Weekly poll: which Google Pixel 9 are you getting

This week Google unveiled four new phones – three rigid and one foldable. Half of the new models will be out next week, the other half in early September, but all are on pre-order with a free storage upgrade as a reason to jump on board early. What do you think?

 You can find pricing details for the US, Canada and Europe here, the launch in India was a day later – details on that here. Even though the vanilla Pixel 9 lost its flagship status, it is more expensive than its predecessor ($800/€900 vs. $700/€800). The Pro is the same price, but the Pro XL is the proper successor to the Pixel 8 Pro and that also has a higher price ($1,100/€1,200 vs. $1,000/€1,100).

 

Let’s start with the Google Pixel 9 Pro XL. Google bumped up the screen size a bit to 6.8” and switched to an ultrasonic FP reader. The rear cameras are mostly the same, but they can now record 8K video (30fps). The front got a major upgrade to a 42MP sensor and an ultra wide lens with autofocus. Charging speed got boosted and now reaches 70% in 30 minutes (up from 50%). Satellite SOS is now supported too.

The Pro XL is pricey, but you can spread the cost over the 7 years that the phone will be supported. For the most part, there aren’t specs that feel like they will age too quickly – with the possible exception of the Tensor G4 chipset, but that’s something that we will have to test. Adding 16GB of RAM was a good move, since rival Samsung still only offers 12GB max.

The Google Pixel 9 Pro XL is coming out on August 22. Are you thinking about pre-ordering?

 

The Google Pixel 9 Pro is about a month away with a launch scheduled for September 9. It’s nearly identical to the XL model, except for the size – with a 6.3” display, this one is marginally larger than the Pixel 8 and it is larger than the Galaxy S24 and iPhone 15 Pro. Still, as far as Android phones go, this one is among the smallest (from mainstream brands, at least).

While it’s not as small as some might have wished, at least there finally is a Pixel phone with a 5x telephoto lens that’s smaller than 6.7”. Additionally, the small Pro gets the good ultra wide camera (and not a 12MP unit like the Pixel 8), the latest Gorilla Glass Victus 2, as well as UWB and thermometer (things that were exclusive to the 8 Pro), satellite SOS even.

The vanilla Google Pixel 9 is the same size as the 9 Pro, but the differences run deeper. There’s no tele lens, obviously, and you also miss out on the new 42MP selfie camera (the 10.5MP module with an ultra wide AF lens isn’t bad, though). Also, there’s no 8K video recording, though we don’t think many will miss it.

More important is that the phone has 12GB of RAM – less than the Pros, but more than the Pixel 8 and 8a. Also, the display is 1,080 x 2,424px instead of 1,280 x 2,856px and it isn’t an LTPO panel like on the 9 Pro. There’s no UWB or thermometer, but you do get the satellite SOS and Wi-Fi 7 with 6GHz support (neither Apple nor Samsung offers that).