MOUNTAIN VIEW, CALIFORNIA – AUGUST 13: The new Google Pixel 9, Pixel 9 Pro and Pixel 9 Pro XL phones … [+]
The new Pixel 9 phones landed this week and, as expected, Google has jacked up prices. To offset that the company has launched several aggressive deals that ape some of Samsung’s recent promotions.
In the U.K. Google is doubling storage sizes, for free, for the Pixel 9, 9 Pro, 9 Pro XL and the Pixel 9 Pro Fold. For example, the base Pixel 9 with 256GB of storage is priced at £799 (priced at $799 in the U.S.) instead of £899 (priced at $899 in the U.S.). Samsung has repeatedly run the exact same deal since the Galaxy S24 launched in January.
Google has also upped trade-in prices, adding £150 ($192.74) on top of the regular trade-in price when buying the Pixel 9 and Pixel 9 Pro. 9 Pro XL shoppers will have values bumped up by £200 ($256.98), or up to £300 ($385.48) when purchasing the 9 Pro Fold.
The maximum value trade-in possible is reserved for the iPhone 15 Pro Max which might be an unrealistic handset to swap considering how new it is.
But there are some decent prices here for older tech. Here’s a snapshot of those prices when buying the Pixel 9 Pro XL, compared to Samsung’s values when purchasing the Galaxy S24 Ultra.
- Pixel 8 Pro – £392 (Samsung doesn’t have a valuation for the Pixel 8)
- Pixel 7 Pro – £367 (Samsung’s price: £150)
- Galaxy S23 Ultra – £394 (Samsung’s price: £460)
- Galaxy S22 Ultra – £346 (Samsung’s price: £330)
- Galaxy S21 Ultra – £331 (Samsung’s price: £300)
- iPhone 15 Pro Max – £735 (Samsung’s price: £480)
- iPhone 14 Pro Max – £695 (Samsung’s price: £480)
- iPhone 13 Pro Max – £580 (Samsung’s price: £330)
This is one of the rare times when Google has beaten Samsung’s trade-in prices, save for the Galaxy S23 Ultra valuation. It’s worth pointing out that Samsung’s U.K. and European trade-in values do not match the huge prices it offers in the U.S., which is a constant criticism from European Galaxy buyers.
In the U.S. a similar pattern emerges.
- Pixel 8 Pro – $699 (Samsung’s price: $300)
- Pixel 7 Pro – $540 (Samsung’s price: $300)
- Galaxy S23 Ultra – $480 (Samsung’s price: $750)
- Galaxy S22 Ultra – $360 (Samsung’s price: $650)
- Galaxy S21 Ultra – $300 (Samsung’s price: $600)
- iPhone 15 Pro Max – $720 (Samsung’s price: $600)
- iPhone 14 Pro Max – $635 (Samsung’s price: $500)
- iPhone 13 Pro Max – $440 (Samsung’s price: $400)
As you can see, with the exception of the Samsung phones, Google is offering more for your old tech than the Korean company. Samsung is currently running an enhanced trade-in deal, so it’s a fair comparison. This is a rarity because Samsung has long blown away competitors with eye-wateringly high trade-in prices.
With that said, Samsung’s valuations for your old smartphone go much higher when buying the Galaxy Z Fold 6, check out my story on that here.
Elsewhere, Google is pushing people to buy fully into the Pixel ecosystem. Pixel 9 Pro shoppers get a £100 ($128.49) discount towards a Pixel watch 3, 9 Pro XL shoppers will receive £150 ($192.74) off the wearable, while the Pixel 9 Pro Fold owners get £200 ($256.98) off the watch.
Samsung has a similar deal in the U.S. that encourages consumers to “complete your Galaxy AI family” with the $300 store credit that’s added to Galaxy S24 purchases.
Google One Premium is thrown into the deal, too. The Pixel 9 gets six months free of the 2TB plan, while all other Pixel 9 devices come with one year of Google One Premium AI (this includes 2TB of cloud storage).
The terms and conditions say that if you don’t cancel before the subscription ends, you will be automatically charged the standard £18.99 a month, so make a note in your calendar.
It’s worth remembering that U.K. Google One AI Premium subscribers also get free access to Nest Aware and Fitbit Premium, Google is adding three months of YouTube Premium to that stack.
All of these offers expire on September 5th, 2024, but don’t feel pressured to buy anything now because Google has a long history of repeatedly slashing prices of its flagship hardware shortly after a launch.