Google is shifting its annual hardware launch to an evening livestream featuring celebrity hosts and scaling back live surprises by setting preorder countdowns hours before the event begins, according to reporting from The Verge. The company has teased updated slab and foldable Pixel phones alongside a new watch and tracker.
Last year’s Made by Google showcase for the Pixel 10 leaned heavily into late-night television flair with host Jimmy Fallon, a strategy that helped the livestream reach 8.4 million YouTube viewers compared to 1.4 million the year before. For the upcoming event, Google has swapped hosts, bringing in Trevor Noah to lead a lineup that includes basketball star Stephen Curry, podcaster Alex Cooper, and DJ Peggy Gou, The Verge reported.
Despite the star-studded lineup, diehard fans looking for genuine hardware surprises may find the event lacks mystery. The Google Store preorder countdown is scheduled to end eight hours before the livestream kicks off at 6PM ET / 3PM PT, meaning the full specifications and device lineups will likely be revealed long before Trevor Noah takes the stage.
Expected Hardware Lineup and the Return of the Notification Light
Google is expected to introduce four new smartphones: the Pixel 11, Pixel 11 Pro, Pixel 11 Pro XL, and Pixel 11 Pro Fold. While design leaks indicate the slab and foldable devices will look largely similar to the Pixel 10 lineup, they appear to have camera bars that are black all the way across.
The most visually distinct addition to the Pixel 11 Pro is a rainbow-colored light positioned in the camera bar where the flash sits. Code found within Google’s contacts app indicates this feature is named HiLight
, and it can be customized with different colors to signal incoming calls from specific people. Translation of leaked promotional material for the Pixel 11 Pro Fold also shows the light illuminating during conversations with Google’s Gemini AI, The Verge noted.
This addition marks a quiet revival of smartphone notification LEDs, a hardware staple that Google largely abandoned after 2017’s Pixel 2. While companies like Nothing have embraced complex light arrays such as Glyph Lights since 2022, Google’s implementation appears more subtle while leaning into its software assistant design language.
Pricing Pressures, Internal Memory Shifts, and TSMC Chips
Under the hood, the new Pixel 11 series is rumored to run on a Tensor G6 chip built using TSMC’s 2nm process. If these reports hold true, the lineup will be the first on the market to feature a 2nm chip, potentially beating Apple’s anticipated September Pro announcements by a narrow margin.
Storage floors are also shifting. Google is reportedly raising the base storage for the standard Pixel 11 and Pixel 11 Pro to 256GB, up from the 128GB baseline used in the Pixel 10 generation. However, early listings suggest the Pixel 11 Pro may feature 12GB of RAM, marking a decrease from the 16GB found in the Pixel 10 Pro lineup.
Consumers should also prepare for higher costs across the board. A Google VP confirmed to 9to5Google that the Pixel family will face pricing “adjustments” due to the memory crisis.
Pixel Watch 5 Specs, Storage Bumps, and Gemini Intelligence
Wearable hardware is also receiving an update with the Pixel Watch 5, a device that accidentally surfaced earlier this year when Borderlands creator Randy Pitchford shared images of a model found underwater while scuba diving. Google subsequently teased the watch for an August 12th launch.
Leaked specifications indicate the watch will retain the 41mm and 45mm screen sizes and battery life ratings of 30 and 40 hours, respectively, seen in the Pixel Watch 4. Color options are rumored to include black, polished silver, yellow gold, and a brass-like finish. Storage is doubling from 32GB to 64GB.
On the software front, marketing materials highlight Gemini Intelligence as a central feature for the new watch. Promoted as a personal, proactive assistant
, the software is designed to surface helpful information proactively and introduce Proactive Suggestions
that recommend context-aware replies during messaging conversations. The company also promises its most accurate sleep tracking to date.
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