Google cut a top Pixel 11 Pro perk in half; your wallet will notice in 6 months

Google is tightening the purse strings around Gemini, and the AI deal that is attached to the Google Pixel 11 series is nowhere near as generous or desirable as before.

Here’s how Google’s switch will impact loyal Pixel owners, and how it will play out over the next year for anyone upgrading to the Pixel 11 Pro.

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By  Andy Boxall

Google’s generosity was welcome

But it's about to change

When you bought a Pixel 9 Pro series phone in 2024, it came with 12 months of the Google AI Pro plan.

It gave you access to Gemini Advanced, 2TB of Google cloud storage space, and the ability to use Gemini in Google suite apps including Gmail, Meet, and Docs. When the Pixel 10 Pro series came out in 2025, the same deal was included in your purchase.

Getting the chance to try Gemini Advanced for free was a distinct bonus, but the real benefit was 2TB of Google cloud storage.

This is a significant step up from the 15GB of free storage with a Google account, and from the cheapest basic plan, which provides 100GB of storage space for $2 per month.

Anyone who purchased the non-Pro Pixel 9 or Pixel 10 received six months of the Google One Premium plan, which did not include Gemini Advanced. In some regions, such as Japan, only six months of the Google AI Pro plan was included with the Pixel 9 Pro and Pixel 10 Pro series phones.

What’s happening with the Pixel 11 Pro series?

The included plan gets halved

Things are changing for the Pixel 11 Pro series. Buy any of the Pro models, and you will get six months of Google AI Pro included, not 12 months.

The included benefits are different, too. You now get higher usage for Gemini and access to the latest models, 5TB of cloud storage space, and Google Health Premium, which is used for the Pixel Watch 5 and the Fitbit Air.

It also appears this is a different AI Pro plan to the one which Google sells for $20 per month, which includes both Google Home Premium and YouTube Premium Lite.

We're not going to discuss any perceived value here, as the benefits will mean different things to different people. Instead, it's about making sure you avoid unwanted charges you may not expect.

Watch out in 6 months' time

No Pixel 12 Pro to the rescue

With the Pixel 9 Pro, anyone who upgraded to the Pixel 10 Pro never had to pay for the Google AI Pro plan. It simply carried over to your new phone, and you were set for another year.

This is not going to happen with the Pixel 11 Pro series. In six months time, you’ll be on the hook for a $20 monthly payment unless you cancel it ahead of time, and there won’t be a Pixel 12 Pro immediately available to see the plan extended again for free.

This situation may mean it’ll be easy for anyone who has purchased a Pixel 9 Pro and upgraded to a Pixel 10 Pro to forget.

It’s not Gemini, but the storage space that will sting

Clear out, or pay up

Having access to the latest and greatest Google Gemini model is great, and there will be some people who will happily pay for the Google AI Pro plan once their free access has expired.

However, there will be others who have been enjoying 2TB (now 5TB with the Pixel 11 Pro) of cloud storage space for nearly two years, and soon, may find themselves in the situation where they’ve either got to have a clear-out or pay up.

Want to continue filling up that sweet 5TB of cloud storage space? Sure, you’ll need to pay $20 per month for Google AI Pro, or downgrade to the Google AI Plus plan, which has 400GB for $5 per month. There isn’t anything in between.

Also, Pixel 11 Pro owners with a Pixel Watch 5 or Fitbit Air should be mindful of the six months of Google Health Premium benefit included with the new plan, which will cost $10 per month on its own after the offer expires, or it's also available as part of the $20 Google AI Pro plan.

If you’ve been a loyal Pixel 9 Pro and Pixel 10 Pro owner upgrading to the Pixel 11 Pro, this isn’t something that may happen; it’s something that will happen before the Pixel 12 Pro arrives in 2027.

Google needs to make money from Gemini

Get the expiry date in your calendar

Giving Pixel Pro owners 12 months of access to an upgraded Gemini, along with the extra storage space, always seemed like a really pleasant way for Google to thank its most loyal Pixel phone fans.

Google CEO Sundar Pichai announced that more than a billion people use Gemini every month. Giving a higher-end model away for free, year after year, to Pixel Pro phone buyers was obviously leaving too much money on the table for the company’s liking.

Other AI companies are counting the cost of pushing AI, and we’ve been warned for a while that the era of free-for-all AI was coming to an end.

Google’s decision to halve the amount of free access to one of its top Gemini models given to Pixel 11 Pro owners is another example of how we are all going to start paying, or not, for the AI boom.

To avoid any unwanted charges, check your plan’s expiry date in the Google app. It’s an effort to downgrade Google’s storage and AI plans, so make sure you’re prepared ahead of time if you decide not to carry on paying until the Pixel 12 arrives.