CNN Central News & Network–ITDC India Epress/ITDC News Bhopal: It is uncharacteristic of Google to announce new Pixel phones much ahead of usual form (that timeline usually pinned in the second half of September or early October). Was it a conscious choice to avoid being in the turbulence of the September keynote for the next Apple iPhone line-up? Or was this to give the phones some lead-up window (availability will be slightly phased for the Pixel 9 phones) to an advantage before new iPhones go on sale? It may be a bit of both, with what now becomes Google’s broadest Pixel smartphone line-up ever. Specs? On point. Designs? Interesting. Prices? THAT is what I am most worried about.
The Google Pixel 9, Pixel 9 Pro and Pixel 9 Pro XL, the latter a reminder of a few years ago when Pixels had the XL naming, joining the already on sale Pixel 8a (and most likely to be succeeded by the Pixel 9a early next year). That’s even before you factor in Google’s bold move, by bringing the Pixel 9 Pro Fold to India. A step its predecessor didn’t take.
There are the obvious steps forward, with all phones getting the new Google Tensor G4 chip as the beating heart. There are, across the board, significant upgrades to increase the amount of RAM that’s default in each phone variant. The Pixel 9 has 12GB RAM and the Pixel 9 Pro phones as well as the Pixel 9 Pro Fold have 16GB RAM. Base storage is also 256GB. Pair that with very likeable design language across the three Pixel 9 phones, and you’d want to use one. Unlike the Pixel 8 Pro, the new finishes aren’t even remotely as slippery – that’s the biggest upgrade in my book. Choose your colours wisely, Google is offering more options than before, including the very likeable Wintergreen (Pixel 9) and Porcelain (Pixel 9 Pro).
Google execs insist one of the reasons for this baseline increase (Pixel 7 had 8GB RAM and Pixel 7 Pro had 12GB) is to factor in longevity. Whilst they have, it’ll be interesting to see how the Tensor G4 and indeed more amount of RAM hold up to the promise of 7 years of Pixel Drops, Android versions and security updates, as well as the inevitable AI suite expansion for Gemini and services including Google Photos. I have a feeling things will not be as simple as it sounds for now. As Gemini gains more prowess, there will undoubtedly be new models and compute requirements which push the Tensor G4 and the RAM to its limit, and a few years later, not all features may trickle down.
There’s a lot to like about the new Pixel phones. Including the cameras, something you’d expect Pixel phones to do. The Pixel 9 gets dual cameras (50-megapixel wide and 48-megapixel ultrawide with macro focus). The pro phones have a triple camera system, with a 50-megapixel wide, 48-megapixel ultrawide and a 48-megapixel telephoto.
A new addition to the AI suite is a feature called Add Me. The way this works is, after you’ve taken a photo of the rest of your group of family or friends, you can ask one of them to get behind the camera instead and take a photo of you within the previous frame – Google’s AI will guide the person now holding the camera to the exact guidelines for framing and when to click the photo. The photo you took, and the one that was taken later with you also in the frame, will be merged together.
What’s worrying, are the price tags. The Pixel 9 is priced at ₹79,999 while the Pixel 9 Pro will cost ₹1,09,999 onwards while the Pixel 9 Pro XL demands you part with at least ₹1,24,999. For perspective, a Pixel 8 Pro was launched at ₹1,06,999. It is a significant jump to ₹1,24,999 to the similarly spec-ed and screen size Pixel 9 Pro XL. Make of it, what you will.
UNFOLD THE FOLD? This is unchartered territory for the Pixel 9 Pro Fold, considering its foldable never tested these waters. Google’s big pitch to customers is their foldable phone is that it is the slimmest foldable that’ll be on sale in India, for now. The Pixel 9 Pro Fold measures 5.1mm thickness when unfolded. Is it? Numbers tell us the Vivo X Fold3 Pro (5.2mm), Samsung Galaxy Z Fold6 (5.6mm) and OnePlus Open (5.8mm) aren’t far behind. Positive play with the specs too, including keeping the choice simple with a singular colour (it’s early days for foldables; brands will simply not go crazy with colours or finishes).
