Pixel 8 price leaks reveal Google is following in iPhone 15's footsteps

Momo Tabari
·2 min read
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Google Pixel 8 Pro and Pixel 8.
Google Pixel 8 Pro and Pixel 8.

It hasn't even been a month since the latest iPhone 15 series was unveiled at the Apple September event, revealing that the iPhone 15 Pro Max would have its price increased by $100. But it appears that Google will be following closely in iPhone 15's footsteps according to a recent U.K. leak from Roland Quandt on Twitter.

This leak reveals that the Google Pixel 8 will be £699, Pixel 8 Pro will be £999, and the Pixel Watch 2 will be £349. This means the Pixel 8 is increasing by £100, the Pixel 8 Pro is increasing by £150, and the Pixel Watch 2 by £10. The Pixel Watch is barely a change, but the other two feature price jumps similar to the iPhone 15 Pro Max.

Is Google Pixel getting that much more expensive?

While one-off leaks of this caliber may seem difficult to trust, we received similar information from another leak yesterday. 9to5Google reports that United States prices for the Google Pixel series are similar, confirming that costs are indeed going up, but not in the same ways. It shows that the Pixel 8 is indeed increasing by $100, making it $699, but the Pro is only going up by $100, making it $999.

Both sources seem to agree that the base Pixel 8 is increasing in cost and are landing at the same price, but the disparity is a tad different. Considering both are commenting on phone prices in separate countries with their own economies, they could each be accurate, meaning the phone is getting a $150 increase in the U.K. while the United States is only going up by $100.

We knew this price increase was inevitable after the release of the Pixel 7a this year, which we called a "budget champion" with its $499 cost and excellent design. The Pixel 7 no longer made sense at its $599 price, so Google had to move it upmarket. The only question is whether there is $100 worth of value in the improvements to the base Pixel 8 or if it is purely a price hike. Either way, Google would still be undercutting the iPhone 15 by $100, so it could still offer superior value.

The validity of these rumors is up in the air, but we expect to learn more as we come closer to the Pixel event on October 4.