Google's Pixel 11 event is set for August 12, and preorders open eight hours before it starts
Google has scheduled Made by Google 2026 for August 12, with the Pixel 11 series, a Pixel Watch 5 and a next-gen Fold expected on stage.
If you plan to buy a new Pixel, the ordering window opens before anyone on stage has said a word. The Verge reports that the preorder countdown on Google's website runs out on August 12th at 10AM ET, eight hours ahead of the event itself, which starts at 6PM ET and streams live on YouTube.
GSMArena expects the Pixel 11 series and the Pixel Watch 5 to be the centerpieces, and possibly new Pixel Buds.
Google's own teasers point further than that: a next-generation Pixel Fold, and a Pixel Watch 5 in four finishes. According to The Verge there may be a new Pixel Tag tracker too, and the leaks it has seen ahead of the show suggest the Pixel 11 lineup arrives in an array of colors, with signs pointing to a built-in light on the Pro models.
That light is the most interesting hardware detail so far. It sits in the camera island of the Pixel 11 Pro where the flash normally goes, which suggests it doubles as flash and flashlight, and it may not appear on the regular model at all. Its pulsing, multicolored animation resembles some of the Gemini design language, so a link to Google's assistant is the obvious guess. Leaks suggest it lights up when you talk to the chatbot, or when certain contacts call.
There is history here. Most of Google's Nexus phones had a hardware notification LED, and Google was one of the last manufacturers to drop the feature, which came back briefly on 2017's Pixel 2 before being dropped again.
Google has not been shy about spoiling its own launches lately. Last year it took the unusual step of revealing the Pixel 10 design in full almost a month before the phone went official.
The show is being billed as entertainment as much as a product briefing. Trevor Noah hosts, with guests including NBA star Stephen Curry, podcaster Alex Cooper, Indian cricketer Shubman Gill and Japanese actress Ayami Nakajo. The audience is there for it: last year's livestream pulled 8.4 million viewers on YouTube, against 1.4 million the year before.
Published by Techtutka ·