After months of silly rumor-mongering and wondering why Google was debuting its Pixel family earlier than expected—a full two months earlier than expected—the company has finally revealed all that is new with the Pixel 9 family of smartphones. It’s not one, two, or even three models of new phones. There are four new Pixel phones, two new Pixel watches, and a pair of Pixel earbuds. Google also made a considerable todo about new and updated AI capabilities it added to the Android operating system across its hardware lineup, even spending part of the Made by Google keynote demonstrating the Pixel’s Gemini-infused abilities.
Here’s a quick rundown of what Google touched upon in its keynote and all the new hardware it announced today. Note that all the Pixel 9 hardware has varying on-sale dates.
The end for Android?
Okay, I’m being hyperbolic, but Google spent a portion of its Android hardware event talking about how Gemini would become a significant part of the operating system. Even Sameer Samat, President of the Android ecosystem, admitted the company is well on the way to building the entire OS with AI at the core. You can forgive me for saying that we should be saying Sayonara to the Android we once knew.
In truth, it will just be Android with a more prominent AI footprint. Gemini will be able to read and see everything you do—Google promises the sensitive stuff is processed on-device with the latest Gemini Nano models—to become the Google Assistant we’d always hoped to have. One of the main features debuted at the Made by Google event was Gemini Live, which is coming to Pixel and Samsung hardware. The demo showed how much more conversational and organic Gemini Live feels compared to the Google Assistant of yore. A new dawn is upon us.
Pixel 9 in four new flavors
This is the most choice Android users have ever had, buying hardware directly from Google. There are four new models of the Pixel 9 generation, two of which are shipping first and two of which will be rolling out in stages. They’re the Pixel 9, Pixel 9 Pro, Pixel 9 Pro XL, and the Pixel 9 Pro Fold, and they’re all powered by the same core processor, the Tensor G4. Google said at its keynote that the new CPU has a Gemini Nano model that is “three times more sophisticated” than the one it shipped nine months ago. The Tensor G4 is about double the processing capabilities of the Tensor G3 in the Pixel 8.
As rumored, the Pixel 9 comes in three flavors: 6.3 inches with two camera lenses, 6.3 inches with three camera lenses, and 6.8 inches with three camera lenses and the biggest battery. Google upped the memory capacity of its Pixel devices, making its flagship hardware worthy of the price increase. There is 12GB of RAM on the Pixel 9 and 16GB in the Pixel 9 Pro/Pro XL, which Google says will help the phones “keep up” with all the AI going into Android. Indeed, one of the caveats of using the smaller Pixel over the last few generations was its middling memory offering. It’s nice to see a smaller offering for the Pro lineup—that’s the model I preordered during Google’s presentation because of the 16GB of RAM bump on the Pixel 9 Pro and its 10x optical zoom. The Pixel 9 is limited to 2x optical zoom. The Pixel 9 Pros also have a higher resolution selfie camera.
The Pixel 9 Pro XL is the giant phone of the bunch, and it has the most to offer at its $1,100 price point. It has the same 50-MP primary camera and 48-MP ultra-wide camera with the same 123-degree field of view as the Pixel 9. It also has an additional Telephoto Camera with a 22-degree field of view and 5x optical zoom (this is also on the Pixel 9 Pro). Its big battery is 5,060 mAh and has 16GB of memory.
The Pixel 9 starts at $800 and ships soon, along with the $1,100 Pixel 9 Pro XL. The Pixel 9 Pro will ship next month and starts at $1,000.
Buy Google Pixel 9 XL at Best Buy
Buy Google Pixel 9 at Best Buy
Google’s Pixel 9 Pro Fold is billed more as a tablet that folds into a phone than a Pixel smartphone with an 8-inch screen inside. Google even says this is the largest display on a phone, which is technically correct, though it clashes with the idea that this is a tablet first. This is very much a Pixel device that folds up. It has 16GB of RAM, a 4,650 mAh battery, and up to 512GB of storage. You can read more about it in Gizmoodo’s hands-on.
The Pixel 9 Pro Fold (say that in one breath) will start at $1,800 and ship in September.
Buy Google Pixel 9 Fold Pro at Amazon
Buy Google Pixel 9 Fold Pro at Best Buy
Two new Pixel Watches
The Pixel Watch 3 was announced in 41mm and 45mm sizes, adding more variety to Google’s current wearable lineup. The larger variant has a bigger battery to power up its larger display. The Fitbit app has also received new capabilities like the Morning Brief, which aims to summarize what’s happening based on your stats.
The Pixel Watch 3 starts at $350 for the 41mm base size and $450 for the 45mm size. The watches start shipping in September.
Buy Google Watch 3 at Best Buy
And Pixel Buds 2 Pro, too
The very special Pixel Buds Pro 2 are the first of Google’s buds to integrate a Tensor AI chip into the device. This will help it do advanced audio processing and whatever else it needs to enable Google’s AI tricks. Google lauded that the chip inside can processor audio 90 times faster than the speed of sound. That’s definitely a metric.
The Pixel Buds 2 Pro will have active noise cancellation like other earbuds. They also boast Clear Calling (a favorite Pixel feature), which can connect to the Find My Device network and will pause music if you want it when you start speaking. The buds cost $230 and ship in September.
Buy Google Buds Pro 2 at Amazon
Buy Google Buds Pro 2 at Best Buy
More is coming about all the hardware and artificial intelligence infused into the new Google hardware—stay tuned!
