While the Galaxy S27 and the iPhone 18 Pro face price hikes, the Pixel 11 may keep costs down with cheaper RAM

Will the upcoming Pixel 11 by Google cost an arm and a leg? If we take a look at what the other two big players are doing – Samsung and Apple – it's easy to say "Yes, it will!"

After all, the Galaxy S26 arrived with a $100 price hike at the start of 2026; so did the iPhone 17 Pro last September.

What's more, components are getting more and more expensive and mere hours ago, none other than Tim Cook announced that the iPhone 18 will indeed be pricier. Some say it could go up to $1,399… and that makes sense, sadly. Same is expected for the Galaxy S27 next year.

But can the Pixel 11 cost the same as the Pixel 10 once it's unveiled?

Well, there's a chance.

Cheaper RAM chips for the win?

So, rising memory prices have pushed companies like Google to look for cheaper suppliers.

Chinese memory maker CXMT is reportedly offering RAM at lower prices than Samsung, SK Hynix and Micron, which currently dominate the market. Because of the higher costs, many tech companies are exploring alternatives.

Current rumors claim that Google is interested in buying memory from CXMT, with the information allegedly tied to CEO Sundar Pichai himself.

It is still unclear how much memory Google would purchase or exactly what it would be used for. Google is not alone, as Dell, HP, ASUS and Acer have also reportedly held talks with CXMT.

Meanwhile, the US government has considered restrictions on Chinese memory makers, including CXMT, but no ban has been introduced… yet. CXMT has also increased production of LPDDR4 memory after Samsung stepped away from that segment.

We heard something similar before

According to earlier reports, Google may keep the Pixel 11 Pro at the familiar $999 price by reducing its RAM from 16 GB to 12 GB.

While 12 GB is still enough for current tasks, don't forget that less memory could hurt the phone's ability to handle future AI features (and long-term software updates).

Instead of raising prices like Samsung, Google may prioritize affordability.

Maybe we'll get 16 GB of RAM in the end… and if CXMT is able to provide it cheaper, that would be great.

Or is Google looking for a bigger profit?

Keeping Pixel 11 prices at the same level is one option. The other, of course, is for Google to bump prices up AND get cheaper RAM chips from CXMT. That makes sense as well, if it's profit that Google is after.

Nothing is off the table right now. Take all reports with a grain of salt, but it's probably better to mentally prepare yourself for pricier gadgets in the foreseeable future.

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