New Pixel 11 expected on August 12

Google drops August 12 event invite for Pixel 11, price hikes incoming and say goodbye to the 128GB tier

Google is pulling the curtain back on its hardware plans a bit earlier this year, officially scheduling its next “Made by Google” event for Wednesday, August 12, 2026.

The search giant began blasting out media invitations confirming the date, but it is throwing a bit of a curveball with the timing. Instead of the usual midday presentation, Google is shifting the keynote to a prime-time slot at 6:00 PM Eastern Time in New York City. This means that folks in central European time will have to watch it at midnight. Official animation teasers give us a clear glimpse of a gold-tinted frame alongside a refined, pill-shaped camera bar.

The Lineup

The upcoming showcase is expected to feature a four-pronged smartphone attack:

• Pixel 11 (Codenamed Cubs)
• Pixel 11 Pro (Codenamed Grizzly)
• Pixel 11 Pro XL (Codenamed Kodiak)
• Pixel 11 Pro Fold (Codenamed Yogi)

Beyond the phones, we are also highly likely to see the debut of the Pixel Watch 5 and a new iteration of Pixel Buds. The silicon driving the mobile lineup will be the Tensor G6, codenamed “Malibu.” This is an incredibly important piece of silicon for Google, as leaks indicate a shift over to TSMC’s cutting-edge 2nm process node to finally resolve the efficiency and thermal throttling issues that plagued older Samsung-foundry generations. It was also rumored that MediaTek M90 (MT6986D) 5G modem departure from yearlong collaboration with Samsung Exynos modems.

According to internal Google documents leaked over the past year, thermal throttling and overheating related to network connectivity were cited as the primary driver for Pixel device returns.

By pivoting to MediaTek’s M90 architecture, Google is aiming to drastically improve signal efficiency, reduce power draw during standby, and eliminate the localized hot-spots that plagued older generations using Exynos modems.

The Tensor G6 is dropping the ARM Mali and standard Imagination D-Series lines to adopt an ancient Imagination PowerVR C-Series CXTP-48-1536 GPU.

The core issue is that this GPU relies on an architecture released back in 2021, a clear regression from Pixel 10 series. In fact, the Tensor G5 (destined for the Pixel 10) actually features a newer architectural generation (the DXT-48-1536). Moving to the CXTP line represents a strange generational step backward.

This confirms Google’s explicit priority for the Pixel 11 lineup: cost control, thermal efficiency, and NPU weight. Google is openly conceding the high-end mobile gaming crown to Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite and MediaTek’s Dimensity chips. Instead of burning thermal headroom and die space on high-end mobile ray tracing or raw graphical frame rates, they are routing that budget into the new “Santafe” dual-TPU setup to run complex, multi-modal Gemini AI models entirely on-device.

The Price Hikes (With a Catch)

A comprehensive retail leak via Dealabs indicates that getting your hands on a Pixel 11 will cost a bit more out of your wallet this year, but it comes with a grain of salt. Google is reportedly completely eliminating the base 128GB storage configuration. Every model in the Pixel 11 family will now start with a minimum of 256GB of onboard storage.

Because of this shift, entry-level sticker prices are moving upward. The base Pixel 11 will reportedly start at €999 in the Eurozone (and £879 in the UK), which represents a €100 jump over the entry point of the Pixel 10. However, it completely matches the price tag of last year’s 256GB option.

The rest of the leaked European price tiers map out as follows:

While the Pixel 11 and 11 Pro are simply absorbing the pricing scheme of last year’s higher storage tiers, the larger Pixel 11 Pro XL and the premium Pixel 11 Pro Fold are facing true, direct €100 price increases across the board. The premium foldable will now push right up against the €2,000 threshold for its basic configuration.

With pre-orders expected to go live during the broadcast on August 12, Google is clearly betting that the combination of a 2nm TSMC-built Tensor G6 and deeply integrated Android 17 Gemini AI features will be enough to convince buyers to tolerate the higher entry bar.