Google’s Pixel 9 is a sleeker and more powerful flagship built for Gemini AI

Practical. Functional. Different. Those are the ways we’ve typically described Google’s Pixel smartphones since they debuted in 2016. Google was always less concerned about making its phones look as cool as competitors — instead, its focus has been on unique camera tech and early AI capabilities. Since 2021’s Pixel 6, their cases have also been dominated by a massive rear camera bar, something that allows for large sensors but is undoubtedly polarizing. You either love it as an example of Google going against the grain, or you hate it.

Now with the Pixel 9, which debuted today at the company’s 2024 Made By Google event, the company is finally trying to make the camera bar a bit less ugly. You could dare call it stylish. The new camera bar loses the edges of the old rectangular iterations and looks more like a wide pill box (it’s almost as if Google is trolling Apple for its Magic Island). Together with a thinner design, a glass rear cover and satin metal edges, the Pixel 9 finally looks like a phone that can sit beside Samsung’s latest Galaxy devices or an iPhone without shame. Those good looks will cost you though: The Pixel 9 starts at $799, $100 more than the Pixel 8.

Beyond the facelift, the Pixel 9 also includes a slew of hardware upgrades that should make it more capable for AI tasks. There’s Google’s new Tensor G4 chip and 12GB of RAM, up from 8GB on the Pixel 8. The battery is slightly larger than before, and it can charge up to 55 percent in 30 minutes. And the screen has been upgraded as well: Google’s 6.3-inch Actua OLED display is slightly larger than before as well as 35 percent brighter, reaching up to 2,700 nits.

The Pixel 9’s cameras have also been totally revamped. In addition to the 50 megapixel main lens, there’s also a new 48 megapixel ultrawide (up from a 12MP ultrawide last year) that can take Macro Focus shots. The 10.5MP front camera also gets auto focus this year — something that was surprisingly left out in the past. At least you won’t have to worry about blurry selfies as much.

As you’d expect, Google is touting the Pixel 9 as the perfect vessel for its Gemini AI. The phone also comes with a year’s worth of the Google One AI Premium plan, which typically costs $20 a month. In addition to generating images or text on demand, the Pixel 9 will also be able to remember information via Pixel Screenshots. It’s an on-device AI feature that sounds similar to Microsoft’s Recall, but instead of relying on constant monitoring of your device, it’s only going off of the screenshots you take. You could, for example, take a picture of a party invitation and then ask Gemini to recall it for you. Add Me, another on-device AI feature, will let you take a picture of friends and add yourself in later.

The Pixel 9 starts at $799 with 128GB of storage, but you can also upgrade to 256GB. It’s available in a slew of colors: Porcelain, Wintergreen, Peony and Obsidian.

Catch up on all the news from Google’s Pixel 9 launch event right here!