There are going to be quite a few Pixel phones to choose from this year, and a new camera bump, too.
The year of phones is shaping up as the year gradually winds down, and heading into the back half of the year, we have a pretty solid indication for what’s coming.
Samsung just announced its Z Fold 6 and Z Flip 6 foldables, and September will likely reveal four new iPhone 16 models in the form of the 16, 16 Plus, 16 Pro, and 16 Pro Max.
All that leaves is Google, which normally announces phones in October, but this year is moving things up to August.
Fortunately, you may not have to wait quite that long to get some idea of what the big G has in store.
This week, Google has seemingly confirmed a bunch of rumours and leaks with a 30 second preview video showing some of what’s expected, as well as a name for a new phone: the Google Pixel 9 Pro.
Previous Pixels have been the Pixel and Pixel XL, each seeing a number after the word “Pixel” for subsequent generations. This year, however, it seems we’ll be getting a Pixel 9, a Pixel 9 Pro, and likely a Pixel 9 Pro XL, since that would cover the larger sizes. We might even finally see the launch of a Pixel Fold in Australia. Who can say.
What can be said, however, is that some of the new phones will sport a different camera look, as Google reveals an extruded camera bump on the back of the new phone.
Three cameras can be easily seen in that new extruded camera bump, which changes the shelf seen on the back of the Pixel 8 Pro from stretching across the phone to more of an island on the back, creating a different look entirely.
A change in camera will only be part of what this year’s Pixel 9 range will be about, with AI likely forming a lot of what else makes the phone special. Google practically calls it out in the teaser video, and given the push for Google Gemini AI in recent devices, not to mention all the artificial intelligence features in this year’s phones, you can bet there’ll be some new AI smarts announced, too.
As for what they’ll be, time will tell, but it shouldn’t be too long a wait, with the August 13 US announcement date being August 14 locally. That’s a little less than a month to go, folks.
