Google Pixel 9: Four new phones unveiled with AI photo tricks, new Gemini assistant, and prices up to £1,749

The latest generation of Google Pixel smartphones has arrived earlier than usual, bringing a slew of AI tricks to improve your productivity and photo editing

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Aaron Brown

By Aaron Brown


Published: 14/08/2024

- 12:03

Updated: 14/08/2024

- 12:43

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Google has debuted its new Pixel smartphones two months earlier than normal, turning up the heat on rivals like Samsung and Apple

Google debuted its latest Pixel 9 smartphones during an event in California last night, which the company says boasts its most advanced Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems, as it looks to take on Apple and Samsung.

The announcement of the Pixel 9, Pixel 9 Pro, Pixel 9 Pro XL, and Pixel 9 Pro Fold comes months ahead of its usual launch window. The US company typically announces its new Android devices in early October, following the launch of the latest iPhone, which usually takes place in September.

It's also when the latest version of the Android operating system ships. As such, the new Pixel smartphones will be powered by the current update — Android 14 — out of the box. Like previous generations of Pixel phones, Google promises seven years of operating system updates and security fixes with these new models.

google Pixel 9, Pixel 9 Pro, Pixel 9 Pro XL, and Pixel 9 Pro Fold pictured side by side in the porcelain colour

Google announced four new smartphone models during its latest hardware event, held at its Mountain View campus in California, including the entry-level Pixel 9, Pro-level Pixel 9 Pro and 9 Pro XL, as well as its second-generation foldable, Pixel 9 Pro Fold

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Google has equipped its new smartphones with an upgraded G4 Tensor system-on-a-chip, improved battery life, and a new satellite SOS feature to enable emergency calls even when there's no mobile signal. There are also new colours and a torrent of Artificial Intelligence (AI) tricks to improve photos and productivity.

Pixel 9 starts from £799, rising to £999 for the Pixel 9 Pro and £1,099 for the Pixel 9 Pro XL. Google's most expensive handset, the Pixel 9 Pro Fold, will set you back £1,749.

Pixel 9, Pixel 9 Pro, and 9 Pro XL

Google has reworked the design of Pixel 9, Pixel 9 Pro, and 9 Pro XL — binning the curved displays that characterised previous generations and introducing a more angular look, with flat edges. The visor-like camera design from earlier Pixel models — a trademark for the series — returns in a shrunken oval-like module.

The entry-level Pixel 9 and the Pixel 9 Pro both sport a 6.3-inch screen. As the name suggests, the Pixel 9 Pro XL comes equipped with extra screen real estate, measuring 6.8 inches.

Google has equipped its standard Pixel 9 with a dual-camera system, including a 50-megapixel main shooter and an ultrawide sensor. For the Pro-grade phones, Google adds a 5x optical zoom telephoto camera for lossless zoom. These pricier models also have a brighter display and ship with a one-year subscription to Google’s top-tier AI plan, known as Gemini Advanced, at no extra cost.

animated gif showing the tensor g4 chip

Google teamed-up with DeepMind, the most advanced AI team within the US firm, to design its latest custom silicon, the Tensor G4 that powers the latest Pixel devices

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Artificial Intelligence is packed into every corner of these Android phones, which rely on Google's newly-launched Gemini chatbot as the default assistant, replacing Google Assistant from earlier handsets.

Known as Gemini Live, this all-new version of the chatbot can be prompted at any time to answer general knowledge questions, perform tasks, or provide more information about what's on-screen or visible through the viewfinder of your camera. Unlike Google Assistant, you can chain multiple commands together and interrupt its response to make a correction.

You'll be able to talk with the AI when your smartphone is locked too, so you can carry on your conversation on the go, just like a regular phone call. Google is offering a choice of 10 different voices.

Google designed its new Tensor G4 chip with help from DeepMind — the advanced AI arm of the tech giant — to ensure it can run Google’s most advanced AI models on-device. Not only does this speed up responses, but it also means Pixel owners will be able to still rely on Gemini when there's no Wi-Fi or mobile data connection.

Pixel owners will be able to get the perfect group shot with a new AI trick called Add Me, which includes the designated photographer to group photos by taking a second photo with them in it. AI then stitches the two images together, so there's no need to use a tripod or rely on a timer to get everyone in a photo.

animated gif showing how the new add me feature in google pixel 9 works

Add Me is a clever new AI tool that lets you swap-out who is behind the camera so multiple extra people can be added to the final shot — with the finished result looking like a seamless group photo

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Magic Editor ships with a new option to “reimagine” a scene. While Google phone owners have been able to remove unwanted people from the background of their photos since the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro, these new models let you select parts of an image and then use written prompts to completely transform them with generative AI.

You could circle a bicycle in the background of your photograph and ask the AI to transform it into a vibrant orange supercar, for example.

Google has also added a new tool known as Pixel Screenshots, which leverages AI to search through every screenshot you've ever taken without the need to scroll through your photo gallery. It scans the images and text included in the shots, making it a breeze to find the right file.

Google is far from the only smartphone manufacturer going to great lengths to load its latest devices with AI features – Samsung launched its Galaxy AI features at the beginning of the year with its Galaxy S24, S24 Plus, and Galaxy S24 Ultra, before bringing the same suite of tricks to its foldables with the Galaxy Z Flip 6 and Galaxy Z Fold 6 last month. Apple previewed a range of tools it calls Apple Intelligence earlier in the summer too, which will start shipping to iPhone owners in the coming months.

All three of these companies hope to establish themselves as the market leader when it comes to AI, with their popular smartphone brands being the key outlet for new features and services. AI functionality to improve productivity and photography could motivate people to upgrade to a newer smartphone model too.

In a blog post discussing its new phones, Google said: “We’re infusing AI into everything we do, across every layer of our full tech stack — from data centre infrastructure to the operating system to devices.

“In order for AI to be truly helpful, it should naturally fit into our everyday lives, and the best place to experience that is on your Android device. With Gemini deeply integrated into Android, we’re rebuilding the operating system with AI at the core, and redefining what phones can do."

google pixel 9 in the new pink colour shown at event

The standard Pixel 9 ditches the 5x optical zoom camera and ships in more vibrant colourways, but is otherwise similar to the pricier Pro-grade Pixel phones in almost every way

REUTERS

The Pixel 9 costs £799, while the Pixel 9 Pro XL costs £1,099 — both of these devices will ship from August 22. Those who want the Pro-level features in a smaller package will need to wait a little longer, with Pixel 9 Pro setting you back £999 when it ships from September 4, 2024.

Pixel 9 Pro and 9 Pro XL ship in Porcelain (off-white), Rose Quartz (pink-ish), Hazel (dark sage), and Obsidian (black), while the standard Pixel 9 is available in Peony (a bright pink), Wintergreen (green), Porcelain, and Obsidian.

Pixel 9 Pro Fold

Alongside the more traditional Pixel 9 smartphones, Google announced its second-generation foldable, dubbed the Pixel 9 Pro Fold. Designed to compete directly with the current best-seller, the Galaxy Z Fold 6 from Samsung, this refreshed model is taller and thinner than its predecessor.

That results in a bigger screen on the front of the paperback-style foldable, measuring the same 6.3-inches as the Pixel 9 and Pixel 9 Pro. Unfurling the Pixel 9 Pro Fold reveals an 8-inch folding touchscreen. Google has increased the brightness of this tablet-like display up to 2,700 nits compared with 1,450 nits on the original.

Google's custom-designed G4 Tensor chip makes an appearance in the 9 Pro Fold too, unlocking all of the same AI tricks, including Magic Editor, Add Me, and the Gemini Live assistant.

google pixel 9 pro fold pictured folded open on a table

Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold comes equipped with the same Tensor G4 system-on-a-chip, but misses out on the best camera hardware found on the Pixel 9 Pro series

REUTERS

The camera on the back of the Pixel 9 Pro Fold can't stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the rest of the Pro models. Google is relying on a 48-megapixel main camera and lower-resolution ultrawide and telephoto sensors compared to the Pixel 9 Pro and 9 Pro XL.

Starting from £1,749, the Pixel 9 Pro Fold will start shipping on September 4, 2024. It's available in Porcelain and Obsidian, so you'll miss out on some of the brighter colours found on the other models in the line-up.

google pixel 9 pro fold in Porcelain and Obsidian back-to-back

Unlike the Pixel 9 and Pixel 9 Pro, there's no splash of colour to be found on the Pixel 9 Pro Fold range, so you'll have to settle for either Porcelain (off-white) or Obsidian (black)

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Industry expert Ben Wood, Chief Analyst at CCS Insight, said Google’s heavy focus on AI for this launch, not to mention the earlier timing of the event itself, showed the company was keen to get ahead of its rivals.

"It is no surprise Google focused heavily on new AI capabilities given their strategic importance to the company," he explained. "We expect the ‘Add Me’ group photography feature to be an anchor experience in the Pixel 9’s promotion. This and the slew of other AI-powered experiences are critical to the overall competitiveness of Android smartphones, particularly as Apple Intelligence looms.

“The timing of this event came as a surprise. Google likely felt that with the recent unveiling of Apple Intelligence, Apple’s iPhone launch next month will focus on why it has ‘the best phone for AI’. Google’s earlier launch potentially allows it to announce features first and claim leadership in use case development and deployment in this highly strategic area."

google campus in Mountain View california with a g logo outside

Google held its latest hardware event at its Mountain View campus in California, roughly two months before it typically unveils its newest smartphone models

REUTERS

Google holds less than 1% market share in global smartphone shipments as of the second quarter of 2024, according to IDC. That's far behind Samsung, which boasts a market share of 18.9%, and Apple's 15.8%. However, Google makes its Pixel range available in fewer markets than both of these competitors.

In the United States, Google's 4.5% share makes it the fourth-biggest smartphone maker.

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