Google follows peers in raising budget phone price amid memory shortage

Google has raised the price of its budget Pixel 10a smartphone, released seven months ago, by $100. It now costs $599. This is another example of how rising memory-chip costs are pushing up prices even for devices already on the market, Bloomberg notes.

Tech news site 9to5Google spotted the change in Google’s official store. The company itself did not announce the price increase and did not respond to Bloomberg’s request for comment.

The flagship Pixel 11-series devices, unveiled in August, were priced $100 higher than the previous generation from the outset. The models start at $899 and run as high as $1,899 for the base version of the foldable Pixel 11 Pro Fold. The company offset the higher starting prices by including more storage in the base configurations.

Smartphone prices are rising amid a persistent memory-chip shortage whose effects continue to reverberate across the consumer electronics industry. This week, Samsung Electronics raised prices on most of its Galaxy S26 smartphones by $100, while Huawei warned that it would also have to raise prices. Apple’s iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max, unveiled last month, also cost more than their predecessors. In addition, the company increased prices on older models by $100.  

Smartphone and personal-computer sales appear set to fall sharply this year because of the memory shortage and rising device prices, the Wall Street Journal wrote in September. But despite lower shipments, analysts expect device revenue to grow for Samsung Electronics and Apple, as well as PC makers Lenovo, Dell Technologies, and HP, according to the newspaper.