Google’s big Pixel event was full of phones, and the company redesigned them all. No longer the Cyclops camera band, now the Among Us camera oval. For all Pixels (except the new ones. There are new flat sides and soft corners, making these phones look more like iPhones than before.
First, the entry-level Pixel 9 has a 6.3-inch screen, slightly larger than its predecessor, and a larger camera with up to a 48-megapixel ultrawide lens. New AI-powered photo editing tricks, like Rethink, join features I use every day on my Pixel 8, like Magic Editor and Night Sight.
It is joined by the same-sized Pixel 9 Pro and the 6.8-inch Pixel 9 Pro XL. Technically, the Pixel 9 Pro is a new proposition: the best Pixel camera in a compact size. Apart from the screen size and battery, the specifications are the same for both the Pro phones. The base Pixel 9 has a matte satin finish, while the Pro devices have a glossy, polished treatment. (I wish it were the other way around, myself.) Next to that 50- and 48-megapixel camera duo, there’s a third 48MP camera with 5x telephoto zoom. That’s the ‘pro’ part.
Another surprise is that Google’s new $1,000 Pixel 9 phones will not launch with Android 15.
This is probably because the new Pixels came out earlier than usual. Android 14 arrived in October last year, so we can expect to hear more about Android 15 in the fall. Don’t worry, though. There will still be plenty of new AI features – which we’ll get to play with once our review device arrives. Trust and believe.
— Matt Smith
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Smart new shape and even bigger displays.
Google’s first attempt at folding was different. The company has got different screen sizes, ridiculous price and capable cameras. This year, don’t call it the Pixel Fold 2, because this is the Pixel 9 Pro Fold. Along with the improved design, it has what Google says is the largest display of any phone on the market. Farewell, passport stop. The new flagship has a 6.3-inch external display that is almost the same size as the regular Pixel 9. But inside… boom. An eight-inch screen that beats Samsung, OnePlus and other rival phones.
For cameras, the new module houses a 48MP main camera, a 10.5MP ultrawide camera and a 10.8MP telephoto camera with 5x optical zoom. It’s not quite the Pixel 9 Pro, but on paper, it feels powerful. However, there is no stylus support.
Keep reading.
This is the new Google Assistant.
The default assistant on all these new Pixels will be Gemini — Google’s AI-powered chatbot — not Google Assistant. “Gemini is the evolution of the assistant,” said Sissie Hsiao, Google vice president and general manager of Gemini Experiences. Gemini, powered by Google’s family of major language models, can apparently do everything the old Google Assistant can do. To be clear, you can still use Gemini as your assistant on most current Android phones, Pixel or otherwise — but only if you opt in.
Keep reading.
Dumping of 2.7 billion records.
A few months after a hacker group said it sold nearly three billion stolen records from a prominent data broker, more information appears to have been leaked on a forum. In accordance with The Sleep ComputerThe data dump included 2.7 billion records of US citizens, including names, social security numbers, possible nicknames and all known residential addresses. Even worse, everything is not written. You may need to take certain steps to protect yourself from fraud and identity theft.
Keep reading.
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