Early Release: Google Unveils Pixel 9 Pro Surprisingly Sooner than Expected

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• Another Phone Reveal

We’re still a month away from the Pixel 9 Pro’s launch date. Still, customers are desperate for an early look at the phone, so Google has published a short teaser video to show off its design.

UPDATE: 2024/07/18 17:34 EST BY ANDREW HEINZMAN

Another Phone Reveal

As if the Pixel 9 Pro video wasn’t enough, Google is now sharing a teaser video for the Pixel 9 Pro Fold .

The teaser video , which is only 30 seconds long, gives us a decent look at the Pixel 9 Pro’s screen, side railing, and rear camera array. It also gives an obligatory shoutout to Google’s Gemini AI chatbot.

Design-wise, the Pixel 9 Pro is a substantial departure from previous Pixel phones. While the Pixel 8 Pro had a “soft” design with fluid edges and curved back glass, the Pixel 9 Pro looks more like an iPhone—flat back glass, flat metallic edges, and steeper curves at its corners.

Google also managed to make the Pixel 9 Pro’s camera array even more prominent than that of its predecessor. It still looks like a ‘RoboCop’ visor, but it doesn’t meld into the edges of the phone.

Some Pixel fans believe that this teaser video was published in response to leaked images. A Taiwanese regulator published images of the full Pixel 9 lineup yesterday, so I can see why people are jumping to conclusions, but I’d like to point out that this teaser may have been scheduled weeks ago.

Google claims that the Pixel 9 Pro will mark a “new era of phones.” This tagline probably refers to Gemini chatbot integration. However, its unclear how the Pixel 9 Pro’s Gemini functionality will differ from that of existing Pixel devices .

Hardware seems to be the big hurdle for AI integration on smartphones. And the Pixel 9 Pro’s specs are still a mystery. We know that the Pixel 9 lineup will feature a next-gen Tensor G4 chipset, but we don’t know if this new chipset will provide any enhanced AI capabilities.

As for leaked hardware specs—sorry, I’m not convinced that they’re accurate. Leaked photos tend to be pretty on point, but leaked spec sheets often contain at least one or two mistakes. I suspect that the Pixel 9 Pro will not offer Qi2 charging , though this suspicion is based on Samsung’s latest phones rather than leaked information.

The Pixel 9 lineup will launch at the Made by Google event on August 13th. Google is expected to announce four phones at the event, including the Pixel 9 Pro Fold that it also decided to reveal a month early.

Source: Google