also costs $999, you might get the impression that the price has not gone up. Except that is seemingly not the case, considering the
successor.
That’s because the Pixel 8 Pro sports a 6.7-inch screen and the Pixel 9 Pro XL is rumored to flaunt a 6.8-inch display. The regular Pixel 9 Pro will allegedly feature a 6.3-inch screen. Thus, the Pixel 9 Pro, and not 9 Pro XL, will be the real new entrant this year.
This essentially makes the Pixel 8 Pro‘s direct successor $200 more expensive. The listing suggests that the Pixel 9 XL Pro will start with 256GB of storage, whereas previous rumors had suggested that the base model will have 128GB of storage.
If the phone will indeed start with 256GB of storage, Google may be thinking that this, along with a slightly larger screen, a new chipset, updated design, more RAM, and improved camera hardware, will justify the price increase.
The 512GB Pixel 9 XL Pro will also cost $1,199 according to the listing, but this is probably the pre-order period pricing, during which users will allegedly get free storage upgrades. This is a strategy that Samsung employs and it has apparently been adopted by Google now. In addition to that, early adopters will also get 12 free months of Google One AI Premium for Gemini Advanced, but there will be no physical freebies such as earbuds or a smartwatch.
Pre-order gifts are often seen as a means to subsidise smartphone purchases but with Google now shifting to digital perks, users might not show much enthusiasm during the pre-order period.