from £499 Great British Pounds to £599 Great British Pounds.

DRAM memory chip prices are soaring

DRAM memory chip prices are soaring as manufacturers like Samsung, Micron, and SK Hynix are shifting their production capacity from DRAM memory chips to higher margin AI chips like High Bandwidth Memory (HBM) for AI accelerators and data centers. This has caused a major shortage of DRAM chips
Those three memory purveyors had a decision to make and all three voted to produce the high-profit-margin HBM chips instead of DRAM. How much have DRAM chip prices soared? Glad you asked.

A smartphone that cost $999 earlier this year now goes for as much as $1,295

Before the surge in DRAM prices, a 16GB LPDDR5X RAM die cost phone manufacturers $30 to $40 each. With the shortage, the manufacturers had to pay $145-$160 for 16GB of memory. And looking at the effect on consumers, a smartphone that previously cost $999 has seen its base MSRP soar to $1,199 to $1,295.What manufacturers are doing is creating a stealth price increase. They are eliminating the 12GB and 16GB tiers of DRAM for a phone and replacing it with 8GB of DRAM. Google is not alone here. Samsung hiked the price of its Galaxy S26 flagship line by $100 this week with one model, the 2TB Galaxy S26 Ultra, getting a $200 hike.

Pixel 10a specs

The Pixel 10a features a 6.3-inch Actua display with a 120Hz refresh rate. Under the hood is the Tensor G4. It is equipped with 8GB of RAM with storage options of 128GB and 256GB. The Pixel 10a carries a 48MP main camera and a 13MP ultrawide camera.

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