In 2024, Google surprised us by releasing three new flagship smartphones (instead of the usual two devices) — the Google Pixel 9, the Pixel 9 Pro and the Pixel 9 Pro XL.
We're expecting them to be some of the best phones of the year, and some of the best iPhone alternatives, thanks to the refreshed designs, bold bright screens and better camera systems than ever before.
Differently from last year's Pixel phones, there's now a smaller 6.3-inch Pro model which is the same pocket-friendly size as the regular Pixel and packs all of the same advanced features as the 6.8-inch Pro XL model.
The Pixel 9 and Pixel 9 Pro XL handsets go on sale next week, August 22nd, and the Pixel 9 Pro will go on sale on September 4th. All of them are available for pre-order now.
At launch, the Google Pixel 9 will set you back from £799, the Google Pixel 9 Pro will cost £999 and the Google Pixel 9 Pro XL is priced at £1,099.
Naturally, because they have only just been announced, we aren't expecting to see any huge discounts just yet. But some retailers are offering pre-order deals, whether you're looking to buy a phone outright or on a monthly contract.
If you're on a tight budget, you might be better off looking at the best Google Pixel 8 deals and Google Pixel 8a deals.
Best Google Pixel 9 deals
Today you can pre-order the Google Pixel 9 starting from £799. It's available with 128GB or 256GB of storage.
The Google Pixel 9 Pro will set you back from £999 if you pre-order it from Amazon, with a choice of 128GB, 256GB, 512GB or 1TB of storage.
The Google Pixel 9 Pro XL prices start from £1,099. You can buy it with 128GB, 256GB, 512GB or 1TB of storage.
Amazon's pre-order deal gives you double the amount of storage for no extra cost, so you can currently get 256GB of memory for the same price as the 128GB model, for example.
Google Pixel 9 contract deals
If you plan on buying a new Google Pixel 9 phone with a monthly airtime plan, we've picked out some of the best deals from top UK retailers including O2, EE, Vodafone, Tesco Mobile and more.
Vodafone
If you pre-order a Pixel 9 series smartphone from Vodafone, you could save up to £288 on an Airtime Plan and £72 on the phone with double the storage for no extra cost.
- Google Pixel 9: from £35 /month (£30 upfront)
- Google Pixel 9 Pro: from £39/month (£50 upfront)
- Google Pixel 9 Pro XL: from £42/month (£50 upfront)
Sky Mobile
Sky Mobile is offering the new Pixel 9 smartphones with double storage for no extra cost, and you can claim up to £200 when you trade in your old phone.
- Google Pixel 9: from £28 /month (£0 upfront)
- Google Pixel 9 Pro: from £34 /month (£0 upfront)
- Google Pixel 9 Pro XL: from £38 /month (£0 upfront)
Three
If you buy the Google Pixel 9 through Three, you'll get double the storage at no extra cost and you could save up to £762 when you trade in selected Google smartphones.
- Google Pixel 9: from £31 /month (£25 upfront)
- Google Pixel 9 Pro: from £36 /month (£40 upfront)
- Google Pixel 9 Pro XL: from £38 /month (£50 upfront)
EE
EE is offering up to £912 off the Pixel 9 handsets when you pre-order the phone and trade in an older device. You can also get double storage at no extra cost if you order today, so you'd get 256GB for the price of 128GB, 512GB for the price of 256GB, or 1TB for the price of 512GB.
- Google Pixel 9: from £41.72 /month
- Google Pixel 9 Pro: from £49.30 /month
- Google Pixel 9 Pro XL: from £48.11 /month
O2
If you buy a Pixel 9 phone and airtime plan through O2, you'll get twice as much storage without spending any more money. You'll also get access to O2's reward scheme which includes up to six months of Disney+ and Amazon Prime for free, as well as roaming in 27 counties outside of Europe and early access to event ticket sales.
- Google Pixel 9: from £36.02 /month (£30 upfront)
- Google Pixel 9 Pro: from £40.19 (£30 upfront)
- Google Pixel 9 Pro XL: from £42.27 /month (£30 upfront)
Tesco
If you have a Tesco Clubcard, you’ll be able to get money off a Google Pixel 9 contract with selected airtime deals, which could save you up to £306 over your new phone contract.
- Google Pixel 9: from £31.99 /month (£0 upfront)
- Google Pixel 9 Pro XL: from from £39.99 /month (£0 upfront)
Google Pixel 9 series: what's new?
Google Pixels are some of the best Android smartphones you can buy. The ninth generation of the handsets takes what was so good about the Google Pixel 8 and the Google Pixel 8 Pro and builds on it with a new design, brighter screens, even more impressive cameras and an array of even more clever AI-powered features.
This year, Google is releasing three new flagship devices: the 6.3-inch Google Pixel 9, the 6.3-inch Google Pixel 9 Pro and the 6.8-inch Google Pixel 9 Pro XL. The two Pro models are very similar handsets, just in different sizes. The Google Pixel 9, on the other hand, is a more affordable smartphone with stripped-back specs and fewer features.
One of the biggest changes to the whole series is the design, Google has ditched the long camera bar in favour of a camera island in the middle of the phones. The Pro models have also done away with the glossy glass shell and replaced it with a matt polished glass back.
All the new devices come with the latest Google Tensor G4 processor, Gorilla Glass Victus 2 to protect them from scrapes, IP68 water and dust resistance, brighter screens and the Google Gemini Assistant built-in.
Android 14 provides a slick user experience, and you'll get seven years of software updates to keep the phone relevant long into the future. Plus there have been updates to the Call Assist feature and there's a new way to intelligently store screenshots and search through them to find what you're looking for. Further down the line, these Pixels will get Satellite SOS to call for emergency help without a cellular signal as well.
Pixel is known for its cameras, and there have been improvements across the board in that sense too.
The Google Pixel 9 Pro and Pro XL use a triple-lens rear camera system made up of a 50MP main lens, a 48MP ultrawide camera and a 48MP telephoto lens with 5x optical zoom, as well as a 42MP selfie snapper on the front. To complement that, there are lots of AI features to enhance your shots, some of which are restricted to the Pro model phones, like 30x Super Res Zoom and 8K video enhancement. The top-level smartphones both pack 16GB of RAM to power them, as well as a crisper display than the base model.
The Google Pixel 9 knocks the camera system down to a more modest two lenses, including a 50MP main lens and a 48MP ultrawide lens, but it gets a lot of the same tools like low-light panoramas.
Whichever one you go for, Google Pixels are a great choice of smartphone in 2024.
Why you can trust Digital Spy
Digital Spy has been in business for 25 years, with a team of experts across TV, movies and tech.
Yasmine Crossland, our Tech Ecommerce Editor, has reviewed countless phones and she's an expert on Android in particular. Since starting her career, Yasmine has covered several big sales events too, including the Amazon Spring Sale, Prime Day and Black Friday, so she's very well-versed in deal hunting.
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