At Made by Google 2024, the company unveiled its new suite of hardware hitting the shelves. Marking its ninth annual event, the livestream saw the reveal of the latest Pixel phones, along with a new watch and earbuds and an advanced AI software feature.
This year, Google has four new smartphones hitting the market. There’s the Pixel 9, the new standard for the flagship line, along with a Pro version, a Pro XL version and a Pro Fold iteration. With the Pixel 9, Google highlighted one of the features users most appreciate in the phone: its advanced camera. There’s a front 10.5MP camera and two rear cameras, a 50MP wide camera and a 48MP ultrawide camera. Situated within a metal camera bar on the Pixel 9 Pro and Pixel 9 Pro XL, the back of the phone is constructed out of glass and made more durable with metal sides.
The Pro offers a 42MP front camera, the same two rear cameras and an additional 48MP telephoto camera. That phone also packs a brighter display and is being sold with a promotion that offers a free year-long subscription to the Google One AI Plan.
As for why users may want that plan, Google announced that Google Assistant, the current default for its smartphones, would be replaced by a new bot called Gemini Live. Similar to Apple Intelligence, Gemini Live will be integrated with apps on phones to deliver more customized, personal answers.
The Pixel 9 Pro XL comes with a 6.8-inch screen, rather than the 6.3-inch standard. The Pixel 9 Pro Fold, meanwhile, contains the same three cameras as the Pixel 9 but features two screens, connected with “fluid-friction” hinge.
Elsewhere during Made by Google, the company unveiled the Pixel 3 Watch, which comes in a standard 45mm screen size and a larger 45mm option. There’s also a new pair of Pixel Buds Pro 2, built to integrate with Gemini AI and containing a new chip, the Tensor A1, that’s billed as offering twice as much noise cancellation.