Made By Google is the tech giant’s annual product reveal, and the 2024 launch has just taken place in California.
During the event, Google debuted a refreshed lineup of Pixel devices, including a “new era” of Pixel smartphones, with the Pixel 9, Pixel 9 Pro and Pixel 9 Pro XL, expected to be some of the year's best phones. They were unveiled alongside Google’s Pixel 9 Pro Fold, the Google Pixel Buds Pro 2 noise-cancelling headphones, and the Pixel Watch 3.
That’s a lot of new tech at once, so here’s a rundown of each announcement with details on what’s new and how much it’ll cost. All the devices announced are available for pre-order today and will go on sale soon.
Google Pixel 9, Pixel 9 Pro and Pixel 9 Pro XL
The biggest news from the launch is the Pixel 9 smartphones. Previously Google has released two new Android flagships every year, the Pixel and the Pixel Pro handset, which are later joined by a more affordable phone the following year, the Pixel ‘a’. For the first time, Google is releasing three new flagship phones at once: the Pixel 9, the Pixel 9 Pro and the Pixel 9 Pro XL.
The Google Pixel 9 Pro XL sits at the top of the range, with an impressive list of specs and a massive 6.8-inch screen. For those who want the perks of a top-tier flagship but don’t want a huge phone, the Pixel 9 Pro squeezes it into a smaller, 6.3-inch device. The two Pro handsets sport similar specs, including a telephoto camera lens you would previously have only found on the bigger handset.
As expected, the Google Pixel 9 offers a slightly stripped-back version of the phone, without the extra telephoto lens.
The other big news is that Google has revamped the design of its flagships. The Google Pixel 8 and Google Pixel 8 Pro both had glossy casing and a camera bar that stretched across the back of the phone. The Pixel 9 handsets, on the other hand, have a polished matt glass back and a central island housing the camera lenses.
The Google Pixel 9 Pro and Pixel 9 Pro XL have the same camera hardware as the Pixel 8 Pro with a 50MP main camera, a 48MP ultrawide camera and a 48MP telephoto camera with 5x optical zoom. The front camera has been boosted to a 42MP lens.
Google being Google, there are tonnes of AI-powered features to improve the look of your creations, like 30x Super Res Zoom and 8K video enhancement.
The Pro phones also have a brighter screen than ever, faster charging and more power under the hood, thanks to 16GB of RAM and the latest Google Tensor G4 processor.
The Google Pixel 9 has had a few significant improvements, too. There's a better camera system, thanks to the combination of a 50MP main lens and a 48MP ultrawide lens, with AI features like low-light panoramas and auto framing to emphasise the subject of the shot. You’ll also get a screen that is 35% brighter than before, Gorilla Glass Victus 2 to protect the display from damage and a bigger battery that charges more quickly than its predecessor.
All the Pixel 9 handsets come with Android 14 and will get seven years of updates and new feature drops. Plus Google Gemini is built into all the new devices, it's a generative AI assistant that will be able to have free-flowing conversations, help you plan your calendar, find something in your email inbox, make shopping lists, create playlists, write to-do lists, get detailed info on the weather — the opportunities are endless.
Other Pixel feature upgrades include new tools in Call Assist to write up a summary of your conversation so you don’t forget times, dates or prices. And these phones will eventually get Satellite SOS to call for emergency help when you don’t have any cellular signal.
The Google Pixel 9 is available in obsidian black, porcelain white, wintergreen green and peony pink. The Google Pixel 9 Pro and 9 Pro XL are both available in obsidian black, porcelain white, hazel green and rose quartz pink.
You can buy the Google Pixel 9 starting from £799, the Google Pixel 9 Pro starting from £999 and the Google Pixel 9 Pro XL from £1,099. The Pixel 9 and Pixel 9 Pro XL go on sale on August 22 and the Pixel Pro goes on sale on September 4, 2024.
Pre-order the Google Pixel 9 series
Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold
The Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold takes what was so good about the Pixel Fold and hones in on it, maintaining the focus on stellar good looks and stunning photography.
In 2024, the Pixel Fold's design has evolved to be more modern and features a bigger 6.3-inch cover display (the same size as its regular smartphones). It folds out to reveal a huge 8-inch internal screen which is 80% brighter than before.
The larger "phablet" screen is perfect for working on the go, streaming videos and playing mobile games. You can split the display in two and run a couple of apps simultaneously, show real-time translations on both screens for smoother conversations abroad, and display video calls on both sides so that the person on the other end can see you and the space around you.
The Pixel 9 Pro Fold's camera system is made up of a 48MP wide lens, a 10.5MP ultrawide lens and a 10.8MP 5x telephoto lens. Like the other Pixel 9 phones, the camera has been improved with new software, like Add Me, which swaps in the photographer using AI so no one gets left out of the shot, and improvements to its Magic Editor.
Other handy tools include Made You Look, which displays a fun animation on the cover screen to get your kids’ attention.
In terms of hardware, Google's latest foldable smartphone is packed with the Tensor G4 processor, 16GB of RAM and a choice of 256GB or 512GB of internal storage. Google has packed all of that into a slimmer, lighter device than the original with a new super-strong stainless steel hinge.
Running on Android 14, the phone will get seven years of software updates and new feature drops, the Gemini assistant is built-in and you'll get access to one year of the Google One AI Premium plan with Gemini Advanced, Gemini in Gmail and Docs and 2TB of cloud storage.
The Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold will be available to buy in obsidian black and porcelain white. Prices start from £1,749.
Pre-order the Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold
Google Pixel Buds Pro 2
Are you going to need a pair of noise-cancelling headphones to go alongside your new smartphone? That’s where the Google Pixel Buds Pro 2 come in.
Smaller and lighter than the first generation, the Pixel Buds Pro 2 are convincing little in-ear headphones. You twist them into place and there’s a stabiliser to keep them secure even when you’re out running.
In comparison to the first generation, they have better audio, enhanced ANC performance, and spatial audio with head tracking that makes the music sound as though it's moving with you.
Battery life has been improved, too, now 8 hours of music at a time with ANC and 30 hours in total with the charging case.
Elsewhere, the Pixel Buds Pro 2 have better Clear Calling, which boosts the quality of phone calls by reducing the amount of distracting noise and improving the clarity of the other person’s voice, no matter what smartphone or headphones they are using.
Other cool features include Conversation Detection, which automatically pauses the music and switches to Transparency mode when you start speaking. Multipoint connectivity easily swaps the audio between devices. You can get real-time translations of the world around you straight into your ears. And they can be hooked up to the Find My Device network so you’ll be able to see their location on a map.
The Google Pixel Buds Pro 2 are available to buy in porcelain white, hazel green, wintergreen and peony pink — matching the colours of the Pixel 9 smartphones.
You can buy the Google Pixel Buds Pro 2 for £219 starting from September 26, 2024, and they are available to pre-order now.
Pre-order the Google Pixel Buds Pro 2
Google Pixel Watch 3
Last but not least, Google has debuted its third smartwatch, the Pixel Watch 3, which is now available in two sizes, 41mm and 45mm.
Whichever size you pick, the screens are two times brighter than before, with a peak brightness of 2,000 nits making them more visible even on sunny summer days. They have smaller bezels, and they’re more responsive than ever, with better power efficiency thanks to a dynamic refresh rate that adjusts itself between 1 and 60hz.
The latest watch delivers a 24-hour battery life, which can be increased to 36 hours with Battery Saver Mode.
Similar to the Pixel Watch 2, the Google Pixel Watch 3 works in collaboration with Fitbit to track all sorts of metrics across your fitness and health — there are 40 exercise modes, and it monitors your heart rate, heart rhythm, blood oxygen and skin temperature.
There are countless useful features to discover, but the focus this year is on running, in particular. To help you progress more quickly, you’ll be able to create running routines with warm-ups and cool-downs included, as well as set targets for your pace, heart rate, time and distance. The watch offers audio and haptic cues to guide you along the way.
New “readiness” tracking will keep an eye on your sleep, resting heart rate and heart rate variability, while “cardio load” tracking will monitor how much you exert yourself throughout the day. These metrics are combined to let you know when you need to recover and when you should be pushing yourself, stopping you from under or overtraining.
Every day, the watch will provide you with a Morning Brief which will summarise your health and fitness metrics including your sleep, and progress towards your weekly goals, it will also notify you if anything is out of the ordinary.
Away from fitness, the Google Pixel Watch has plenty of apps and tools to help make your life easier. For instance, you can use it as a Google TV remote, it can display Google Maps when you’re offline, you’ll be able to see a live view from your Nest doorbell on the display and skip to the next song on Spotify. If you own a Pixel phone, you can use the watch to control your camera, and you can screen and hold calls from it, too.
Both sizes of the Pixel Watch 3 come in a few colours. There's a matte black case with an obsidian black band and a polished silver case with a porcelain white band. If you’d rather have a pop of colour, the 41mm version is available in champagne gold with a hazel green band and polished silver with a rose quartz band. The 45mm version is available with a polished hazel case and a matching green band.
You can pre-order the Google Pixel Watch 3 (41mm) for £349 with WiFi or £449 if you buy it with LTE. The Google Pixel Watch (45mm) costs £399 with WiFi and £499 with LTE.
Pre-order the Google Pixel Watch 3
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