9 Google Pixel announcements every fan needs to watch for on August 12

Pixel followers, it’s virtually our time to shine. Google is internet hosting its subsequent Made by Google occasion on August 12, and as confirmed by Google itself, that’s once we’ll lastly get an official announcement for the Google Pixel 11 collection.

Whereas August 12 is probably not that far-off, it will probably seem to be a lifetime when you’ve been patiently ready for Google’s newest spherical of {hardware}. Fortunately, after months of infinite leaks and rumors, we have already got a fairly good concept of what to anticipate.

In case you’re itching to know what Google has to speak about on the twelfth, right here’s a roundup of the 9 largest bulletins you need to hold a watch out for throughout Google’s huge occasion.

Google is predicted to announce a couple of new smartphones on August 12, the primary of which would be the Google Pixel 11. This would be the entry level for the Pixel 11 collection, and if the newest experiences are to be believed, the Pixel 11 might be a really tame improve over the Pixel 10. The design, show, cameras, and extra are all anticipated to remain roughly the identical.

So, what’s altering? The Pixel 11’s battery is rumored to be ever-so-slightly bigger, weighing in at 4,985mAh in comparison with the 4,970mAh cell contained in the Pixel 10. Larger batteries are good, however don’t count on this to have any significant impression.

We aren’t anticipating any huge rear digicam upgrades, although the Pixel 11 will supposedly assist as much as 30x zoom, whereas the Pixel 10 caps out at 20x. Moreover, the present 10.5MP selfie digicam could also be upgraded to a higher-quality 13MP sensor. And, in fact, the Pixel 11 might be out there in a wide range of new colours (together with a pinkish-red shade that appears phenomenal).

The opposite huge change is that Google is reportedly ditching the 128GB base storage quantity and growing it to 256GB for the Pixel 11. That’s nice information on the floor, however as we’ll focus on later, it is going to come at a value.

The Pixel 11 Pro and Pixel 11 Pro XL, whereas technically totally different telephones, will virtually actually be similar — save for a bigger display and a bigger battery capability within the XL mannequin. As such, I’m lumping them collectively on this one part.

Just like the Pixel 11, the Pixel 11 Professional may have so much in widespread with its predecessor. In comparison with the Pixel 10 Professional, the Pixel 11 Professional ought to have a barely higher-resolution and brighter 6.3-inch show, an upgraded telephoto digicam that helps as much as 120x zoom, and a pleasant default storage bump to 256GB. Sadly, that elevated storage may include much less RAM than earlier than. The place each Pixel 10 Professional ships with 16GB RAM, decrease storage variants of the Pixel 11 Professional is likely to be lowered to 12GB RAM.

What concerning the Pixel 11 Professional XL? It’ll additionally get the brand new telephoto digicam with 120x zoom assist. Nothing is altering on the storage entrance (256GB stays the beginning quantity), however just like the Pixel 11 Professional, it’ll additionally begin with simply 12GB RAM. Curiously, the Pixel 11 Professional XL’s battery capability is likely to be smaller than final yr’s mannequin, going from 5,200mAh to five,115mAh. Just about the whole lot else seems to be unchanged from the Pixel 10 Professional XL.

Like the bottom mannequin Pixel 11, neither Professional telephone is getting a serious redesign, although all the brand new colours look nice.

Now we have yet one more telephone to speak about, and that’s the Google Pixel 11 Pro Fold. In a world the place the Motorola Razr Fold and Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 have taken the foldable world by storm, Google’s upcoming reply with the Pixel 11 Professional Fold feels … uninspired.

Phrase on the road is that the Pixel 11 Professional Fold might be barely thinner than the ten Professional Fold, however not considerably so — actually not on par with different folding telephones in the marketplace. The digicam isn’t considerably improved both. The brand new Fold ought to assist the identical 30x most zoom as the bottom Pixel 11, however, identical to final yr, it’ll have a weaker total digicam system than the non-folding Professional telephones.

There’s some confusion about whether or not the Pixel 11 Professional Fold will begin at 12GB or 16GB RAM, although a smaller battery than its predecessor appears very probably. In comparison with the 5,015mAh battery within the Pixel 10 Professional Fold, the Pixel 11 Professional Fold could go all the way in which all the way down to 4,806mAh.

Along with the whole lot we simply talked about, each Pixel 11 mannequin — from the bottom Pixel 11 as much as the Pixel 11 Professional Fold — might be powered by Google’s new Tensor G6 chipset. If not one of the above specs acquired you enthusiastic about Google’s newest telephones, this yr’s new silicon would possibly change that.

It’s trying very probably that the Tensor G6 would be the first chipset designed with TSMC’s 2nm course of, naturally translating to higher efficiency and effectivity in comparison with final yr’s Tensor G5. Primarily based on early benchmark assessments, the G6’s CPU may see a large 40% increase in comparison with the G5. It goes with out saying that type of year-over-year enchancment can be wildly spectacular. The GPU, sadly, won’t see nearly as big a performance boost, although gaming ought to draw much less energy on the brand new silicon.

However that’s not all. Maybe much more thrilling is that the Tensor G6 stands out as the first Tensor chip to not use a Samsung Exynos modem. As an alternative, rumors strongly recommend Google is choosing a MediaTek modem this yr. Pixels have notoriously struggled with their community efficiency, so this might quietly be one of many largest upgrades for all of Google’s new telephones.

Mix all of that with a new Titan M3 co-processor for enhanced safety, and the Tensor G6 may very well be the Google chipset we’ve been ready for.

There’s one different huge announcement we’re anticipating associated to this yr’s Pixel 11 lineup: Pixel Glow. That is arguably essentially the most attention-grabbing facet of the brand new telephones, just because it’s so distinctive and sudden.

On the again of the Pixel 11 Professional, Pixel 11 Professional XL, and Pixel 11 Professional Fold (however probably not the common Pixel 11) is a small circle subsequent to the cameras. It’d appear to be an everyday LED flash, nevertheless it’s truly an RGB LED system that may showcase an array of various colours. Leaks have confirmed Pixel Glow will gentle up when speaking to Gemini and when your favourite contacts name you, and it’ll presumably gentle up for different notifications, too.

It’s unclear to what extent you’ll have the ability to use Pixel Glow for, nevertheless it’s an attention-grabbing addition regardless. It’s been some time since Google took any actual {hardware} gambles with its Pixel telephones, and whereas Pixel Glow (or “HiLight” as it might actually be called) is probably not essentially the most groundbreaking factor ever, it’s nonetheless cool to see Google attempting one thing new.

Consider it or not, Google may have extra to speak about on August 12 that doesn’t simply should do with new Pixel telephones. Together with the Pixel 11 collection and all of its upgrades, we’re additionally anticipating the Pixel Watch 5.

Just like this yr’s telephones, the Pixel Watch 5 is shaping up to be a pretty small upgrade over its predecessor. Google has some new colours for the Pixel Watch 5, double the inner storage (64GB up from 32GB), Put on OS 7 out there out of the field, and barely bigger batteries that don’t seem to supply any significant enchancment to total battery life.

And … that’s about it. That’s not essentially a foul factor, contemplating how wonderful the Pixel Watch 4 is, however simply don’t go into August 12 hoping for an enormous Pixel Watch overhaul.

Maybe essentially the most attention-grabbing of all of the August 12 bulletins might be this: the Google Pixel Tag. The Pixel Tag might be Google’s first foray into the world of lost-item trackers (a la Apple’s AirTag), and it’s even reported to cost the same as Apple’s tracker.

Apart from the above render showcasing its design, there’s so much we don’t know concerning the Pixel Tag. We aren’t certain if it helps UWB, whether or not it’s rechargeable or makes use of disposable batteries, or whether or not it’ll be appropriate with iPhones. All we all know for certain is that it has a fairly discreet grey paint job with a outstanding Google “G” emblem.

Google is admittedly fairly late to this market, nevertheless it’s nonetheless thrilling to see the Pixel model increase into one other class. Make sure you hold a watch out for this one.

Sadly, worth hikes are anticipated in 2026. Samsung went by way of it with the Galaxy S26 collection, and Motorola did too with its Razr 2026 lineup. For the brand new Pixels this yr, right here’s what we’re anticipating:

• $799 Pixel 10 -> $899 Pixel 11
• $999 Pixel 10 Professional -> $1,099 Pixel 11 Professional
• $1,199 Pixel 10 Professional XL -> $1,299 Pixel 11 Professional XL
• $1,799 Pixel 10 Professional Fold -> $1,899 Pixel 11 Professional Fold
• $349 Pixel Watch 4 -> $399 Pixel Watch 5

Briefly, we’re $100 worth will increase for all the telephones, plus a $50 improve for the brand new watch. Notice that that is only for the beginning costs, and we count on increased prices as effectively for bigger storage quantities on the telephones and for bigger sizes and LTE variants of the brand new Pixel Watch.

Lastly, we have to speak about Google’s pre-order timing for its new devices, because it’s fairly odd this yr. Usually, corporations host their huge product launch occasion after which open pre-orders for the whole lot introduced. Google, for no matter purpose, is taking the other strategy.

The countdown timer on the Google Retailer proper now is ticking down to August 12 at 10:00 AM ET. At the moment, pre-orders for the Pixel 11 (and presumably the Pixel Watch 5 and Pixel Tag) will go stay. Nonetheless, the Made by Google launch occasion doesn’t truly begin till 6:00 PM ET that night.

Why is Google doing this? Your guess is pretty much as good as mine. It’s a very weird transfer to let people pre-order new telephones earlier than truly saying them, however that’s what Google has determined to do.