At its recentMade by Googleevent, the search giant unveiled its highly anticipated Pixel 9 Android smartphone to the world, at an asking price of $799 in the United States. The phone is available in obsidian, porcelain, wintergreen, and peony colors at launch.
Pixel 9 features a 6.3-inch display and a familiar design. It supports the addition of a 48-megapixel ultrawide lens to its rear camera array alongside Google Gemini and AI features.
The handset arrives with Google’s newTensorG4 processor, 12GB of RAM, and a choice between 128GB or 256GB of built-in storage. It’s outfitted with a modestly sized 6.3-inch display, as well as a 4,700 mAh power pack that can charge rapidly at 45W speeds.
Like last year’sPixel 8, the Pixel 9 includes a dual rear camera setup. There’s 50-megapixel wide and 48-megapixel ultrawide lenses on board, with the ultrawide sensor doubling as a macro camera.
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In the same fashion as previous Pixel hardware launches, many of the device details surfaced ahead of time, leaving rather little up to the imagination. The device’s form factor and design language wereleaked way ahead of time, giving us a glimpse into the iPhone-inspired flat chassis and updated camera bar aesthetic.
As with other tech product launches in 2024, AI is top of mind at this year’s Made by Google event. The company’s Gemini AI assistant is installed by default on the Pixel 9: “Press and hold the power button to start writing, planning, learning, and more,” says Google.
The Google Pixel 9 will be available in both the United States and Canada, as well as a smattering of European and Asian markets in the coming weeks. It’s available now for pre-order in the U.S.directly from Google’s own storefront, and Google says it will start shipping on August 22.
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The Pixel 9 is far from the only new hardware in Google’s newly announced device portfolio – the company is also launching the Pixel 9 Pro, Pixel 9 Pro XL, Pixel 9 Pro Fold, Pixel Buds Pro 2, and Pixel Watch 3 to round out its next generation of consumer offerings.
Reinforcing the idea of Google’s seriousness in the consumer hardware market, the Pixel 9 retains the company’s rather impressive promise of 7 years of OS and security updates.
The Pixel 9 is shaping up to be a compelling offering from Google. That being said, the device is in the unenviable position of being sandwiched between the company’s more affordablePixel 8aand more premium Pixel 9 Pro and Pixel 9 Pro XL models. It’s unclear whether consumers will gravitate towards the standard Pixel 9, though we’ll be keeping a keen eye over the coming weeks and months to find out.
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