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Google has all but confirmed that it will fully reveal the Pixel 9 on August 13 – two months earlier than the usual October reveal date for new Pixel phones – but the leaks keep coming.
The latest images that have leaked online show the flagship Android phone in a shocking shade of pink and shed some light on the set of new AI features the phone is expected to be capable of. Some are even suggesting the return of the Pixel Fold, this time alongside the main series phones under the Pixel 9 Pro Fold brand.
In a surprise announcement, the tech giant says it will hold a Made by Google event at its headquarters in Mountain View, California on August 13, weeks earlier than expected. The short teaser video is titled “AI… meet IX” – a rather straightforward allusion to artificial intelligence and the Roman numeral nine.
Google usually unveils its new Pixel phones in October each year, after Apple announces its latest iPhones every September. This year, the search giant has seemingly changed, with Google arriving first at the party to announce its latest technology.
Apple has deliberately not mentioned AI for years and finally revealed its AI plans for the iPhone 16 at June’s WWDC, which may have prompted Google to push its own AI announcements forward. The Pixel 9 is expected to heavily utilize and integrate Google’s Gemini AI technology into its Pixel devices, similar to how Apple uses OpenAI and other LLMs to improve Siri functionality on iPhones.
It’s still unclear what exactly the features the Pixel 9 could offer to the average user. Earlier this year, Google engineers showed off an impressive new multimodal AI assistant, codenamed Project Astra, which can respond in a conversational style to continuous audio and visual input. When questioned, Astra identified the audio speaker as the object making the sound, explained the purpose of some code she saw on the monitor, remembered seeing a red apple on the table earlier, and recognized the view from the window as Google’s Kings Cross campus in London, where the team is based artificial intelligence companies.
While it’s a hot and flashy demonstration of Google’s AI capabilities for app developers, we’re still waiting to see what the Pixel 9 can really do for the average person who buys it and uses it every day. Especially in the UK and Europe, where many of Google’s AI features – such as image generation and certain types of call screening and web page summarization – are restricted by European law.
In any case, we’ve rounded up everything else we know about the Pixel 9 below. Check back for the latest when we learn more at the Made by Google event this August.
Google Pixel 9 design
The Pixel 9 series, due to be announced in August, is getting a new and flatter edge design, similar to the sharp lines of the iPhone 15. It would be a departure from the rounded aesthetics of the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro. , where subtle curves helped disguise the phone’s overall thickness.
Other changes include a redesigned camera bar. Rather than running the full width of the phone’s back, the three-lens array appears on a wide, pill-shaped island. This update brings the Pixel 9 in line with the Pixel Fold design, which is also rumored to get a newer version this year.
Will there be a Pixel 9 XL?
One of the biggest surprises this year is the rumored Pixel 9 Pro XL, a brand new third flagship device with a bigger display, bigger battery and probably a higher price tag. The phone, which does not yet have an official name, has been seen in leaked videos.
Google Pixel 9 Release Date
The Pixel 8 phones were announced on October 12, 2023, while the Pixel 7 phones first debuted on October 6, 2022. But this year, it looks like Google will announce the Pixel 9 in August. Whether that means an August launch date remains to be seen.
In the last two years, Google has also launched the latest Pixel Watch alongside its latest phones. While we don’t have any confirmation that a Pixel Watch 3 is in the works, it’s reasonable to guess that a new wearable will appear alongside the Pixel 9 and Pixel 9 Pro.
Google Pixel 9 Price
We can only make an educated guess as to how much the Pixel 9 might cost, but last year’s Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro saw a jump in price to £999 and £699 respectively. With inflationary pressures easing in the tech market, we’d like to see the latest Pixel phones stick to that triple-digit price tag.
Still, there’s reason to believe that Google could push the price of the Pro Pixel past the psychological £1,000 barrier. Last October, the tech giant matched the price of the Pixel 8 Pro to the iPhone 15 Pro, and Apple is said to be raising the price of its phones soon. If that turns out to be the case when the iPhone 16 is announced in September, Google has the option to respond by raising the price of the latest Pixel phones.
That said, we may also see Google stick to its existing pricing. Samsung, not Apple, is Google’s biggest competitor in Android phones, and the Korean tech firm’s Galaxy S24+ starts at £999. If the Pixel 9 is to have the best chance of luring more users away from Samsung’s massively popular phones, sticking to £999 would have to be part of that plan.
Google Pixel 9 display
Accessory maker Thinborne has apparently already gotten examples of their Pixel 9 cases floating around the internet, hinting at a new shape and three models.
Another likely Pixel 9 leak comes from a trusted source Onleaks via the Indian tech website MySmartPricewhich showed supposed renders of the latest Pixel flagship phones in great detail.
Leaked images show the newly redesigned Pixel 9 with a new flat bezel. The Pixel 8 Pro already ditched the slightly curved display in favor of a flat one, though this year’s phone takes things a step further with an evenly flat and neat iPhone-esque bezel.
According to the leaks, the power button and volume rocker on the right side of the device remain unchanged, as does the empty left side of the bezel. The SIM slot has moved to the bottom of the phone, sharing space with the speaker grill and USB-C charging port.
MySmartPrice reports that the Pixel 9 Pro will measure 162.7mm x 76.6mm x 8.5mm. Including the camera bump, the thickest part of the phone will measure 12mm. Even that camera bump gets a redesign. Instead of taking up the full width of the back of the phone and fitting into the bezel, the three camera lenses will live on a pill-shaped camera island with a wide-angle, periscope telephoto lens and a main lens. The punch-hole selfie camera looks mostly unchanged from the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro.
The Pixel 9 Pro’s display is said to be slightly smaller than last year’s phone, now measuring 6.5 inches, down from 6.7 inches.
Google Pixel 9 specs
The new Tensor G4 chip will almost certainly debut with the Pixel 9, Pixel 9 Pro and Pixel 9 Pro XL. The latest Tensor chipset will predictably offer a performance boost over the G3, though it’s hard to quantify how big the improvement could be at this early stage. What is certain is that Google will use the new technology to improve the AI ​​performance on the device, which should be a key pillar for the Pixel 9 phones.
According to Android AuthorityThe Pixel 9 series will also get an improved modem for the first time since the Pixel 7. The new Samsung-made modem should offer increased efficiency, better connectivity and the ability to connect to satellite networks in an emergency.
Google Pixel 9 features
The software is where the Google Pixel series really shines. Although not much is known about how the Pixel 9 and Pixel 9 Pro will fare in terms of features and functionality. We expect the Pixel 9 series to be the first to launch with Android 15, the latest version of the Google-backed operating system, just like the Pixel 8 with Android 14.
Google is pushing hard for AI features and recently relaunched Bard, its big language model, as Google Gemini. The tech giant has slowly started to replace some Google Assistant features and Google search results with Google Gemini-based results, although the rollout is lagging. As of today, the Gemini app is officially unavailable in the UK and Europe.
Google is also reportedly working on a replacement for Google Assistant on Gemini-powered phones called Pixie. This AI helper will be designed to work on the device and not wait for cloud results, which means faster response to queries, commands and questions. Pixie will reportedly be able to look at your Gmail inbox, as well as your reminders, calendar events and information from Google Maps to bring you relevant and personalized responses.
Android Authority reports that the Pixel 9 could get an emergency SOS feature similar to Apple’s, which would allow users to connect to emergency services using satellites, although the feature is likely to be region-specific. Mobile network coverage is more comprehensive in the UK and Europe than in the wilds of North America, so we’d guess that any SOS features would remain exclusive to the US and Canada for now.
The best Google phone deals
The latest Pixel phone is discounted from Metrofone to just £28 a month with no upfront payments. Our Pixel 8 review called it “Google’s best phone yet,” powered by the new Tensor G3 processor, which enables powerful AI features for photo and video editing.
Buy now
Here’s a great deal on the Google Pixel 8 Pro at Carphone Warehouse. You can get Google’s latest and greatest phone with 100GB of monthly data through id Mobile, which works out to a total of £809 over a two-year contract, excluding the mid-plan price increase.
Buy now
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