Google Pixel 9 unveiled: same size, more AI, more power and a new camera

Google is going early this year with an August launch instead of an October one and there is some reshuffling in its Pixel product lineup. The vanilla phone stays in place, but it fell down in rank since the company is introducing a similarly sized Pro model.

Google Pixel 9

The Google Pixel 9 comes with a 6.3” OLED display, a 120Hz FHD+ panel. Google has dropped the optical fingerprint sensor and switched over to the more reliable ultrasonic kind.

The small bump to the screen diagonal makes the phone marginally larger than last year’s model, though it is still among the smaller Android phones. Compared to the new Pixel 9 Pro, it’s essentially the same size. And if you want to go big, the Pixel 9 Pro XL is the one to look at (well, that or the Pixel 9 Pro Fold). Here’s a size comparison:

On the outside, the notable difference between the two is that the Pro has a periscope. The vanilla 9 sticks to the classic dual camera setup (wide + ultra wide), but it doesn’t get shortchanged when it comes to hardware – it uses the exact same hardware as the other two rigid models for the cameras that it does have.

The main camera is the same as last year, a 50MP module based on the 1/1.31” Samsung GNK sensor (1.2µm pixels) and an OIS-enabled lens. The punch-holed selfie camera on the front is almost the same as before with a 10.5MP Samsung sensor though now with an autofocus lens.

The ultra wide module gets a notable upgrade with a 50MP sensor (Sony IMX858, 1/2.51”), up from the 12MP (1/2.8”) module of the 8-series. Another important change is that Google has finally enabled 8K video recording (the main GNK sensor was always capable of that).

On the inside, the notable upgrade is to processing power. The Tensor G4 features one prime Cortex-X4 core, plus three A720 and four A520 cores (yes, this adds up to 8 cores, one fewer than last year). Importantly, it brings a more efficient Exynos 5400 modem. The Mali-G715 GPU appears to be unchanged, save for a small boost to clock speed.

Perhaps even more important is that this year even the Pixel 9 has 12GB of RAM, which is how much the 8 Pro had last year (and the vanilla model had 8GB). As you might recall, 8GB was a bit tight for running Gemini Nano on-device – Google made it work, but more RAM is key for local AI performance.

Like last year, Google will support these phones for 7 years with software updates (both OS and security patches). This is good since this Pixel series breaks from tradition and launches with the outgoing Android version, v14. This is most likely due to pulling the launch forward, Android 15 will be ready in a few months and the Pixel 9 phones will be among the first to get it.

Google may be averse to fast charging, but the Pixel 9 goes faster than its predecessor – it can reach 55% in 30 minutes, up from 50% (these are the official numbers, the Pixel 8 actually got to 56% in 30 minutes in our test).

The phone is available in four colors at launch: Porcelain, Rose, Green and Obsidian. The mid-frame is made of aluminum, while the front and back are Gorilla Glass. The phone is rated IP68 for dust and water resistance.

Google Pixel 9

The Google Pixel 9 is going on pre-order in the US and Europe now, details for the launch in India will be revealed tomorrow. If you pre-order, Google will upgrade your storage for free – in the case of the Pixel 9, this means getting the 256GB model instead of the 128GB one. Note: the prices below are MSRP, for the pre-order period look at the left column.

Here are the prices for both: