August 12, 2026 — Google is holding its annual Made by Google hardware event tonight in New York, and the company is taking an unusual approach. The show starts at 6 p.m. ET — later than the typical morning or early-afternoon tech keynote. Comedian Trevor Noah is hosting, with a guest list that includes Stephen Curry, Alex Cooper, Shubman Gill, and Japanese actress Ayami Nakajo . Last year's Jimmy Fallon-hosted event leaned hard into entertainment over product specs — and it worked, pulling in 8.4 million YouTube views, six times the previous year's 1.4 million . This year, Google is doubling down on that formula.

But even with the celebrity lineup, the product leaks have been unusually thorough. The pre-order countdown on Google's website was set to expire at 10 a.m. ET — a full eight hours before the keynote begins — meaning most of the news will be public before the show even starts .

Here's what to expect from tonight's event.

Pixel 11 Series: Four Models, One Core Philosophy

Google is updating its entire phone lineup tonight. The Pixel 11 series includes four models: Pixel 11, Pixel 11 Pro, Pixel 11 Pro XL, and Pixel 11 Pro Fold .

The design language is largely unchanged from the Pixel 9 and 10 series — rounded edges, a horizontal camera bar, and clean Android software. The most visible change is the camera module, which is now a single piece of black glass across the entire back .

Where Google has invested is internal: a new Tensor G6 chip built on TSMC's 2nm process, which could make the Pixel 11 one of the first smartphones on the market with 2nm silicon . The chip uses a 1+4+2 CPU architecture and a PowerVR GPU . Perhaps more importantly, it switches the baseband modem from Samsung to MediaTek's M90 — a move that multiple outlets believe could address long-standing Pixel complaints about heat, battery life, and connectivity .

Here's how the four models are expected to break down:

Camera Upgrades

Google continues to push computational photography. The Pixel 11 Pro and Pro XL feature a 50MP main camera, 48MP ultrawide, and a 48MP periscope telephoto with 5x optical zoom. The digital zoom has been pushed from 100x to 120x, with AI optimization for ultra-high-magnification shots . Google also advertises 0.5x, 1x, 2x, 5x, and 10x "optical quality" zoom .

The base Pixel 11 is reportedly dropping the telephoto lens that was added to the Pixel 10, returning to a dual-camera setup .

The Fold is also expected to gain a telephoto lens for the first time in the series, though its battery may shrink slightly to 4,750mAh — offset by the more efficient Tensor G6 chip .

Specs and Storage

Google is eliminating the 128GB storage option entirely. All Pixel 11 models start at 256GB, with Pro models offering 512GB and 1TB upgrades . Memory configurations are 12GB for most models, with Pro Fold getting 16GB across all tiers .

Pixel Glow: A Light That Talks

The most distinctive hardware addition to the Pixel 11 series isn't a camera sensor or a faster chip — it's a light. Pixel Glow, also referred to as HiLight, is an RGB LED array embedded beneath the camera module's glass . When the phone is face-down, it can pulse different colors to indicate notifications, incoming calls, or AI activity .

In a world where notification LEDs largely disappeared from smartphones around 2018, Google is bringing them back — but with a twist. The light is explicitly tied to Gemini AI activity, offering a visual cue for when the assistant is listening or processing .

It is likely exclusive to Pro models .

Pricing and Availability

Price increases are a central theme of this year's lineup. Memory cost increases are the primary driver, echoing the same DRAM crisis that affected REDMI's K100 Pro series and forced Apple to reconsider its iPhone 18 Pro shipment targets .

The Pixel 11 Pro XL and Pixel 11 Pro Fold are both $100 more than their predecessors . The base Pixel 11 holds at $899 — the same as the Pixel 10 — but that's because Google eliminated the 128GB option, making the entry price effectively higher .

Pre-orders are expected to open tonight, with the phones shipping in the coming weeks.

Other Products: Pixel Watch 5 and Pixel Tag

The Pixel Watch 5 is expected to be announced alongside the phones. Leaks indicate it will be an iterative upgrade: the same Snapdragon W5 Gen 2 processor as the Pixel Watch 4, but with 3GB of RAM (up from 2GB) and 64GB of storage (up from 32GB) . Battery life remains unchanged: approximately 30-40 hours for the 41mm model and 40-50 hours for the 45mm model . The watch runs Wear OS 7 with Gemini Intelligence integration .

Google may also announce a Pixel Tag — the company's equivalent of an AirTag. It is expected to be an oval-shaped Bluetooth tracker that connects to Google's Find Hub network, leveraging over a billion Android devices for location data .

Key Takeaways