We’ve got the first look at the Pixel 9 series, and we’ve now got confirmation on the new design, as well as the new specs and upgrades.
First up, before we get into the reveal, we’ve got news that the Pixel 9 series is finally going to be fixing the fingerprint issue thanks to a new upgrade. According to a new report from Android Authority, the Pixel 9, the Pixel 9 Pro, and the Pixel 9 Pro XL are going to be getting an upgrade to an ultrasonic fingerprint scanner.
This is going to be Qualcomm’s 3D Sonic Gen 2. It’s the same scanner used on the S24 Ultra, and it means not only will the Pixel 9 fingerprint unlock much faster, but it’s also more secure.
Another change we’re going to be getting is the new M14 OLED panels from Samsung Displays. According to ET News, all three new Pixels are going to be getting this upgrade, as well as the new fold.
This means we’re going to get a brighter and more accurate display. The S24 Ultra manages to achieve a peak brightness of 2,600 nits while using the old M13 OLED, so we can expect a peak brightness of at least 3,000 nits on the Pixel 9.
This means seeing your screen is never going to be an issue, not even in bright direct sunlight.
Next up, we’ve got the first look at the Pixel 9, thanks to some hands-on videos. It not only confirms that the leak designs that I’ve been showing you for weeks are correct, but it also confirms that there’s going to be a new pink color.
First up, we had some tweets from Hany Muhammad showcasing the Pixel 9, but it was focused on the back without the screen being turned on. I have to be honest, when I saw this, I initially thought that maybe it was a fake and simply just a dummy model.
One of the biggest surprises is that the new camera module is actually colored in line with the rear panel instead of the metallic silver that we’re used to seeing, but I have to say I do like the look of the phone overall.
If that wasn’t enough, we’ve also got the Pixel 9 appearing on Geekbench. It gets a single-core score of 1,653 and a multi-core score of 3,313, and this is for the standard Pixel 9 with 8GB of RAM.
Of course, these scores are going to likely improve with further optimization as we approach the launch. The Tensor doesn’t perform as well as all of the other flagship chipsets in terms of raw performance, but instead, it focuses on great photo and AI.
The official launch event has already been announced by Google, thanks to the new launch trailer, and it confirms that the new Made by Google event is going to be held on the 13th of August at 10:00 AM PT, and it’s going to be a live event held in California.
For those excited for the Pixel 9 series, we’re now going to run through the full specs, design, and the expected pricing for all three models to help you decide which one is right for you. Make sure you hit subscribe now, and we’ll get right into it.
First up, we’ve got the standard Pixel 9, which comes with a 6.24-inch flat display with Gorilla Glass Victor 2 protection.
It’s a 120Hz full HD Plus OLED display with an expected resolution of 2400×1080. We’re also getting upgrades to the color accuracy and the peak brightness of the display.
We get a punch-hole camera top center for the selfies, and the exact sensor isn’t known at the moment, but we expect a 12-megapixel selfie camera.
Over on the rear, it’s a dual camera setup consisting of a 50-megapixel wide-angle camera for the primary and an additional ultra-wide camera. The wide-angle camera is the same camera that’s going to be used in the Pixel 9 Pro.
The phone will be powered by Google’s new Tensor G4 chipset, and it’s going to deliver improvements in performance, efficiency, and AI capabilities. It’s coming with 12GB of RAM and 128GB or 256GB storage options, and it will, of course, be UFS 4.
We’re expecting around a 4,600 mAh battery with improvements to fast charging. While Google always plays it fairly safe, we’re hoping for at least something like 30 to 35 watts. We get 5G, Bluetooth 5.3, and Wi-Fi 7, and the phone is, of course, going to ship with Android 15. The Pixel 9 is launching in October, and we’ll get more accurate details on the pricing as we approach the launch, but it’s estimated to launch around $700.
Next up, we’ve got the Pixel 9 Pro, and this comes with a 6.34-inch flat display with Gorilla Glass Armor protection.
It’s a 120Hz OLED display with an expected resolution of around 2992×1334. While the exact display is still currently unknown, we’re no doubt going to get some improvements to brightness. We’ll, of course, be getting improvements to the color accuracy, as well as the peak brightness of the display. We get a punch-hole camera in the top center for the selfies, and again, the exact sensor is still unknown at the moment, but we expect a 12-megapixel selfie camera.
Over on the rear, it’s a triple camera setup consisting of a 50-megapixel wide-angle camera, a 50-megapixel ultra-wide, and then a 50-megapixel telephoto with five times optical zoom. The 50-megapixel wide angle is the same camera that’s used on the standard Pixel 9.
The phone is powered by Google’s new Tensor G4 chipset, and this is going to bring improvements in performance, efficiency, and AI capabilities.
It’s coming with 16GB of RAM and up to 1TB of storage, which will, of course, be UFS 4. We’re expecting around a 4,600 mAh battery with improvements to fast charging. While Google is still playing it very safe, we’re hoping for at least 30 to 40W fast charge. We get 5G, Bluetooth 5.3, Wi-Fi 7, and an ultra-wideband chip, and the phone is, of course, going to ship with Android 15.
The Pixel 9 Pro is launching in October, and again, we’re going to get more accurate details on pricing as we get closer to launch, but it’s estimated to launch around $900.
Finally, we’ve got the new Pixel 9 Pro XL, and this comes with a 6.73-inch flat display with Gorilla Glass Armor protection. It’s a 120Hz OLED display with a Quad HD Plus resolution. While the exact display is still currently unknown, we’ll, of course, be getting improvements to the color accuracy, as well as the peak brightness of the display, and we’re expecting the Pixel 9 XL to be around 2,600 to 3,000 nits of peak brightness.
We get a punch-hole camera top center for the selfies, and the exact sensor isn’t known at the moment, but we can expect something like a 12-megapixel selfie camera.
Over on the rear, it’s a triple camera setup consisting of a 50-megapixel wide-angle camera, a 50-megapixel ultra-wide, and then a 50-megapixel telephoto with five times optical zoom. The 50-megapixel wide angle is the same camera that’s on the standard Pixel 9 and the Pixel 9 Pro.
The phone is going to be powered by Google’s new Tensor G4 chipset, which will bring with it improvements to performance, efficiency, and AI capabilities. It’s coming with 16GB of RAM and up to 1TB of storage, and this will be UFS 4. We’re expecting around a 5,100 mAh battery with improvements to fast charging as well.
Again, because Google plays it very safe, it’s hard to guess, but we’re really hoping for at least 40W fast charging. We get 5G, Bluetooth 5.3, Wi-Fi 7, and ultra-wideband, and of course, the phone is going to ship with Android 15.
The Pixel 9 Pro XL is going to be launching in October, and again, we’ll get more accurate details on pricing as we approach the launch, but it’s estimated it’s going to cost around $1,100.
Overall, the new Pixel 9 lineup is delivering exactly what we expect from Google. We’ve got a slight change to the design with some new hardware and lots of new AI features to go with it.
Google’s main area of focus with the Pixels has always been in the camera department, so we can definitely expect to see some improvements in both photos, as well as videos. With the new design, we should see a much stronger and more durable phone than before. We also get 7 years of OS software updates, so it’s definitely going to be a phone that can last you for some time.
It’s interesting that we’ve now got three devices in the lineup thanks to the return of the XL version, but more choice for the consumer is never a bad thing.
However, because it does have so many similarities with its predecessor, it’s probably not going to make anyone with a Pixel 8 rush for an upgrade, but for anyone with an older Pixel or looking to try out their first Pixel, it’s going to be a great choice.
Google has never been good at keeping any leaks secret, so it’s not going to be long until we’ve got every single detail confirmed along with a full unboxing.
That’s for today See you in the next blog….