Alphabet Inc’s Google raised the price of its seven-month-old Pixel 10a smartphone by US$100 (RM408) to US$599 (RM2,447), another example of how rising memory costs are making even older devices more expensive.
Tech-news site 9to5Google reported earlier on the price increase. A Google representative didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Smartphone costs have been climbing amid a persistent memory-chip shortage that continues to reverberate across the consumer electronics industry. This week, Samsung Electronics Co raised prices on most of its Galaxy S26 phones by US$100 (RM408). Apple Inc’s iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max, introduced last month, cost more than their predecessors, and the company also implemented price increases on some older models.
The budget Pixel, which brought limited improvements from 2025’s Pixel 9a, is powered by Google’s two-year-old Tensor G4 processor. Meanwhile, the company’s premium Pixel 11-series devices contain the tech giant’s latest silicon, offering significantly better hardware specifications and camera performance. Those models start at US$899 (RM3,673.85), going up to US$1,899 (RM7,760.45) for the base Pixel 11 Pro Fold.
When Google introduced the Pixel 11 line in August, prices across the board were US$100 (RM408) more expensive than the previous generation. However, the company tried to offset the higher starting costs by including more storage in base configurations. – Bloomberg
