Google’s Pixel devices will launch earlier than Apple’s iPhone this year. Google announced its annual Made by Google event will occur two months earlier than expected. It will take place Tuesday, August 13, at its headquarters in Mountain View, California, and it’s when we expect the company will reveal everything there is to know about AI, the Pixel 9, and the next version of Android.
The event will start at 10 a.m. PT/ 1 p.m. ET and will be livestreamed on YouTube. There will be an in-person event that Gizmodo has already RSVP’d to, so we’ll be there on the ground with all that’s new from Google.
Over the past five years, Google has typically hosted these Made by Google events in October. Android blogs like 9to5Google figure the release is earlier this year to coincide with Android 15‘s official rollout instead of waiting until two months after the fact. It’s also likely that Google wants to get the new Pixel phones out there and into the hands of users before Apple rolls out the white carpet for the next iPhone in September, which is when we usually expect Cupertino’s corresponding event.
We expect to see at least three sizes of the Pixel 9 smartphone this time. The rumor mill has been churning around the idea of a Pixel 9, Pixel 9 Pro, and a Pixel 9 Pro XL. The suspicion is that the XL will stay the same size as the current Pixel 8 Pro, while the Pixel 9 Pro will be smaller to accommodate hands like mine. As Jewel sang back in 1998, my hands are small, I know. But they’re not yours; they are my own. My hands will wield a smaller Pixel smartphone with a better camera zoom than the regular Pixel offers. Being on the Pixel 8 without proper zoom past 2x has been challenging.
We also expect a third-generation update for the Pixel Buds and the Pixel Watch. The rumors about what’s next on the horizon for wearables have been slim, but we might get a larger 45mm variant to better compete with Samsung’s watch offerings—all of which are getting a refresh next month.