Made by Google 2026: all the Pixel news and announcements

Google has revealed a bunch of new Pixel devices ahead of its Made by Google event. The colorful Pixel 11 lineup comes with upgraded cameras and performance, with the Pro models offering a built-in LED ring that lights up for Google’s Gemini AI and other features. Google also showed off its next-gen Pixel Fold featuring thinner bezels, alongside a new Pixel Watch 5 with improved GPS tracking. There’s a new Pixel Tag as well

The Made by Google livestream kicks off on August 12th at 6PM ET. Comedian Trevor Noah will host this year’s show, featuring notable guests like NBA star Stephen Curry, podcaster Alex Cooper, Indian cricketer Shubman Gill, and Japanese actress Ayami Nakajo. We’ll be live blogging the event, so stay tuned!

Follow along for all the latest news about Google’s Pixel devices

• Today, 2:00 PM UTC

  David Imel

  Google’s Pixel 11 series pairs a little new hardware with a lot of new software

  
  Photo: David Imel / The Verge

  When I first picked up the Pixel 11 Pro this week, it was clear to me that this was one of those refinement years — at least when it comes to hardware. Aesthetically, the phones are as beautiful as ever, with Google’s signature camera bar and bright, colorful backing glass. There are small updates, like a single piece of glass covering the camera bar and the all-new HiLight ambient LED on the Pros. But this year, the Pixel is all about quality of life and software improvements

  After weeks of teasers, Google has finally formally announced the Pixel 11, Pixel 11 Pro, Pixel 11 Pro XL, and Pixel 11 Pro Fold. The phones are all shipping next week, on August 20th, and Google is holding a splashy event the evening of August 12th to show off the devices. Ahead of that, we had a chance to take a first look at everything that’s coming up

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• Today, 31 minutes ago

  Jay Peters, Victoria Song and 3 more

  Pixel 11 event live blog: Let’s watch Trevor Noah introduce Google’s new phones

  
  Photo: David Imel / The Verge

  It’s almost time for the Made by Google keynote, where the company will show off the brand-new Pixel hardware it announced today. Like last year, it’ll be a celebrity-packed live show, though Trevor Noah is hosting instead of Jimmy Fallon. If the 2025 show was any indication, today’s broadcast might be something of a cringefest

  If you’ve been following tech news this morning, you already know a lot about the new Pixels. Press and creators were able to publish extensive hands-on impressions of the new hardware hours ago, and you can read our coverage of the Pixel 11 phones, their new camera features, the Pixel Watch 5, and more right now

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• Today, 55 minutes ago

  Nathan Edwards

  Don’t touch that dial!

  The Made By Google keynote, hosted by Trevor Noah, kicks off at 6PM ET. Stay tuned to this website starting at 5:30PM for our live blog. Victoria Song will be there live, with Jay Peters, Jake Kastrenakes, and myself following remotely. Let’s see what happens

• Today, 5:47 PM UTC

  Brad Bourque

  Google’s Pixel 11 phone preorders come with up to $350 in gift cards

  

  Photo: David Imel / The Verge

  Looking to get your hands on the latest Pixel devices? After weeks of leaks and rumors, Google has officially announced its next generation of Pixel phones and watches

  The base Pixel 11 starts at $899, the Pro and Pro XL are $1,099 and $1,299 respectively, and the Pro Fold starts at $1,899. The watch comes in two sizes, with the smaller 41mm model starting at $399, and the larger 45mm model starting at $429. The phones are available for preorder now, and will ship on August 20th, 2026

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• Today, 5:00 PM UTC

  Sheena Vasani

  How Google’s new Pixel 11 phones compare to last year’s models

  

  Photo: David Imel / The Verge

  Google just added four new phones to the Pixel family: the Pixel 11, Pixel 11 Pro, Pixel 11 Pro XL, and the Pixel 11 Pro Fold. They’re slightly more expensive than their predecessors, but they come with some notable upgrades, including improved cameras and a new Tensor G6 chip that should deliver faster performance. The phones also have new photography tools, like Magic Capture, along with improvements to Gemini Intelligence, expanded Live Translate capabilities, and the ability to use Circle to Search directly through the camera.

  To make deciding whether you’ll upgrade or hold onto your last-gen phone a little simpler, we’re focusing on comparing the specs of the 6.3-inch Pixel 11 and Pixel 10 models, as well as the 6.8-inch Pro XL models. If you’re curious about how the Pixel 11 Pro Fold compares to its predecessor (and to the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 series foldables), we’ve got a spec comparison right here

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• Today, 4:32 PM UTC

  David Pierce

  Come talk Pixels with us live on YouTube!

  The Vergecast crew will be live in 30(ish) minutes, at 1PM ET, running down all the details on the new Pixel phones, Pixel Watch, Pixel Tag, and everything else. We’re going to have a lot of feelings about photos, how we capture them, and what they even are anymore. Hope to see you there!

• Today, 4:00 PM UTC

  Cameron Faulkner

  How the Pixel 11 Pro Fold compares to the Galaxy Z Fold 8

  

  Photo: David Imel / The Verge

  Google wasn’t first to make a foldable Android phone, but the company’s Pixel Fold series is now an established player with unique traits compared to its competitors. For one, it popularized the passport-style design years ago, being more wide than tall — something that Samsung tried for the first time this year with its Z Fold 8, and that Apple is rumored to do with its foldable iPhone that may or may not arrive in 2026. It also delivered the first IP68-rated foldable in the Pixel 10 Pro Fold, soothing concerns that all foldables are super fragile.

  Now that the new Pixel 11 Pro Fold (along with the rest of the Pixel 11 lineup) has been unveiled, we thought it’d be fun to do a comparison of specs between Google’s latest foldable and the last-gen version, along with Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 8 and Z Fold 8 Ultra. It’s not often that we get to compare foldables to contemporaries, and hopefully the breakdown helps you figure out which you might want to buy down the line. Here are the HiLights — sorry, had to

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• Today, 2:30 PM UTC

  David Imel and Mia Sato

  Google aims for influencers with the Pixel 11 Creator Suite

  

  Google knows creators are a big audience. The occupation is growing fast, and landing some influential names could be a major turning point for the Pixel’s market share. This year, Google is building features directly into its new Pixel lineup that it says can help creators record, organize, edit, and publish content faster and more efficiently than they could on other devices

  Creator Suite is a new mode built into the Pixel 11’s camera app. The suite comes with features like a teleprompter, vocal enhancer, external microphone levels, and social media frame guides, which Google thinks will entice users who want to start building channels and have limited re

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• Today, 2:15 PM UTC

  Stevie Bonifield

  The 7 biggest announcements of Google’s Pixel 11 launch

  
  Photo: David Imel / The Verge

  Google is hosting a Pixel launch event on Wednesday night where it will show off its latest lineup of devices. But you don’t have to wait until then for all the news; we were able to check out the devices ahead of the event and take a look at everything Google’s unveiling, including the latest Pixel phones, new health features on the Pixel Watch 5, and more

  Google will be livestreaming the event on Wednesday at 6PM ET / 3PM PT. But if you aren’t able to watch along yourself, you can catch up on all of the highlights from Wednesday’s Pixel launch below

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• Today, 2:10 PM UTC

  Dominic Preston

  Now that’s what I call pistachio.

  Samsung’s online-exclusive “Pistachio” version of the Galaxy Z Fold 8 looks great, and has apparently been selling well. But I’m a much bigger fan of Google’s Pixel 11 finish by the same name. It looks a lot closer to the color of a good pistachio gelato, unlike whatever minty nonsense Samsung is up to

  

  Images: Google, Samsung
• Today, 2:00 PM UTC

  Dominic Preston

  The Pixel Tag is Google’s answer to the AirTag

  

  More than two years after launching its own device-tracking network, Google has finally followed up with its own tracker. The Pixel Tag, which goes on sale in November, looks like one of the more capable trackers too: It combines ultra wideband (UWB) with Bluetooth 6.0 Channel Sounding for two distinct types of precision tracking

  The Pixel Tag goes on sale on November 11th, unlike the newly announced Pixel 11 and Pixel Watch 5, which are already available to preorder and ship next week. When it arrives, the Tag will cost $29, with a four-pack for $99 — the exact same pricing as Apple’s AirTag 2

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• Today, 2:00 PM UTC

  Jess Weatherbed

  Android now has a tap-to-share feature

  
  Photo: Allison Johnson / The Verge

  Android’s AirDrop-like Quick Share feature will now let some devices exchange files and contact information when tapped together. The update is coming to Pixel 6 series phones and newer starting today, according to Google’s announcement, and will roll out to Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra, Fold 8, and Flip 8 “soon.”

  The tap-to-share feature uses NFC and proximity to simplify sharing, enabling users to wirelessly send contact details, photos, videos, and more by opening the share sheet menu and bringing the two devices close together. Quick Share’s tapping update will also be expanded to “more Android devices by the end of the year,” but no device models were specified

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• Today, 2:00 PM UTC

  John Higgins

  Google’s two-year-old Pixel earbuds are getting an ANC update.

  It’s not a brand-new set of earbuds, but in addition to a new olive color, the Pixel Buds Pro 2 will get a firmware update that can improve ANC based on how the buds sit in your ears. Expect the update to roll out sometime in September

  

  Photo by Andru Marino / The Verge
• Today, 2:00 PM UTC

  Victoria Song

  Google’s Pixel Watch 5 dives deeper into AI and health

  

  Photo: David Imel / The Verge

  The $399 Google Pixel Watch 5 isn’t about the hardware. Sure, there’s a new satin pyrite case finish, a few new strap colors, and a Steph Curry Special Edition. Under the hood, there’s a slightly faster Qualcomm processor and an itty-bitty battery bump. There’s a $50 price hike from last year, too, because the Pixel Watch 5 isn’t immune to RAMageddon — none of us are. Otherwise, no one would blame you for looking at this watch and thinking absolutely nothing’s changed. That’s because the big updates this year are all software-based.

  This isn’t a huge surprise considering Google’s Fitbit Air launch in May. And after seeing some Pixel Watch 5 demos, it’s clear this year’s refresh is furthering the AI and proactive health themes that Google introduced earlier this year

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• Today, 2:00 PM UTC

  David Imel

  Google is making the Pixel cameras better by making them worse

  

  If you look at a photo taken by a smartphone today, it’s hard to find much that’s technically wrong. Faces are bright and visible. The skies are pristine and blue. Even at night, scenes are well lit and noise-free. If the physical limitations of a tiny camera are what you’re trying to solve for, you could probably label smartphone photography a mostly solved problem

  But in our current moment, the photos people are drawn to are not flawless — and that’s created a real problem for the people making smartphone cameras. “The gap between what two random people want from their camera is growing dramatically,” says Isaac Reynolds, who leads the Pixel camera team at Google. Some people want a perfectly optimized photo, Reynolds says. “But there’s a growing number of people who want something that they feel is more authentic or traditional, by their definition.”

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• Aug 11

  Dominic Preston

  Google’s upcoming Pixel phones are for the fans, even if its launch event isn’t

  

  Image: Google

  Last year’s Made by Google event for the Pixel 10 resembled a late night talk show, complete with Jimmy Fallon as host, and it aired an hour after the phones were revealed. Spec dives and executive appearances were replaced with celebrity cameos and awkward skits, to the confusion of many diehard Pixel fans. But it served its purpose in reaching a broader audience: Last year’s stream racked up 8.4 million viewers on YouTube; the launch the year before only managed 1.4 million

  This year, Google has only escalated matters. For tomorrow evening’s livestream, Fallon has been replaced by Trevor Noah, who will lead a “stacked” lineup of celebrities including basketball star Stephen Curry, podcaster Alex Cooper, and DJ Peggy Gou. What the event won’t have is many surprises. While the launch event kicks off at 6PM ET, the Google Store’s preorder countdown is set to end eight hours earlier, presumably when the phones will be revealed in full

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• Aug 10

  Jay Peters

  What to expect from Google’s 2026 Pixel hardware launch event

  
  Image: Google

  It’s that time of year: On Wednesday, Google is set to host its annual Made by Google hardware launch event for Pixel gadgets. Google itself has already teased new slab-style and foldable Pixel smartphones and an updated watch, but leaks also indicate that the company could announce a new color for familiar earbuds and perhaps a brand new AirTag-like item tracker

  However, unusually, Google’s event is taking place in the evening: It kicks off on Wednesday at 6PM ET / 3PM PT instead of in the early afternoon or mid-morning, like many other tech events. And this time it has a celebrity host in Trevor Noah

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