2025’s smartphones are facing increased retail prices, with pressure on several fronts, including the rising price of raw materials and the impact of US tariffs on the Chinese market, conspiring to push up the cost to consumers. Yet Google’s Pixel 10 and Pixel 10 Pro devices are expected to be price-matched to last year’s Pixel 9 and Pixel 9 Pro… with one exception.
Pixel 10 Pro To Continue Pixel 9 Pro Promise
The Pixel series has always had half an eye on value for money. While they don’t fit the traditional ‘flagship killer’ status of being mid-range smartphones that offer the majority of flagship features, the Pixel series has always produced handsets that offer more specs than rival smartphones at a similar price point.
Last year, the Pixel 9 was priced at $799 for the entry-level model, and the Pixel 9 Pro was priced at $999, both with 128 GB of storage. Let’s not forget that the Pixel 9 family represented the second generation of generative AI on smartphones and sat on the bleeding edge of AI. The Android-powered competition followed a few months later (and arguably Apple has still to catch up to the first generation of AI found in the Pixel 8).
Combining ground-breaking AI at a competitive price point allowed Google to set the tone in the market, and the Android partners soon followed. The market was defined by Google, and in Google’s favor. And with the lower prices and a significant marketing push, the Pixel became a more common sight in the real world.
Pixel 10 Pro Pricing
This makes the current information from the supply chain all the more interesting. Google is expected to maintain the $799 and $999 pricing for the Pixel 10 and Pixel 10 Pro models. There’s probably more value in gathering AI data and the annual subscriptions to the premium level of the Google Gemini AI client than there is in bumping up the profit margin by $50.
I’m sure the Pixel team have to prove their financial worth to the mothership. Still, the Pixel line-up is not critical to the company’s bottom line and likely has a bit of leeway thanks to the Pixel platform’s ancillary income.
Pixel 10 Pro XL Is The Disappointing Surprise
The one potential difference is with the largest model. The Pixel 10 Pro XL is expected to add $100 to the Pixel 9 Pro XL’s sticker price and go on sale at $1,199.
Given that the Pixel 9 Pro XL model with 256 GB of storage was priced at $1,199, last year’s $1,099 model with 128 GB of storage could leave the Pixel 10 family. That would maintain the price of the 10 Pro XL 256 GB, and everything stays steady across the board. Alternatively, the larger display and potentially larger battery may push the bill of materials to the point where the team has no option but to push the price up.
Both options will separate the Pixel 10 Pro and Pixel 10 Pro XL for consumers. There will be a simple $200 step per model, and the potential for a $100 step between the models with increased storage.
That will mark the Pixel 10 as the standard for all, the 9 Pro for the more discerning customer, and the 10 Pro XL as the phone that challenges the premium space.
It’s not without risk. Consumers are becoming more price-conscious in the current climate, and the increased price of the 10 Pro XL could push many away from the largest Pixel. Google will hope they take a step back to the Pixel 10 Pro, but if the attraction is the larger screen of the XL, they may move to another manufacturer.
Yet the Pixel smartphone is not always about getting the most customers; it is about setting the tone and expectation in the market. And if that means the Pixel 10 Pro XL will signal anything, it will signal that pushing up the price on premium handsets may be a desirable outcome.
Now read the latest Pixel 10 Pro, Samsung Galaxy, and Android headlines in Forbes’ weekly smartphone news digest…
