Google Pixel 9: Flagship Pixel with Gemini

This article was written entirely by Dawson and was based on Google’s Pixel 9 Keynote.

Like every tech company in 2024, there was at least one AI mention per minute, but I believe that, while the AI features this year are pretty cool, the hardware is more important this year. Pixel phones, for better or for worse, have become flagship phones, compared to the mid-range phones that they were a few years ago.

If you didn’t see the massive and iconic camera bump on the back, you would think that this was an iPhone, with its flat sides and display. But, just like Samsung, Google copied Apple’s design philosophy and made their side rails completely flat. Going back to the camera bump, I personally prefer the design of the Pixel 8 over this, but I do appreciate that the camera bump doesn’t make the phone wobble when placed on a table.

Google is deeply integrating Gemini, Google’s AI model, into Android. Gemini now connects with Google apps like Gmail, Docs, and Calendar so it can answer more personal questions, like “Summarize my unread emails”. Google also unveiled Gemini Live, a voice assistant that uses convincing AI-generated human voices, and it is available right now to Gemini Advanced subscribers.

Google also gave Gemini the ability to generate photos. It’s like every other photo generator, where you enter in a prompt and choose an image style, like cartoon or sketch, and click generate. You can then add text or stickers to the image to make it more personal.

Last year, Google added Magic Editor, which uses AI to delete or move objects in a picture and fills in the missing parts. This year, Google added the ability to completely “reimagine” the scene. If you want to add a hot air balloon to the sky, you just have to tap on the sky, write the prompt of your choice, and Google will use AI to generate a picture of a hot air balloon and it will add it to the sky.

Another cool camera feature that Google added was Add Me. If you want to take a group picture, but there is no one to take the picture for you, the photographer would have been left out of the picture. Now, with Add Me, you can take a picture of your friends, then you can swap places and have someone else take a picture of you, and the camera will combine the two pictures into one group shot.

Google updated their weather app to include an AI generated summary of the weather, so you don’t have to scroll to find specific information.

Google added a Screenshots app that consolidates all of your screenshots into one place, and it allows you to search using AI. This is basically like Windows Recall, but you can choose when to take a screenshot, instead of Windows taking a screenshot every few seconds.

Call notes summarizes your phone calls using AI and it includes a transcript of the call as well. This will notify everyone on the call and the transcript stays on device.

Just like Apple, Google added SOS over satellite, which will be free for 2 years and it can be used regardless of the phone carrier.

In terms of new hardware, the 6.3 inch Actua display has a new peak brightness of 2700 nits, compared to the Pixel 8’s 2000 nit peak brightness. Google’s new Tensor G4 chip, now with 12GB of RAM, may not be the most powerful or efficient SoC on the market, by a wide margin, but because it is custom made by Google, it prioritizes AI and camera processing, which Google Pixels are known for. Since Pixels are also known for their amazing cameras, Google kept the same 50 megapixel main camera and upgraded the 12MP ultrawide to a 48MP ultrawide. Google is now using ultrasonic fingerprint sensors instead of optical ones. This means faster unlock times.

The Pixel 9 is a flagship phone with a flagship price. It costs $799 for 128GB of storage, which is $100 more than the Pixel 8, which was $100 more than the Pixel 7, and it comes in 4 vibrant colors: pink, light green, white, and black.

Google added an XL variant of the Pixel 9 Pro. The only change is the larger 6.8 inch display, compared to 6.3 inches, and the 5060 mAh battery, compared to 4700 mAh.

This section is going to be pretty short since the hardware is not very different. The Tensor G4 in the Pixel 9 Pro has 16GB of RAM instead of 12GB. The Super Actua display has a peak brightness of 3000 nits and uses LTPO technology to lower the refresh rate to 1Hz to save battery life. The Pro phone also includes a 48 MP 5x telephoto camera and a 42 MP selfie camera. Just like last year, the Pro phones have a temperature sensor. I am surprise that this feature wasn’t killed off after the Pixel 8 Pro. At least you can now use it to check body temperature.

That’s it. With Pixel phones, the only difference between the Pro and the non-Pro is a little bit of hardware. Those few additions make the Pixel 9 Pro cost $999 for 128GB and $1099 for the Pro XL. Both phones come in light pink, hazel, white, and black.

Instead of calling the next Pixel Fold the Fold 2, Google decided to make the number match their regular phones.

When the phone is folded, it has a similar display size as the Pixel 9 Pro and it has mostly the same dimensions, but it weighs 60 grams more, which you will be able to tell. The outside 6.3 inch screen of the 9 Fold has the same brightness as the Pixel 9, which is 75% brighter than that original Pixel Fold. The inside 8 inch screen has the same brightness as the outside screen, which is 86% brighter than the original Fold’s inside screen. The new Fold has the same Tensor G4 as all of the other 9th generation of Pixels and it has 16GB of RAM. The cameras are not as good as the Pixel 9 Pro. It has a 48MP wide angle, a 10.5MP ultrawide, and a 10.8 MP 5x telephoto camera. It also has two 10MP cameras for the outside screen and the inside screen. The new Fold still has the fingerprint reader on the side, instead of under the display.

Again, that’s it. The Fold has all of the software features mentioned in the Pixel 9 section. The price of the Fold is the same, coming in at $1799 for 256GB of storage. The colors remain the same, with white and black options available.

This Google event also featured the Pixel Watch 3, which the only notable new features are increased battery life, a larger 45mm size, 2000 nit peak brightness Actua display, and 16% smaller bezels. The smaller 41mm model costs $349, and the larger 45mm watch costs $399. The colors this year are silver, gold, and black for the 41mm model, and silver, hazel, and black for the 45mm model.

This event also featured the Pixel Buds Pro 2, which features their new Tensor A1 chip. This new chip improves active noise cancellation, audio quality, and longer battery life. The Buds Pro 2 use Gemini as a voice assistant and Gemini Live to have a conversation. The new Buds cost $229 and come in white, black, light green, and pink.