The Galaxy S26 has nearly five months of sales behind it as Google prepares to unveil its next flagship. With the Pixel 11 debuting Aug. 12, APAC buyers are comparing Samsung’s established regional pricing with a Google phone whose final price is still under wraps.
Leaks put the base Pixel 11 at $899 with 256GB of storage, up $100 from the Pixel 10’s US launch price. Google has not confirmed that figure or announced what the phone will cost across APAC.
Pixel 11 pricing is still the missing piece
Google Vice President of Devices and Services Shakil Barkat told 9to5Google that the Pixel family will see price adjustments as memory and other component costs rise. Similar pressure is hitting the wider handset market as AI demand drives up smartphone memory costs.
The Pixel 11’s actual starting price remains unconfirmed. Recent reporting from The Verge points to a $899 base model with 256GB instead of 128GB, while rising RAM costs have already put Pixel 11 pricing under scrutiny.
Google has confirmed that Pixel 11 preorders begin Aug. 12, when its Made by Google event will take place in New York.
Samsung’s pricing is already established. The 256GB Galaxy S26 with 12GB of RAM launched at approximately US$920 in India, US$1,110 in Singapore and US$1,080 in Australia, based on local launch prices converted at Aug. 7 exchange rates.
Those conversions are reference points rather than official US-dollar prices. Taxes, promotions and regional pricing strategies can produce very different prices from a direct conversion of the rumored $899 Pixel 11 figure.
Storage and regional pricing could decide the value gap
A 256GB Pixel 11 would match the Galaxy S26’s base storage, making the rumored $899 price more comparable than it first appears. Comparing either phone with cheaper 128GB models would obscure that difference.
Existing Pixel pricing also shows why US leaks cannot simply be converted into APAC prices. Google lists the Pixel 10 in India at the equivalent of about $840 before its current discount, compared with roughly $920 for the Galaxy S26 at launch.
Promotions and trade-ins could narrow either gap further. Barkat said Google plans to continue using discounts, trade-ins and bundled services, while Samsung already uses similar incentives across its regional stores.
Businesses evaluating the two platforms also face different software timelines. Android 17 reached supported Pixel devices first, while Samsung follows its own rollout schedule, which can affect when IT teams test line-of-business apps, validate security controls and approve OS upgrades across managed fleets.
Samsung enters the comparison with known APAC prices and months of retail availability. Google’s Aug. 12 launch should supply the Pixel 11 prices and launch offers needed to determine whether its rumored US increase carries into the region.
Read more: Organizations considering a wider platform move can also examine Android 17’s expanded iPhone migration tools, which add support for transferring credentials, settings and other device data on supported hardware.