Google’s Pixel 9 series is set to be unveiled soon on August 13, 2024, but that hasn’t stopped leaks from flooding the internet. News site 91mobiles recently shared marketing material for the smartphone line, revealing many important details.
The design of the three models matches the descriptions mentioned in previous reports – for the most part. According to the screenshots, each smartphone has polished metal sides with a matte rear panel. Android Headlines states four colors will be available at launch: Rose Pink, Obsidian, Porcelain, and Hazel.
On the back is the protruding camera island. And while we’ve known the lens array inside differs from phone to phone for some time, we now have a better of what to expect. The leak claims the standard Pixel 9 only has a 50MP wide camera “and a 48MP ultrawide snapper.” The Pixel 9 Pro and XL house the same pair while adding a 48MP telephoto sensor.
The Pixel 9 Pro Fold also has three lenses, but reportedly at lower resolutions. It houses a 48MP main camera, a 10.5MP ultrawide lens, and a 10.8MP telephoto option. Additionally, the front-facing selfie cameras differ between the four. The Pixel 9 sports a 10.5MP camera, the 9 Pro and XL models have a 42MP lens above their displays, and the 9 Pro Fold “will have a 10MP selfie shooter.”
Hardware specs
Under the hood, each of the Pixel 9 smartphones will reportedly run on the Tensor G4 chipset; however, the memory amount will vary. The standard Pixel 9 is said to have 12GB of RAM, while everything else can “have up to 16GB RAM.”
Whether this will result in a significant performance boost over the Pixel 8’s Tensor G3 remains to be seen. Past rumors have said it’ll be a “smaller upgrade than initially planned,” but others claim it’ll “offer 15 percent better performance.” Benchmark tests discovered last month point to the former being true. The results for the Tensor G4 weren’t bad – they just don’t indicate major improvements over the previous generation.
Although the resolutions weren't mentioned, the leak implies that all four models may be slightly better than the Pixel 8 series.
Google is sticking with the Actua displays, but they’re bigger this time around. Both the base and Pixel 9 Pro phones have a 6.3-inch display, while the Pixel 9 Pro XL sports a 6.8-inch display, and the Pixel 9 Pro Fold's outer screen is a 6.3-inch Actua Front. Opening the foldable reveals a massive 8-inch Super Actua Flex display.
Features
Regarding features, Circle to Search is returning, and so is Gemini. The screenshots show buyers will receive a free year-long subscription to Gemini Advanced, which is a nice value.
91mobiles highlights two new key features as well. Emergency SOS will protect you from malware and phishing attempts and inform you of nearby fires, floods, and more. Then we have Pixel Screenshots, which is referred to as a “watered-down” version of Microsoft Recall.
It allows users to save information about an image that they may want to remember later on. At a glance, it seems you’ll be able to add text descriptors to pictures manually, but without further details, we don’t know for sure.
We’ll just have to wait until the next Pixel event on August 13. However, we are at a point where there's very little that we don't know apart from getting our hands on these phones. As always, take all the info in this leak with a grain of salt.
Be sure to check TechRadar's round up of the best Pixel phones for 2024.
