Google moved up their Fall hardware event from October to August. They announced the Pixel 9 series, which includes the Pixel 9 (6.3-inch screen), Pixel 9 Pro, and Pixel 9 Pro XL (6.8-inch screen). They also announced their second-generation foldable, the Pixel 9 Pro Fold (6.3-inch outer screen), and a new Pixel Watch 3, which will be available in two sizes, 41mm and 45mm. Last but not least, the Google Buds 2 were also announced. The leaks were pretty much on point regarding specs and pricing. The phones are rocking Google’s Tensor G4 chips and will have many of the Gemini AI features at launch.
The Pixel 9 will be available in Obsidian, Wintergreen, Porcelain, and Peony (a solid pink). Powered by the G4 Tensor chip and 12GB of RAM. It has a two-camera setup: a 50-megapixel wide camera and a 48-megapixel ultrawide camera. The 10.5-megapixel selfie camera can record 4K 30/60 FPS. The Pixel 9 has a 4,700 mAh battery with fast charging capabilities. You would need the Google 45w charger, which doesn’t come with the phone.
The Pixel 9 Pro has specs similar to those of the Pixel 9, except it has a three-camera setup in the rear, a 50-megapixel telephoto lens. The selfie camera on the Pixel 9 Pro and 9 Pro XL is a new 42-megapixel. The color scheme is similar but not exactly the same. The Pixel 9 Pro will be available in Porcelain, Obsidian, Hazel, and Rose Quartz (a lighter pink hue). The Pixel 9 Pro XL has a larger display, 6.8-inch, and a bigger battery, 5060 mAh. The Pixel 9Pro models also have 16GB RAM. All this RAM is supposed to help with the Gemini AI use, which comes into play for productivity and picture editing. Of course, there are features like Magic Editor for editing pictures, and Pixel Studio, which can analyze your screenshots and actually make use of them. The phones will launch with Android 14 and get seven years of OS, security, and Pixel Drop updates. These phones will also have Satellite SOS.
My personal thoughts: As a Pixel fan since the original phone, I love the color choices and capabilities. Pixel’s strong points have always been its camera software and smart features like “Call Assist.” I’m looking forward to trying Gemini AI on the device to do time-consuming little things like creating a list of places to eat with a map. How fluidly can we integrate certain parts of AI into our daily lives? We’ll see in the review.
