Google’s Pixel 9 comes with more AI features and a new design

Google’s Pixel 9 lineup — which includes the standard Pixel 9, 9 Pro and 9 Pro XL — has gotten a bit of a makeover, with all three phones sporting fresh looks, hardware improvements and, of course, an even bigger dose of artificial intelligence. Google announced the Pixel 9 family during its August 13 event, alongside the Pixel Watch 3 and Pixel Buds Pro 2.

In many ways, the base $799 Pixel 9 — Google’s cheapest phone in the group, costing $100 more than last year’s Pixel 8 — feels like a routine upgrade. It comes with a new Tensor G4 processor and more storage, a higher-resolution ultra-wide camera, a bigger battery and a slightly larger display.

But more importantly, it’s a larger showcase of how Google thinks generative AI can be useful on our phones. AI is spreading throughout the OS in new ways, from AI-generated weather reports to a new image generation app for taking photos on the fly.

Google’s approach to AI on phones is more important than ever as it faces increasing competition from Apple, which plans to roll out its own AI Apple Intelligence features in beta this fall. Apple and OpenAI, arguably Google’s two biggest rivals, have also teamed up to bring ChatGPT integration to the iPhone, while Google is weaving its Gemini assistant more tightly into Android phones. As if that wasn’t reason enough for Google to emphasize its AI ambitions, OpenAI just announced its own AI search engine called Search GPT, which many see as a direct competitor to Google.

At the same time, generative AI will only become more prevalent on phones. International Data Corporation predicts that sales of Gen AI phones, or phones with specific specifications for running generative AI models on the device, will grow 364% year-over-year through 2024.

The Pixel 9’s new AI and software features

While the AI ​​tools Google introduced with the Pixel 8 were primarily focused on photo editing, the Pixel 9’s new features aim to make the operating system more intuitive to use. (Of course, there are some new photography-related tricks, too.) These features are available across the Pixel 9 lineup, as all of the new phones are powered by Google’s Tensor G4 processor. The standard Pixel 9 also includes 12GB of RAM instead of the Pixel 8’s 8GB, which should improve overall performance and support the phone’s new AI features.

One of the notable new features is an app called Pixel Screenshots, which lets you ask questions about screenshots saved to your phone. That might not sound too exciting, but think about how many times you’ve taken a screenshot of something for later reference—the Wi-Fi password for your Airbnb, say, or an address from a text message. The Pixel Screenshots app lets you search for those individual bits of information when you need them, sort of like the Ask Photos feature for Google Photos that the company announced at Google I/O.

What’s more interesting, though, is the way Google claims its software can infer context based on the image. For example, if you took a screenshot of a digital poster for an upcoming event (like a concert or festival), the company claims it can distinguish between different times listed on the poster, such as the event itself and the ticket sale date.

Google’s new Pixel phones are also getting a tool for creating images from prompts, called Pixel Studio. Simply type a description and the app will generate an image. There are also a handful of starter prompts based on themes if you’re not sure where to start. A “retro video game” section, for example, might include prompt ideas like “pixel art retro video game of a misty forest.” Apple is launching a similar tool called Image Playground as part of its Apple Intelligence suite of features.

The weather app now shows AI-generated weather summaries. You can also record a phone call and see a summary of the call in the phone app.

Building on last year’s Magic Editor, which can remove or alter objects in photos, Google is introducing Reimagine. Instead of letting the AI ​​decide how to change a particular element of a photo, you can type a prompt to get the result you want. For example, I highlighted the floor of an outdoor balcony in a photo and asked Google to “reimagine” it as a sandy beach.

Check this out: Google Pixel 9, 9 Pro and 9 Pro XL hands-on

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But the new camera feature I found most intriguing was Add Me, which uses augmented reality to help you take a group photo. The process involves taking two photos: a first photo and then a second shot in which the original photographer switches with someone else to join the group photo. When the second photo is taken, the second photographer sees an AR overlay that helps him or her position the new person (the first photographer) where he or she should be standing so that the photo looks natural. The software then combines the two photos to create an image with everyone in the photo.

I have to admit, I was surprised at how well the AR functionality worked when I tried it out during a demo ahead of Google’s event. When I held up the phone, I saw a digital overlay of myself in almost the exact same spot I’d been standing a second earlier. In most cases, it’s probably still easier and less awkward to just ask someone to take the photo for you. But I do think Add Me is more practical and sincere in its intent than Best Take, the feature introduced last year that can make it look like everyone in a photo is smiling.

Overall, the Pixel 9’s new software features feel like a step toward making Google’s Pixel software more intelligent. But I don’t think they’ll be enough on their own to motivate those who are happy with their current phone to upgrade. I do, however, think Google’s approach, particularly the Pixel Screenshots app and its summary features, are more practical for day-to-day use than some of Samsung’s Galaxy AI features.

Pixel 9 design and other hardware upgrades

The first thing I noticed when I picked up the Pixel 9 was the bold new design, with flattened bezels and a more pronounced camera bar. It’s different enough to feel new, without losing the signature Pixel look that Google has established over the past few years. The camera isn’t just an aesthetic change, though; Google is upping the resolution of the ultra-wide camera to 48 megapixels, up from 12 megapixels on last year’s model.

Google’s Pixel 9 phones also feature satellite connectivity, a feature that has been on iPhones since 2022’s iPhone 14 generation. This means the Pixel 9 series can contact emergency services without a cellular or Wi-Fi connection.

Battery life should also get a boost over the Pixel 8, with the Pixel 9 having a 4,700mAh capacity compared to its predecessor’s 4,575mAh battery. Of course, there’s a chance that heavily using those new AI features could put a greater strain on the battery.

All new Google phones get new versions of Android for seven years, just like the Pixel 8 family. The biggest differences between the Pixel 9 and the Pro models come down to size options (the Pro comes in 6.3- and 6.8-inch sizes), a triple-camera setup with a telephoto lens in addition to wide-angle and ultra-wide lenses, extra video features like Video Boost for upscaling cloud-based video to 8K, a 42-megapixel selfie camera, and extra storage (16GB of RAM instead of 12GB). But you can learn more about the differences in the table below.

The Pixel 9 seems like a promising step forward for those upgrading from an older Pixel phone. The biggest question is whether Google will bring its new AI features to older Pixel devices, as it has in previous years. The answer could be crucial in determining how big of an upgrade the Pixel 9 truly is.