By far the biggest launch this week was the arrival of the Google Pixel 9 series. The search giant unveiled two new flagships, a new near-flagship phone and a new foldable, all of which are currently on pre-order.
Starting with the Google Pixel 9, this takes over from the Pixel 8 – an FHD+ non-LTPO display and no telephoto camera keep it from earning a “pro” moniker. However, this phone does feature the powerful new Tensor G4 chipset and a 48MP ultra wide camera. Both the wide and ultra wide cameras are the same as on the 9 Pro and 9 Pro XL.
Google has trade-in deals. Note that from what we’ve seen, the storage doesn’t matter (i.e. a Pixel 8 128GB and 256GB trade in for the same price). A Pixel 8 in good condition is valued at $490, a Pixel 7 at $360. An iPhone 15 is worth $480, an iPhone 14 at $440. The values of Samsung phones aren’t great, a Galaxy S23 goes for $320, even the S24 (which isn’t even a year old) is $400.
Google Pixel 9
coming August 22
(Google) $100 in store credit (ends Aug 28)
(Amazon) $100 gift card
(Best Buy) $100 gift card
Something you may have noticed – there are no free storage upgrades. Instead, Google, Amazon and Best Buy are each offering store credit or a gift card and they are all the same value, e.g. the Pixel 9 comes with $100 credit/gift card.
The Google Pixel 9 Pro is exactly the same size as the Pixel 9, but it is a true Pro phone with a higher resolution LTPO display (1,280 x 2,856px) and a 5x 48MP telephoto camera. The Pros get an additional upgrade – a 42MP selfie camera with an ultra wide lens.
The Pixel 9 Pro is not quite the petite flagship that some might have hoped for – it’s larger and heavier than the Galaxy S24 and the iPhone 15 Pro. It’s a bit larger than the Pixel 8 too. Still, you’re not getting a 5x tele camera on the Samsung or Apple phones (just 3x and with a lower resolution sensor), no high resolution ultra wide or selfie cameras either. And it’s not like Samsung and Apple do fast charging, so Google doesn’t look bad in comparison. There are trade-in offers with the values mentioned above.
Google Pixel 9 Pro
coming September 9
(Google) $200 in store credit (ends Aug 28)
(Amazon) $200 gift card
(Best Buy) $200 gift card
The Google Pixel 9 Pro XL is the follow-up to the 8 Pro (Google changed up its naming scheme, which makes things confusing). This is a larger version of the 9 Pro with a 6.8” display (vs. 6.3”) and a larger 5,060mAh battery (vs. 4,700mAh). One additional difference here is that the wired charging goes up to 37W (vs. 27W), which gets the battery to 70% in 30 minutes. It’s no VOOC charging, but we’ll take it.
Note that all Google Pixel 9 phones will be supported for 7 years.
Google Pixel 9 Pro XL
coming August 22
(Google) $200 in store credit (ends Aug 28)
(Amazon) $200 gift card
(Best Buy) $200 gift card
The Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold is a major improvement over Google’s first attempt at a foldable. It closes down to just 10.5mm, compared to 12.1mm on the Galaxy Z Fold6 and 11.7mm for the OnePlus Open. It’s heavier than both, however, at 257g.
The OnePlus phone has an excuse – it’s a 2023 model. The Galaxy Z Fold6 is brand-spanking new, though, and we think that Google overtook Samsung in the foldable development race.
Anyway, note that while the Pixel 9 Pro Fold uses all new internal and cover displays, it has more or less the same camera hardware as the original Pixel Fold. However, the original Fold launched with the old Tensor G2, so the new model with a G4 is significantly more powerful and more efficient too.
Google launched a new 45W charger, which you will need to get the maximum charge speed with the Pixel 9 Pro – the old 35W charger won’t cut it. That said, if you have a USB-PD charger you are happy with, you can skip this one.
The new Google Pixel Watch 3 comes in two sizes, 41mm and 45mm, while the Watch 2 was available only in 41mm size. The 45mm option gets you a larger 1.4” display (vs. 1.2”) and a larger 420mAh battery. We’ve linked the Wi-Fi watches below, but you can get an LTE version for $100 more. If you do go for the 4G version, Google will give you 2 years of free data on Google Fi. Note that while texting is supported, calling from the watch is not (at least not with this free plan).
Finally, Google unveiled the new Pixel Buds Pro 2. This is the first time its custom Tensor chips venture into the TWS buds form factor, but promise massive improvements to noise cancellation (2x in the 400Hz-2kHz range). And the ANC adapts to your environment automatically. The buds have no stems (cough, Samsung, cough) and promise long battery life (8 hours for the buds with ANC on, up to 30 hours with the case).
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