The Google Pixel 9 might have priced itself out of contention

The Google Pixel 9 has popped up a little earlier than expected this year and it’s brought more friends with it than ever. Google’s latest series of smartphones has expanded, officially bringing the foldable into the… fold with the Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold and doubling the number of Pro devices with the little and large Pixel 9 Pro and Pixel 9 Pro XL.

Barring the Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold – which inexplicably manages to retain the same price as the original Google Pixel Fold – all members of the family have seen a fairly substantial price increase over their predecessors from last year. Considering we saw the same problem with the Google Pixel 8, is this one consecutive price jump too many? It’s all going to come down to whether or not you’re getting more bang for those extra bucks, so let’s have a look at the specs and see what’s new.

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Google Pixel 9: Specifications, price and release date

• Processor: Google Tensor G4
• Memory: 12GB
• Storage: 128GB; 256GB
• Display: 6.3in, 2,424 x 1,080, 120Hz, OLED Actua
• Rear cameras: 50MP (f/1.7); 48MP (f/1.7) ultrawide
• Front camera: 10.5MP (f/2.2)
• Battery: 4,700mAh
• Dust and water resistance: IP68
• Dimensions (WDH): 72 x 8.5 x 153mm
• Weight: 198g
• Colours: Obsidian; Porcelain; Wintergreen; Peony
• UK price: £799 (128GB); £899 (256GB)
• UK release date: 22 August; preorder now from Google

To put some explicit numbers on it, the 128GB model is a cool £100 more than the Pixel 8 was at launch, while the 256GB is even worse, jumping a massive £140. We’re getting well out of value-for-money flagship territory here and, with the dust barely settled from the recent release of the excellent Google Pixel 8a, my first instinct is that the Pixel 9 has priced itself into a sticky position. On the one hand, it fails to match the feature set of the Pixel 9 Pro handsets while proving too expensive to offer the value of the Pixel 8 or the Pixel 8a. 

That’s not to say that there aren’t any improvements; we’ve got the expected generational jump to the Google Tensor G4 chipset, as well as 50% more memory than last year, going from 8GB to 12GB of RAM. Storage options are the same, though, with your choice of 128 or 256GB of internal storage and no microSD card support to expand it.

The battery is a little bigger, too, swelling from 4,575mAh up to the same 4,700mAh as the Pixel 9 Pro. Charging speeds aren’t confirmed in the initial press release but Google claims that using a 45W Google charger (which is not included in the box) the phone can hit 55% battery life from empty in 30 minutes.

Also bigger than last year is the build: the Pixel 9 measures 72 x 8.5 x 153mm, making it a bit taller and wider than the Pixel 8 but also a tiny bit thinner. It’s also notably heavier, weighing 198g, compared to the Pixel 8’s 187g.

Sitting on top of that chunkier body is a 6.3in display, once again slightly larger than the Pixel 8’s 6.2in panel. The resolution is 1,080 x 2,424 and the refresh rate can toggle between 60Hz and 120Hz – this isn’t an LTPO screen, however, so there’s no dynamic dimming for saving battery life, as we get on the Pixel 9 Pro. Scratch resistance is improved, at least, with a layer of Gorilla Glass Victus 2 sitting over both the display and the rear, and the phone is once again rated IP68 for dust and water resistance.

The 10.5MP (f/2.2) selfie camera is identical to last year’s but flip the phone over, and you’ll see that the rear cameras are now tucked into a wide oval housing that doesn’t touch the edges, replacing the iconic full-width camera bar. To me, this is a step backwards, as it looks more tacked-on and generic than the bar, but it’s not a dramatic enough difference to be a dealbreaker.

The cameras themselves are less of a stark departure, with the same 50MP (f/1.7) main camera as the Pixel 8 leading the charge. We were big fans of this camera, so it’s not awful to see it return, but paired with the price increase this does feel a little lazy. That being said, Google has promised a completely rebuilt HDR pipeline, so it’s possible that we’ll still see a noticeable difference when it comes time to test the cameras. And the ultrawide camera gets some upgrades, at least, with a larger 48MP image sensor and a much wider f/1.7 aperture.

Aside from the new Zoom Enhance feature, which uses generative AI to sharpen digitally zoomed-in images, the Pixel 9 gets most of the same camera features as its Pro siblings, including old favourites like Magic Eraser, Face Unblur and Best Take. The latter also gets a new addition in the “Add Me” feature, which can insert the photo-taker into group shots after the picture has been taken. Outside of the camera system, we’ve also got the return of features like Circle to Search and Gemini AI as the default smart assistant.

New AI features include a customised overview in the new Pixel Weather app, the image-generating Pixel Studio, post-phone call transcripts with Call Notes – running entirely on device so your privacy is maintained – and the new Pixel Screenshots app, which intelligently organises your screenshots and allows you to search for them later by key words. Finally, Gemini Live allows you to hold a free-flowing conversation with the AI, changing topics on the fly and interrupting it to clarify or change your mind.

The slightly earlier launch window means that the Pixel 9 series won’t be debuting with Android 15, as we saw last year with the 8 series and Android 14, but expect these handsets to be among the first to get the new software when it drops. Beyond that, the Pixel 9 is once again promised seven years of OS updates and security patches, as well as first dibs on new Android features.

That’s about it for the specifications and honestly, I’m a little underwhelmed. In a vacuum, the Pixel 9 sounds fine enough but the price increase puts it in direct competition with the Samsung Galaxy S24 and in that context, the Pixel feels disappointing. The Galaxy S24 is smaller and lighter, so is more appealing as a compact flagship, has an LTPO display that can adjust between 1Hz and 120Hz on the fly, and has a more versatile camera setup, including 8K video recording and a 3x telephoto camera.

And where it doesn’t surpass the Pixel 9, the Galaxy S24 still matches it, including Gorilla Glass Victus 2 and IP68 protection, seven years of software updates and a wealth of AI features. We’ll need to test how well the Tensor G4 chipset performs before we can determine whether or not the Pixel 9 can keep up with the Galaxy S24’s speeds, but it would need to be a fairly substantial improvement over the Tensor G3 to even draw close to the Samsung.

We’ve got the Pixel 9 coming in for review, so we’ll be putting it thoroughly through its paces very soon. It may yet emerge as a worthwhile followup to the Pixel 8 but based on this first look, I’m far from convinced. Check back soon to see our final verdict and whether another company has the chance to steal the top spot in our best Android phone list.