Google Officially Announces the Pixel 9 Smartphone Series

It's that time of the year again when the major smartphone makers announce new smartphones. Google announced the latest iteration of its Pixel smartphone series, which includes three new smartphones and a heavy focus on AI.

As part of its Made by Google 2024 keynote event, the tech giant finally unveiled the heavily leaked Pixel 9 smartphone series. This year's lineup will include four different models at release: the Pixel 9, Pixel 9 Pro, Pixel 9 Pro XL, and the Pixel 9 Pro Fold.

The Pixel 9, Pixel 9 Pro, and the Pixel 9 Pro Fold feature a 6.3-inch OLED display, while the Pixel 9 Pro XL has a slightly larger display at 6.8 inches. All devices include a refresh rate of up to 120Hz. The Tensor G4 chip powers all four phones, and more interestingly, according to Google, all four phones promise up to 24 hours of battery life on a single charge.

Another interesting feature Google touts about the Pixel 9 series is the standard Pixel 9, which is 35% brighter than the Pixel 8. Additionally, with the Pixel 9 Pro and Pixel 9 Pro XL, you can use up to 20x Super Res Zoom with features such as Night Sight Video.

Regarding the cameras, Google has made a suite of improvements to photo-taking on the latest iteration of Pixel smartphones. The Pixel 9 includes a dual camera setup with a 50MP wide lens and a 48MP ultrawide with Macro Focus.

All three Pixel 9 Pro smartphones, including the 9 Pro Fold, include a triple camera rear system with a wide, ultrawide, and telephoto lens. The 9 Pro Fold specifically includes a 48MP wide lens, a 10.5MP ultrawide with Macro Focus, and a 10.8MP telephoto lens with up to 5x zoom. The 9 Pro and 9 Pro XL include a 50MP wide, 48MP ultrawide, and 48MP telephoto lens with up to 5x zoom.

What's new with Google Gemini

Thanks to the Tensor G4, the Pixel 9 series has made improvements to Google's AI system, Gemini. Google notes the Tensor G4 is optimized to run the company's most advanced AI models, confirming that it is the first smartphone chip that will run Gemini Nano with Multimodality, which the tech giant explains will allow the Pixel 9 series to understand text, images, and audio much better. More interestingly, Google explains that the Gemini Nano will include custom AI weather report features that will provide a better idea of the weather to Pixel 9 series owners.

Alongside enhancements to AI on smartphones, Google finally announced today that it is rolling out Gemini Live. This new AI feature is a voice chatbot originally announced at Google I/O in May. Gemini Live will be available to Gemini Advance subscribers, with those who decide to purchase a Pixel 9 series smartphone receiving a year's subscription at no additional cost.

The Pixel 9's pricing starts at $799 and will come in four colors: Pink, Mint Green, Black, and White. The Pixel 9 Pro starts at $999, while the 9 Pro XL starts at $1,099; both come in four colors: Light Pink, Light Grey, Black, and White. Lastly, the Pixel 9 Pro Fold starts at $1,799 and comes in Black or White.

Google's Pixel 9 series will be released on September 9. Or August 22 if you purchase a Pixel 9, Pixel 9 Pro, or Pixel 9 pro XL at the Google Store or one of its retail partners.

Taylor is a Reporter at IGN. You can follow her on Twitter @TayNixster.