Google fans’ wait is over at last as four new AI-powered smartphones are revealed – about a month ahead of Apple’s new offerings.
Today, Google has unveiled its next generation of Pixel smartphones with the release of the £799 Pixel 9, £999 Pixel 9 Pro, and £1,099 Pixel 9 Pro XL.
These will be joined by the £1,749 Pixel 9 Pro Fold, a long-awaited successor to the Google Pixel Fold.
All of Google’s latest offerings are boosted with the latest AI features thanks to an on-phone AI assistant and even more powerful chips.
Google’s AI-powered phones are now be capable of everything from creating recipes based on what’s in the fridge to adding people into selfies.
Google fans’ long wait is over as the tech giant reveals four new phones, including the long-anticipated Pixel 9 Pro Fold
The four phones are now available to pre-order, with the Pixel 9 and Pixel 9 Pro XL on shelves from August 22 and the Pixel 9 Pro and Pixel 9 Pro Fold on shelves on September 4.
Pixel 9
The Pixel 9, the base model for the series, comes in at £799 – making it £100 more expensive than the £699 Pixel 8 was on release.
But for that extra £100 Google claims you get a phone that is more powerful, twice as durable, and lasts longer on a single charge.
The 6.3-inch screen is slightly larger than its predecessors and Google claims the new display is 35 per cent brighter.
With the Pixel 9, Google opted to keep the 50MP Pixel camera from the Pixel 8 for the main lens.
But the Pixel 9 also boasts a new 48 MP ultrawide camera which Google claims can be used for ‘Macro Focus closeups’.
However, it is on the inside where you can expect to find the biggest changes.
The phone features a bigger, faster charging battery which Google says can last all day and charge to 55 per cent in just half an hour.
The Pixel 9, like all of the new phones, is powered by the brand new Google Tensor G4 chip upgraded with 12GB of RAM.
The improved chip will not only make the phone faster and more efficient for everyday tasks but offer a big boost for new AI features.
Google says that the tensor G4 chip has been designed with AI company DeepMind and has been ‘optimized to run our most advanced AI models’.
The Google Pixel 9 (pictured) is the base model for Google’s new line of smartphones and is a direct upgrade from the older Pixel 8
The Pixel 9 features an upgraded screen, better battery life, and an additional rear camera for macro photos
| Feature | Pixel 9 Pro | Pixel 9 Pro XL |
|---|---|---|
| Display | 6.3-inch | 6.8-inch |
| Battery | 4700 mAh | 5060 mAh |
| Rear Cameras | 50MP wide camera48 MP Quad PD ultrawide camera with autofocus48 MP Quad PD telephoto camera | 50MP wide camera48 MP Quad PD ultrawide camera with autofocus48 MP Quad PD telephoto camera |
| Front Camera | 42 MP Dual PD selfie camera with autofocus | 42 MP Dual PD selfie camera with autofocus |
| Colours | Obsidian Porcelain Hazel Rose Quartz | Obsidian Porcelain Hazel Rose Quartz |
| Price | £999 | £1,099 |
Pixel 9 Pro and 9 Pro XL
In addition to the standard Pixel 9, Google has also released two more premium options in the form of the 9 Pro and 9 Pro XL.
The Pixel 9 Pro keeps the same slim form as the Pixel 9 but features a slightly brighter display, more memory and storage, and an even more powerful camera.
The Pixel 9 Pro XL, meanwhile, is exactly the same as the Pro but slightly larger – measuring 6.4 inches by 3 inches as opposed to 6 inches by 2.8 inches.
That increase in size gives the Pro XL a whopping 6.8-inch display which is even bigger than the iPhone 15 Pro Max’s hefty 6.7-inch screen.
The Pixel 9 Pro (pictured) is the same size as the Pixel 9 but features a slightly improved screen, more memory, and the most powerful camera on a Pixel device
The front 42 MP camera on the Pixel 9 Pro (pictured) is the highest quality and widest field of view on any Pixel phone.
Google claims that the camera on the Pro models is the best camera system the company has ever produced.
The triple rear camera system offers high-quality images at different zoom levels and can now take 8K video.
The front 42 MP camera, meanwhile, is the highest quality and widest field of view on any Pixel phone.
Just like the Pixel 9, the Pixel 9 Pro models feature internal upgrades to make the most of Google’s new AI tools.
Both feature the same G4 tensor chip but with an even more impressive 12 GB of RAM.
Customers who purchase either the Pixel 9 Pro or 9 Pro XL will also receive a free year of Google One AI Premium plan which gives access to more advanced AI services.
For the first time, Google is offering a different size option for the Pro range. The Pixel 9 Pro XL has a whopping 6.8-inch display which is even bigger than the iPhone 15 Pro Max’s 6.7-inch screen
Pixel 9 Pro Fold
Google has now put an end to months of speculation as it finally reveals the Pixel 9 Pro Fold – a new foldable phone.
This is an upgraded, slimmed-down version of the Pixel Fold which Google released in June last year.
However, Pixel 9 Pro Fold still remains a radically different kind of device to anything else in Google’s lineup.
Thanks to inner and outer displays the device can function either as a regular phone or a tablet depending on how you fold it.
When closed, the Pixel 9 Pro Fold features a 6.3-inch outer display – making it the same size as the Pixel 9 and 9 Pro.
In terms of technical specifications that screen is actually exactly the same as the screen on the Pixel 9, featuring the same resolution, refresh rate, and brightness.
On the inside, you have an enormous 8-inch display which Google claims is 80 per cent brighter than the one on the original Pixel Fold.
Even more impressively, when folded the Pixel 9 Pro Fold is only 10.5mm thick which makes it only 1.5mm thicker than the Pixel 9.
Addressing some of the key concerns around foldable devices, Google also claims that this does not come at the cost of durability.
The display is supposedly scratch and water-resistant and features an ‘aerospace grade’ aluminum alloy hinge.
However, these upgraded features do come with an eye-watering new price tag of £1,749.
The Pixel 9 Pro Fold is the hotly-anticipated successor to the Pixel Fold which was released in May last year. It features both an external screen the same size as that on the Pixel 9 and an 8-inch interior display
With the external screen, users can use the more powerful rear cameras on the Pixel 9 Pro Fold (pictured) to video call while still seeing themselves and who they are speaking to
What AI features are coming to Google devices?
In addition to four new phones, Google has also revealed that these devices will be packed with powerful AI capabilities.
With this release, Google says it is ‘rebuilding the operating system with AI at the core’ and potentially unlocking a whole host of new features.
And, in good news for photography fans, the AI updates also include some new tools to make the most of the Pixel 9’s impressive cameras.
The new ‘Add Me’ tool means that Google smartphones will no longer require an outstretched arm to get everyone in a group photo.
Instead, users will now be able to take a photo from behind the camera – and simply add themselves in using AI.
They then hand the phone over to another member of the group, who takes a second shot of the same scene, this time with them in it.
Google’s AI then overlays the two pictures and stitches them together to appear as though everyone was in it in the first place.
With the new AI-powered ‘Add Me’ feature, users can combine two photos using AI so that the photographer never has to be absent from a group photo
‘There’s usually the one designated photographer who’s left out of group pictures,’ Google said at its Made By Google event in California.
‘With Add Me you’ll get a photo with everyone who was there – photographer included – without having to pack a tripod or ask a stranger for help.’
This will come in addition to the Magic Eraser and Best Take AI features which Google had previously added.
Most of the other new AI tools centre on Google’s on-device assistant ‘Gemini’ which is being given a huge overhaul.
From today, Google users will be able to bring the Gemini overlay up over an app they are using to ask questions about what is being displayed.
For example, you could ask the AI to find specific information about a video you are currently watching.
And, since Gemini is integrated with Google’s operating system, the AI can interact directly with certain apps.
Google says that Gemini will be integrated with Keep, Tasks, Utilities, Gmail, and YouTube Music.
As an additional feature, the AI can also be operated without the need to speak into your phone.
Holding down the power button will bring up the Gemini overlay from which users can simply tap ‘Ask about this screen’.
Google has unveiled a host of new AI-powered features, many of which centre around the Gemini AI assistant
Gemini will also have access to screenshots on the Pixel 9, allowing it to recall important information which you want to save.
You can even take a picture and ask Gemini questions about what is shown.
For example, that could let you ask the AI what recipes could be made with the ingredients in your fridge or how to save a dying houseplant.
Google is also launching a new conversational voice assistant called Gemini Live.
Similar to OpenAI’s recent voice assistant, Google says users will be able to a ‘free-flowing conversations’ with their AI.
Google says: ‘You can even interrupt mid-response to dive deeper on a particular point, or pause a conversation and come back to it later.
‘It’s like having a sidekick in your pocket who you can chat with about new ideas or practice with for an important conversation.’
Since Google’s Gemini assistant is integrated into the operating system, the AI is able to operate across a number of different apps and even recall information from your screenshots
Users have the option to leave it on constantly in the background, allowing them to chat hands-free ‘just like you might on a regular phone call’’, it added.
As an example of how customers might actually use this feature Google suggests that it could be handy for planning a ‘fun tailgate’ or ‘thinking through household repairs’.
While that might raise concerns over privacy Google insists that no third party would have access to the data.
To further improve security, the new range of Pixel devices will also take on some of the AI processing themselves rather than sending the data to the cloud.
The new Tensor G4 chip has been optimised to run a model called Gemini Nano so your data never needs to leave your phone in ‘sensitive use cases’.
HOW ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCES LEARN USING NEURAL NETWORKS
AI systems rely on artificial neural networks (ANNs), which try to simulate the way the brain works in order to learn.
ANNs can be trained to recognise patterns in information – including speech, text data, or visual images – and are the basis for a large number of the developments in AI over recent years.
Conventional AI uses input to ‘teach’ an algorithm about a particular subject by feeding it massive amounts of information.
AI systems rely on artificial neural networks (ANNs), which try to simulate the way the brain works in order to learn. ANNs can be trained to recognise patterns in information – including speech, text data, or visual images
Practical applications include Google’s language translation services, Facebook’s facial recognition software and Snapchat’s image altering live filters.
The process of inputting this data can be extremely time consuming, and is limited to one type of knowledge.
A new breed of ANNs called Adversarial Neural Networks pits the wits of two AI bots against each other, which allows them to learn from each other.
This approach is designed to speed up the process of learning, as well as refining the output created by AI systems.
