The ninth-generation Google Pixel has yet to debut, but we already hear conflicting things through the rumor mill. Will it have a periscopic telephoto lens? Will the Pixel 8 Pro’s errant temperature sensor stick around its successor? And, more importantly, is Google planning to “yassify” the Pixel 9 Pro?
Expect to hear something more substantial closer to Google I/O in May, when the company will likely reveal the hardware it’s launching in the fall. For now, we have hearsay, so here’s what the rumors say.
Google Pixel premonitions
There’s been plenty of speculation about Google’s 2024 Pixel roadmap among the handful of oft-frequented Android blogs. Two years ago, the rumor mill successfully predicted the arrival of the folding Pixel Fold and the Pixel 7a. The whispers now suggest that Google may skip the mid-range Google Pixel 8a launch, which would have preceded the Pixel 9. However, the Pixel Fold 2 is still slated for release this year, and the gossip has already started percolating on why it’ll be better than Google’s first-gen attempt.
When to expect the Pixel 9?
Google typically launches its new Pixel generation in October, and it’s par for the course this year, too. We expect to see the Pixel 9 and Pixel 9 Pro sometime after the next Galaxy foldable and Apple’s new iPhone launch. It’s usually the last major phone release before the holiday shopping season.
What will the Pixel 9 look like?
Based on highly alleged renderings surfaced by MySmartPrice, a website known to leak Android handsets before, the next-gen Pixel 9 and Pixel 9 Pro will have flatter edges and a deeper curve around the edges. The images currently floating around suggest the Pixel 9 will almost mirror the rounded aesthetic of the Galaxy S24 series or the iPhone 15 Pro.
The backside-facing camera module of the Pixel 9 might also get reconfigured, though it will be less of a change than what they say the Pixel Fold 2 will look like. The consensus is that the Pixel design will become rounder, more reliant on the circular aesthetic than the rectangular one it’s leaned into since the Pixel 6.
What are the Pixel 9’s specs?
The exact specifications of Google’s next smartphone have yet to be determined. There is a smattering of chatter about a supposed 6.5-inch display, placing the screen size right between the Pixel 8’s 6.2-inch display and the Pixel 8 Pro’s 6.7-inch offering. Ross Young, an analyst with the Display Supply Chain Consultants, offered conflicting information in October that it’s more likely the Pixel 9 and 9 Pro will have larger displays than the Pixel 8 series. The rumor is similar to one about the iPhone 16 Pro Max going up to a 6.8-inch display, and Young has been on the mark with display predictions over the past few smartphone release cycles.
The Pixel 9 Pro will likely have a more significant camera bump. The same thing has happened to Samsung’s Galaxy S24 Ultra and the iPhone 15 Pro Max—that optical zoom offering needs a lens that can facilitate, and Google can only rely on the algorithms of Super Zoom for so long.
We’ll be updating this page with more rumors and anything that gets confirmed leading up to the eventual launch of the Pixel 9.
