Google Pixel 9/Pro/Fold :
I think Google might have done it, the only reason I hesitate is because I had the exact same feeling, and I already said the same thing about the Pixel 6.
But Google’s phones have always been focused, on software, and we just want them to put their hardware over the hump, to have a complete competitive phone. But I think they did it.
So Google has organized its Pixel 9 event, and there is actually a little more than the Pixel presented, there is also a new watch and new Pixel Buds.
So there are several phones, there is the Pixel 9, the Pixel 9 Pro, then the Pixel 9 Pro XL, then a Pixel 9 Pro Fold. Now, some people are saying that the names are a little confusing, honestly, it’s not really that bad, except maybe the Crease. But the basic phone, the Pixel 9 is 799.
And with that, you get the screen size of 6.3 inches, and it has this new design with the flat matte metal sides, and a polished glass back in four colors, porcelain is white, obsidian is black, then wintergreen and Peony, a kind of Cosmo and Wanda vibes.
And then there are the two Pro phones, so the Pixel 9 Pro and Pro XL, so what’s sick is the 9 Pro, it’s exactly the same size as the Pixel 9, just like what the iPhone does, and the only thing that’s different with the XL is that it’s just bigger.
Just a larger 6.8-inch screen and a larger battery.
But yes, the Pro phones start at 999 and 1,099, and with that you will get an additional third camera.
A telephoto lens, they have more RAM and they switch to shiny rails, with a soft-touch glass back.
Again in four colors, Obsidian, Porcelain, Hazel, which looks nice, and Rose Quartz, a kind of more faded pink.
So I had to handle these phones for about two hours, and the whole time from the beginning, I was like, “Oh, wow, yes.
Ok, Google did it. These phones really feel and look like real flagships, and it’s not just because the trend these days is to make flat sides, as obviously I talked about how I like it, but that’s not the only thing.
They feel a little heavier in the hand now, which gives them a more solid feel, these screens are all much brighter.
Thus, the Actua screen of the Pixel 9 is 35%, brighter than that of the Pixel 8, and there are thinner glasses all around.
And yes, finally it is an ultrasonic fingerprint reader under the screen, not optical. And the camera visor on the back, it’s polarizing, but the huge aperture of the lens, I think it looks promising.
Now, of course, I’m going to have to test all these things for the full review, and really see what they’re made of.
But my first impression at least, is that you know, these photos are going to end up looking like pixels, very impactful and contrasting, and they’re just bigger sensors than before, so potentially a lower depth of field.
But I guess aesthetically, the camera bump, even though I like the older ones better, I still don’t mind these new ones. I know it’s not the full visor all around like before and I miss it, but it’s now this perfectly flat island, and that’s still distinctive.
It’s pretty unique as a pixel thing, now the specs, let’s get them all in one place.
That’s it, these are all the specifications that I was able to confirm, you will notice that all these phones, in all areas, all the new Pixels have the same Tensor G4 chip.
The new chip is more powerful, they say, and more efficient, and should have much better AI capabilities.
Obviously, it’s a Pixel, but we’ll get to that, but also note that it’s exactly the same main camera, and the same ultra-wide camera between the base phone, and the Pro phone.
So, again, I’ve already talked about this with Pixel, and it gives the impression that the lowest price is a good deal, but there’s not much hardware difference between the base phone, and the Pro phone, and that’s a 200 difference this year.
But for that in the Pro phone, what do you get, maybe a slightly better screen, a telephoto lens, more RAM and a better selfie camera, that’s kind of it.
Now, again, I don’t want to make the mistake of judging it too early, because I haven’t compared it, and I don’t know what the long-term performance looks like, but when Google says that Tensor is 20% faster with web browsing and 17% faster, with the launch of the application, I believe them.
I mean, these phones are really fast and fast, at least from my impression.
And I just want to repeat that I’m really glad that they made the smallest phone, with all the advantages of the Pro.
Because there are a lot of people who want a better phone, but not a gigantic phone, so having a Pro, which is not a Pro Max is sick.
But of course, these wouldn’t be Pixel phones without a boatload of AI, and so there are definitely some new AI features that come with these Pixel 9s.
The most important are the new Weather app, the new screenshots app and Pixel Studio.
So, the Google Weather app has been redesigned for the Pixel 9, as you can see, which is now a bunch of tiles, and this very modern version of the weather.
And at the very top, there’s an AI-generated comment about the weather, maybe sometimes telling you what to wear or something Cool.
I guess, I almost never use the stock weather app on any phone, and it probably won’t change, but for those who do, okay, it’s a good improvement.
The new screenshots app is interesting, again, I don’t think many people are going to use it, but if you do, it’s basically a new app, which gathers all your screenshots specifically in one place.
Then she analyzes each of them in search of information, so that she can remind you later or help you search later.
But then there is the Pixel Studio application, which I guess is the novelty of AI-enabled devices, is to have an application called Studio, which simply allows you to create AI-generated art on the device, with a simple text prompt.
Apple just announced it in iOS 18, but they don’t ship it yet, but the only thing that impressed me while playing with it is that it is very fast, about three seconds or so to generate a new image.
And it’s completely on the device, so it will always be this fast, when your internet connection sucks or you’re offline or something.
So yeah, I don’t know, maybe your generated images or memes for text conversations, or for Twitter or something like that, but yeah, it’s another AI application on the phone.
In addition, Magic Editor in photos has this new reimagining feature, where you can not only erase things or crop things in your photos, but you can now highlight a section, and reimagine it as something.
And it can be what you type, just something completely different.
So, I guess you can directly create new scenes and images, now that absolutely did not happen, much like Samsung’s sketch in the image. What’s going on? What is an image?
But maybe the best photo feature is this one in the camera, again, integrated, called Add Me, and it’s actually, I think, quite impressive.
I have to use it once, and you are about to see me use it exactly once.
But basically, if you ever have a group of people, and you want to take a group photo but you don’t have anyone else, who could take the group photo for you.
Okay, no problem, the Add Me function guides you through this.
So okay, first you open the camera mode, and it tells you to move the camera a little, so that it can get a better idea of the 3D space, and the environment.
Then the photographer, number one, takes a picture of everyone except them, and leaves a little room for themselves.
Then, once they have taken that, they can leave everyone alone, and then one of these other people becomes the new photographer, and tells the first person where to pose so that they can somehow, be next to everyone.
He superimposes the place where the people were, and a nice white box on the stage, to help keep the framing identical.
Once the second person poses, they take the photo and Google, directly merge the photos into a group photo, with everyone.
Another moment that has absolutely never happened, in addition, it also keeps the originals, very 2024.
What is a photo? There are other things like better clear calls, call notes, which can summarize the phone calls that you have for you, Gemini Live, which is like having literal conversations with the assistant called Gemini.
It’s always confusing, but in general I was very excited about the hardware of these phones.
And then there is the foldable phone, so this is the Pixel 9 Pro Fold, I don’t know why it’s called that, I don’t know why it’s not just called the Pixel Fold 2.
Maybe it’s easier to remember because now they’re all 9 years old, but whatever, they added Pro to the name for some reason, but it’s a fold, and the fact is that it has improved significantly, compared to the Pixel fold that arrived last year.
And it’s the same price, 1,799. So, look, Google cooked with this thing, I think the last fold I constantly called the best folding to use closed, which is kind of half a compliment, but it’s true, this new one has an even bigger screen, it’s 6 o’clock. 3 inches, so right now it’s about the size of the other Pixel, basic 9.
And it’s always accessible, because the glasses are all quite thin.
The whole phone is slim, all around and it is also much brighter, it is 80% brighter than the last fold, and then inside it is also an eight-inch larger screen, which as I said, reflects the layout of the home screen, the cover screen.
And the phone with the metal rails, now and a soft-touch matte glass, all this seems even more upscale, like a flagship than ever before.
And look how thin this thing is, it must be, I mean, it’s definitely one of the thinnest foldable ones right now.
Maybe not the thinnest, but each side is barely thicker, than a USB-C port, and therefore combined with the flat sides, it is barely thicker than a normal phone.
Now, of course, there’s always that camera bump on the back, which is okay, this one is worse.
I don’t see much thoughtful design in this photo island, but I feel like I can accept it with the rest of the design of this phone, being so impressive.
It’s so good, it’s great to use open, it’s great closed, I feel like there’s just a better version of the previous best foldable, the OnePlus Open.
Of course, still to be determined on the battery life, and the quality of the camera with these new cameras, which are different from the main Pixel 9, but, you know, my first overall impression is clearly quite positive.
It also has, of course, the Tensor G4, 16 GB of RAM, and all the AI advantages that come with these new Pixels: Pixel Studio, screenshot application, weather application, everything related to Pixels.
It’s also IPX8 rated, so it can probably make waves, and Google also mentioned that they’re teaming up with a number of developers, to optimize some games for the indoor screen, so I can’t wait to see what those end up being.
And it also comes in two colors: Porcelain, white and black Obsidian, so I think consider me very interested.
You know, I kind of got off the foldable train, for my own daily driver for a while, I went back to the daily slab phones, but I think this Pixel 9 Pro Fold, has a chance to bring me back to being a foldable user, if this outdoor screen remains as usable as any other phone.
And the bonus is a gigantic screen, eight inches when I want it, one of the largest screens ever created in a phone.
So these phones feel, for now, that they have really achieved the modernized brilliance, which we hoped for from Google’s flagship phone.
Maybe Qi2 is the only thing missing that I’m really disappointed to see on the datasheet, but of course, as promised, it’s not just the phones.
There are also a few other gadgets, for example, the new Pixel Watch 3, basically has the same design but is now available in two sizes.
There is a new larger size of 45 millimeters which gives you, like, 40% more screen, and the bezel is also a little smaller.
So these screens are also much brighter, 2,000 nits.
And there is a new body score feature, which it seems, everyone has suddenly decided to copy from Garmin this year.
But it will somehow summarize all your measurements in a single score at the top, and there are also new operating features.
Potentially the biggest change is the new dual-chip architecture, to give you an even longer battery life, they say up to 36 hours of battery saver, which doesn’t exactly push the industry limit, but it should be better than last year.
And same price, 349 for the small one, 399 for the big one, and then there are the new Pixel Buds.
So the Pixel Buds Pro 2, which at this point are kind of like the Gemini buds, so they updated the design to be a little smaller, as you can see, just these little budding things without stems.
There’s a tiny little stabilizer fin, to hopefully keep it in your ear.
Sometimes it doesn’t work with my ears, but I’ll try.
And then there’s a new custom Tensor-based A1 chip, which improves active noise cancellation, improves overall sound quality, and also allows you to have a back-and-forth conversation with Gemini Live, just a direct conversation, out loud, back and forth with an assistant.
I will definitely get my hands on these, to test them out, but let me know what interests you the most, for the full reviews of these things.
I plan to get my hands on as many as possible.
Conclusion :
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