Google’s Pixel line just posted its best growth in years. Counterpoint Research data show Pixel shipments climbing 16 percent year over year in the second quarter of 2026, even as the overall smartphone market shrank to its smallest quarterly total since 2013.
That growth arrives just as leaks point to a pricier Pixel 11, built around a Tensor G6 chip that still trails rival graphics silicon. The obvious read is that Google is handing shoppers a reason to walk toward Samsung. The sales numbers say something messier.
Pixel 11 Leaks Point to More Storage and Another Price Jump
Recent leaks describe a Pixel 11 lineup with a higher storage floor, jumping to 256GB on base models instead of the usual 128GB. Google is expected to keep its normal late summer launch rhythm, and GSMArena reported the Pixel 11 lineup is likely to be announced in August if the company sticks to its usual calendar.
A Telegram leaker known as MysticLeaks, who has posted detailed Pixel hardware breakdowns before, published a wide batch of Pixel 11 specifications this spring covering the chipset, cameras and security hardware. A few changes stand out from the pack.
- Storage floor doubles, with entry Pixel 11 models reportedly starting at 256GB rather than 128GB.
- Tensor G6 moves to a 2nm process, which leaked reporting ties to better battery efficiency and lower heat.
- A new Titan M3 security chip and a custom image processor round out the silicon refresh.
- A MediaTek M90 modem replaces the Samsung Exynos radio that Tensor chips carried for years.
That is not confirmed by Google. But the pattern across multiple leak sources is consistent enough that most outlets treat the broad strokes as settled ahead of the phone’s reveal.
Tensor G6 Fixes the CPU, Not the Graphics Problem
The clearest leaked upgrade is on the CPU side. Tensor G6 is expected to use a seven core layout built on Arm’s newest cores: one C1 Ultra core at 4.11GHz, four C1 Pro cores at 3.38GHz, and two more C1 Pro cores at 2.65GHz. Android Authority estimated that setup could deliver roughly a 40 percent single core uplift over the Tensor G5’s older Cortex X4 arrangement.
Graphics tell a weaker story. Leaks point to a PowerVR CXTP-48-1536 GPU, which GSMArena described as an architecture that is already a few years old. Android Authority went further, suggesting the part may trace back to a 2021 era design that predates even the Tensor G5’s own GPU.
| Spec | Tensor G5 (Pixel 10 series) | Tensor G6 (Pixel 11 series, leaked) |
|---|---|---|
| CPU configuration | Cortex X4, A725 and A520 mix | Seven cores: 1x C1 Ultra, 4x C1 Pro, 2x C1 Pro |
| GPU | PowerVR DXT-48-1536 | PowerVR CXTP-48-1536, older lineage |
| Modem | Samsung Exynos modem | MediaTek M90 |
The modem swap is easy to miss but tells its own story. Google has paired Tensor chips with Samsung made Exynos modems for several generations. Dropping that part for MediaTek is the first time Google has cut a Samsung component out of its own flagship chip package.
The Memory Shortage Behind Every Price Tag
Google is not raising prices in a vacuum. An AI driven memory chip shortage has been reshaping component costs across the entire electronics industry since late 2025. Counterpoint’s Memory Price Tracker found DRAM prices rose more than 50 percent quarter over quarter in the first quarter of 2026, while NAND flash prices jumped more than 90 percent over the same stretch.
Mobile memory has kept climbing since. TrendForce research published in mid May 2026 projected LPDDR5X prices would rise 78 to 83 percent quarter over quarter in the second quarter alone. For budget phones, memory now eats up as much as 43 percent of total bill of materials cost, up sharply from a year earlier.
TrendForce has already flagged brands raising prices and cutting specs as a direct response, and a separate TrendForce report cut its 2026 global smartphone production forecast to a 2 percent annual decline, reversed from an earlier call for slight growth. Xiaomi has already raised tablet prices in China by as much as 20 percent to cover the same costs, and Microsoft pushed Xbox console prices up by $100 to $150 to offset AI era memory costs. Pixel’s price hike sits inside that same wave rather than apart from it, a link this site has traced in detail in its look at the Pixel 11’s memory crisis roots.
Samsung Wins the Chips, Loses a Little on Phones
Samsung Electronics sits on both sides of this story. As one of the world’s three big memory makers alongside SK Hynix and Micron, it is cashing in enormously on the very shortage squeezing its phone rivals.
Samsung’s operating profit surged roughly eightfold in the first quarter of 2026 as memory prices nearly doubled. The second quarter was bigger still. The company’s preliminary guidance put Q2 operating profit at about 89.4 trillion won, close to $58.4 billion, up around 1,810 percent from a year earlier, driven almost entirely by AI linked memory demand.
Memory is firmly establishing its independent position as the deciding factor in the success or failure of AI infrastructure.
Jeongku Choi, a research analyst at Counterpoint Research, told CNBC that memory constraints are now shaping outcomes across the wider tech industry, not just phone pricing.
Samsung’s own phone business has not escaped the squeeze entirely. One industry estimate put the drop in Samsung’s mobile division profit at roughly 29 percent in the first quarter, as rising component costs ate into device margins even while the chip division boomed. Samsung’s own leadership called further consumer electronics price increases inevitable at a January 2026 industry event. Google buying fewer Samsung parts, then, barely dents a company whose fortunes now run mostly through its chip fabs.
Do the Shipment Numbers Back Up the Doom Story?
Here is where the simple narrative runs into trouble. If pricier, GPU limited Pixels were pushing buyers toward Samsung, Pixel’s own sales should be sliding. They are not.
Counterpoint reported Pixel shipments up 14 percent year over year in the first quarter of 2026, then 16 percent in the second quarter, even as the total global market fell 6 percent and then 11 percent over those same two quarters. The second quarter drop was steep enough to push global shipments to their lowest level since 2013.
| Brand | Q2 2026 Shipment Change (YoY) | Global Share Note |
|---|---|---|
| Samsung | Modest growth | Global leader at 24% |
| Apple | +3% | Second place at 20% |
| Google Pixel | +16% | Outside the global top five |
| Xiaomi, Oppo, Vivo | Double digit declines | Volume brands hit hardest |
Samsung is not losing ground, but it is not the story either. Its 24 percent share held roughly steady while Xiaomi, Oppo and Vivo all posted double digit shipment declines during the same quarter, according to Counterpoint’s quarterly global smartphone share tracker. Pixel is still tiny next to the leaders in absolute terms. But it is one of the only major brands adding volume during the worst memory squeeze in a decade.
The gains are not limited to unit counts either. In the US premium segment priced above $600, Pixel’s share reportedly climbed from just 0.1 percent in September 2022 to 7 percent by September 2025, based on Counterpoint sourced estimates. That is a slow climb, but a real one, built during the exact years Pixel prices kept rising.
What the Pixel 11’s Price Test Still Has to Prove
This does not guarantee the streak survives contact with the Pixel 11. Every prior price increase landed on top of a Tensor chip that was, at minimum, competitive enough on the features people actually used daily. Tensor G6’s CPU gains look real. Its graphics gap does not close.
Google has leaned on AI features, from call and photo tools to on device translation, to justify that gap rather than chase benchmark scores. That strategy has worked well enough to grow Pixel through two straight quarters of a shrinking market. Whether it survives a fourth straight price increase, layered on top of a GPU that reviewers already expect to disappoint, is the actual test Google has not yet taken.
Google’s own pricing history offers a preview of how thin that margin can get. The company’s Pixel 10a pricing decisions drew scrutiny over similar tradeoffs between cost and hardware value. The Pixel 11 series is expected to make its case at Google’s usual hardware event later this year, where the price tag, not the leaks, will finally be real.
Frequently Asked Questions
When Is the Pixel 11 Expected to Launch?
Leaked timelines point to Google’s usual late summer schedule. GSMArena reported the Pixel 11 series is likely to be announced in August 2026 if Google keeps its normal yearly rhythm, though Google has not confirmed a date.
Does Samsung Outsell Pixel in Every Market?
No. Regional figures diverge sharply from the global totals. One analysis of Counterpoint data found Google held about 11 percent of Japan’s smartphone market in the second quarter of 2025, just ahead of Samsung’s 10 percent and behind only Apple.
What Does Kodiak Mean in Pixel 11 Leaks?
Kodiak is an internal codename tied to Tensor G6 testing. The name previously showed up in benchmark testing linked to the Pixel 10 Pro XL before reappearing this year attached to a new Geekbench listing, Android Headlines reported.
Are Any of These Pixel 11 Details Confirmed by Google?
No. Every spec, price and launch detail circulating right now comes from leakers such as MysticLeaks, not from Google itself. The company typically confirms Pixel hardware only at its own launch event.
