The device I'm most excited to see at the Made by Google event next week has already been announced. Or, at the very least, Google has already confirmed its existence.
That would be the Pixel 9 Pro, the latest version of Google's higher-end flagship which appears in its very own teaser video. You don't learn much about the Pixel 9 Pro in that video — just that it will come loaded with the Gemini AI chatbot, feature a redesigned camera bar with rounded edges and appear on August 13. And yes, that's the date Google has set for its big hardware unveiling.
Why get excited over that? Because I follow the rumors surrounding Google's Pixel 9 phones. And it sounds like the Pro model is going to shake things up this year.
Specifically, rumors tip Google to come out with two versions of the Pixel 9 Pro — a standard Pro model and a larger version that we've been calling the Pixel 9 Pro XL. While the XL is expected to meet or exceed the screen size of the current Pixel 8 Pro, the regular Pixel 9 Pro is supposed to shrink things down. Depending on which rumor you want to believe, the smaller Pro will offer a screen size that's somewhere between 6.1 and 6.3 inches.
As a fan of smaller, more compact handsets, I consider the prospect of a shrunken down Pixel 9 Pro to be addition by subtraction.
A matter of smartphone size
Though the majority of smartphone shoppers favor phones with big screens, I prefer small phones which I find easier to operate with one hand and much more comfortable to slip into a pocket. The days of phones with screens smaller than 6 inches are likely over, but phones displays around 6.1 inches are the next best thing, especially now that phone makers have reduced bezels to fit in more screen space.
Google doesn't currently offer a premium compact phone. The Pixel 8 certainly fits the bill on size with a 6.2-inch panel, but it lacks the telephoto lens of the Pixel 8 Pro's more sophisticate camera setup. If you wanted that extra camera, Google's reasoning seemed to be, you'd have to put up with the larger screen size. It's been that way since Google adopted the standard phone/Pro model lineup with the Pixel 6 release.
The two top phone makers don't act that way. Whether you get the 6.1-inch iPhone 15 Pro or the 6.2-inch Galaxy S24, you're getting a compact phone that still finds space for that zoom camera. Google can't say the same about its phones — at least until the Pixel 9 Pro becomes official.
Google may be late to the compact premium phone party, but if it follows the pattern of past Pixel releases, the Pixel 9 Pro could have a big edge over fellow short kings like the iPhone 15 Pro and Galaxy S24. Apart from screen size, battery size and the presence of a telephoto lens, Google really doesn't change much between its standard and Pro phones. Assuming that continues with the Pixel 9 lineup, you'd imagine the Pixel 9 Pro and Pixel 9 Pro XL will be carbon copies of one another, screen and battery size excepted.
The iPhone 15 Pro and Galaxy S24 can't make that claim. Apple's smaller Pro phone lacks the more advanced zoom lens found on the iPhone 15 Pro Max. And the Galaxy S24 vs. Galaxy S24 Ultra differences are substantial, from different charging speeds to different megapixel ratings on the camera sensors. Even the zoom capabilities are different, despite the S24 being one of the few sub-$800 phones with a telephoto camera.
In other words, you'd bet on the Pixel 9 Pro to offer much the same experience as its XL sibling, which is not the case on the other top flagships, where there's more differentiation between each model.
Google Pixel 9 Pro outlook
Size isn't the only factor in what elevates a good device to the ranks of the best phones. There's also the matter of AI features, camera performance and cost. Given Google's track record, we can be fairly confident that the Tensor G4 chip will introduce a host of new AI capabilities to the Pixel 9 lineup while the cameras should be able to hold their own against any other device out there. It's the price that has me worried.
The Pixel 8 Pro starts at $999, which is $100 more than the starting price of its predecessor. You would hope that a smaller screen size on the standard Pixel 9 might encourage Google to shrink the cost of the phone as well, though that seems very unlikely. With rumors predicting price hikes on at least some Pixel models, we'll likely feel fortunate if we can still buy the Pixel 9 Pro at the 8 Pro's current price. In a worst case scenario, Google could follow the lead of other phone makers and bump up prices again.
I don't think that last outcome is very likely, but it would certainly dim my enthusiasm for the Pixel 9 Pro. And with less than a week to go before the big phone launch, I want to believe that Google is gearing up to give us a phone that lives up to some lofty expectations.
