Google Pixel 9 series launched with Tensor G4 SOC

The design looks fresh!

Release Date
August 13, 2024
Pixel 9 Starting Price
$799 / €899 / £799
Pixel 9 Pro Starting Price
$999 / €1,099 / £999
Pixel 9 Pro XL Starting Price
$1,099 / €1,199 / £1,099
Pixel 9 Pro Fold Starting Price
$1,799 / €1,899 / £1,749 / ₹1,72,999

In October last year, the Google Pixel 8 series went official with two smartphones – Google Pixel 8 & Pixel 8 Pro. This has been the story every year where we get two flagship Pixels. But this year, Google decided to change things around.

This year, we have not two but four phones under the Pixel 9 series. These are the Google Pixel 9, Pixel 9 Pro, Pixel 9 Pro XL, and Pixel 9 Pro Fold. So, there is a new “XL” device this year, and the foldable Pixel is now part of the Pixel 9 family too.

GOOGLE PIXEL 9

GOOGLE PIXEL 9

Starting with the vanilla model, the Google Pixel 9 sees a design upgrade where we no longer have a camera bar spanning the entire width of the phone. Instead, there is a camera module that sits separately on the back and houses the dual camera setup. Google has also made the frame of the phone flat, just as every other smartphone company is doing nowadays. The frame has a matte finish, but the back has a glossy finish.

There are four color options – Peony, Wintergreen, Porcelain, and Obsidian.

The phone is IP68-certified, supports wireless charging, and has an ultrasonic under-display fingerprint scanner. Both the front and back have Gorilla Glass Victus 2 protection.

GOOGLE PIXEL 9

On the front, the phone has a 6.3-inch display, slightly bigger than last year’s Pixel 8. This is a Full-HD+ OLED panel with a 60-120Hz refresh rate (no LTPO) and up to 2,700 nits peak brightness. The HDR brightness goes up to 1,800 nits. For comparison, the display on the Pixel 8 had up to 2000 nits peak brightness and 1,400 nits HDR brightness.

The battery is upgraded to 4,700mAh, versus 4,575mAh last year. There is support for 27W wired charging & 15W wireless charging.

GOOGLE PIXEL 9

Under the hood, the Google Pixel 9 has the Tensor G4 SOC, built on the 4nm manufacturing process. This SOC has a CPU with one prime Cortex-X4 core clocked at up to 3.1GHz, versus a Cortex-X3 in the Tensor G3 that was clocked at 2.91GHz. Then there are three Cortex-A720 cores clocked at 2.6GHz (versus Cortex-A715 cores in the Tensor G3). Finally, the CPU has four Cortex-A520 cores clocked at up to 1.92GHz (versus Cortex-A510 in the Tensor G3). The new SOC has a new 5G modem as well.

Google claims just a 14% improvement in CPU performance over the Tensor G3. But, as we know, the Tensor chipsets are never known for their incredible performance. But one thing they’re known for is their AI performance. The phone comes with 12GB RAM and can run Gemini on-device. There are some incredible built-in AI features, such as “Add Me,” which can merge two photos into one. This is a perfect feature for a group photo where you want some other person to also be in that picture.

The phone features “Gemini Live,” an AI assistant. There is “Pixel Studio” to generate images from text, and it uses the on-device diffusion model that runs on Tensor G4 and The Imagen 3 model in the cloud. There is now a separate app named “Pixel Screenshots” for all your screenshots. And thanks to AI, the content in the screenshots will be analyzed and then you simply need to search for something and you’ll get the specific screenshots for that particular item.

There are a ton of other AI features built into the Google Pixel 9 series.

GOOGLE PIXEL 9

Speaking of the cameras, the Google Pixel 9 has two on the rear. The primary camera has a 50MP sensor and an f/1.68 lens with OIS. The secondary camera has a 48MP sensor with an f/1.7 ultrawide lens, versus a 12MP sensor on the Pixel 8. The rear camera can shoot 4K videos at up to 60fps, but there is no 8K video recording support for the Pixel 9. For selfies, the phone has a 10.5MP sensor with an f/2.2 lens, the same as last year.

Finally, the phone runs on Android 14 out of the box, and Google has promised seven years of Android updates.

Here is the pricing for various markets –

  • 12GB + 128GB – $799 / €899 / £799
  • 12GB + 256GB – $899 / €999 / £899 / ₹79,999

GOOGLE PIXEL 9 PRO & PIXEL 9 PRO XL

GOOGLE PIXEL 9 PRO & PIXEL 9 PRO XL

Next up, we have the Google Pixel 9 Pro & Pixel 9 Pro XL. If you recall, we used to have two Google Pixels initially, where the bigger one was called “Pixel XL.” It changed with the Google Pixel 6 series, where the company started using “Pro” branding instead of  “XL”. But now, we have both the “Pro” and “Pro XL”.

The main difference, as the names suggest, is in the size. The Google Pixel 9 Pro has the same 6.3-inch display as the vanilla model, but the Pixel 9 Pro XL has a 6.8-inch panel.

The resolution is different for both devices. The display on the Google Pixel 9 Pro has a 1280 x 2856 pixels resolution, versus 1344 x 2992 on the Pixel 9 Pro XL. Both phones have an LTPO OLED panel with a 1-120Hz refresh rate. The HDR brightness is 2,000 nits, and the peak brightness goes up to 3,000 nits. For comparison, the Google Pixel 8 Pro featured 1,600 nits HDR brightness and 2,400 nits peak brightness.

Another difference between the two phones is the battery size. The Pixel 9 Pro has a 4,700mAh battery, the same as the Pixel 9. The Pixel 9 Pro XL features a 5,060mAh battery. Both phones support 45W fast charging.

GOOGLE PIXEL 9 PRO & PIXEL 9 PRO XL

And well, those are all the differences.

Both the phones feature the Tensor G4 SOC and have an identical camera setup. There are three cameras on the rear – a 50MP primary sensor with an f/1.68 lens and OIS, a 48MP ultrawide camera, and a 48MP telephoto camera with 5x optical zoom. For the first time, there is support for 8K 30fps video recording. The selfie camera is also upgraded and uses a 42MP sensor with an f/2.2 lens.

Finally, both phones run on Android 14 and will get seven Android updates.

There are four color options – Porcelain, Rose Quartz, Hazel, and Obsidian. Unlike the Pixel 9, the frame on the Pixel 9 Pro & Pixel 9 Pro XL has a glossy finish, while the back has a matte finish.

Here are the Google Pixel 9 Pro prices in various markets –

  • 16GB + 128GB – $999 / €1,099 / £999
  • 16GB + 256GB – $1,099 / €1,199 / £1,099 / ₹1,09,999
  • 16GB + 512GB – $1,219 / €1,329 / £1,219

Here are the Google Pixel 9 Pro XL prices in various markets –

  • 16GB + 128GB – $1,099 / €1,199 / £1,099
  • 16GB + 256GB – $1,199 / €1,299 / £1,199 / ₹1,24,999
  • 16GB + 512GB – $1,319 / €1,429 / £1,319
  • 16GB + 1TB –  €1,689 / £1,219 / £1,549

GOOGLE PIXEL 9 PRO FOLD

GOOGLE PIXEL 9 PRO FOLD

Finally, we have the newest foldable phone from Google, the Pixel 9 Pro Fold. In the markets where the Pixel 9 Pro Fold is going to be sold, it is the thinnest foldable phone among all the other foldables. The foldable features Gorilla Glass Victus 2 protection on the outside and is IPX8-certified for water resistance. When unfolded, the phone is just 5.1mm thick, and when folded, the thickness is 10.5mm.  The phone weighs 257 grams.

The hinge has been upgraded, so the phone can now unfold completely flat, which was not the case with the first-generation Google Pixel Fold.

GOOGLE PIXEL 9 PRO FOLD

On the outside, there is a 6.3-inch Full-HD+ OLED panel with a 60-120Hz refresh rate, 1,800 nits HDR brightness, and 2,700 nits peak brightness. The inner display is an 8-inch LTPO OLED with a 2076 x 2152 pixels resolution, 1,600 nits HDR brightness, and 2,700 nits peak brightness. Both displays feature the same 10MP selfie camera with an f/2.2 aperture lens.

The SOC is the Tensor G4, and the battery is 4,650mAh. So, the battery size has reduced from last year’s 4,821mAh unit. There is support for 21W wired charging, and the phone supports wireless charging too.

GOOGLE PIXEL 9 PRO FOLD

In terms of the rear camera, there is a triple-camera setup. The primary camera has a 48MP sensor with an f/1.7 aperture lens and OIS. There is a 12MP sensor for the ultrawide camera and a 10.5MP sensor for the 5x telephoto camera. The phone can shoot 4K videos at 60fps but there is no 8K video recording support.

Finally, Android 14 runs out of the box, and the phone will get seven Android updates.

The color options are Porcelain and Obsidian. Here is the pricing –

  • 16GB + 256GB – $1,799 / €1,899 / £1,749 / ₹1,72,999
  • 16GB + 512GB – $1,919 / €2,029 / £1,869