Google officially reveals Pixel 9 Pro’s feature set – taking a dig at iPhone

Brief summary

Google has started teasing the new Pixel 9 devices, confirming the new design.

A number of AI features have also been confirmed, giving a taste of what the phones could be capable of.

Google has long had a tendency to respond to leaks by revealing everything. After a flood of photos, videos and other details about the upcoming Pixel 9 phonesGoogle has lifted the veil and given us a sneak peek of what to expect.

First, Google has confirmed the design leaks are legit by changing the header images on its social channels, giving us an official look at its latest flagship smartphones – the Pixel 9 Pro Fold and Pixel 9 Pro (above). It hasn’t confirmed the Fold’s name yet, but at least we get a good look at it now.

In addition, Google has given us a collection of videos, which quickly reveal the Pixel 9 Pro and the Pixel 9 Pro Foldwith a final video revealing some of the features of the new phones.

22 Reasons Why You Should Ditch Your Phone and Say Hello to #Pixel9 Pro with Gemini ðŸ’‹#MadeByGoogle – YouTube

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The video goes through the new features at a lightning-fast pace, just 8 seconds. The idea is that you pause and see what benefits Pixel brings to you, but we’ve done the hard work to extract everything that’s there. Here’s a handy list:

I wish your photo had more landscape
Forgot the movie your friend recommended
Forgot the show your friend recommended
Phone calls where you can barely hear the other person
Concert videos that seem too far away
Your toddler is looking everywhere except at the camera
Scrambling videos for answers
Gatekeeper
So many emails. So little time.
Screen conversations yourself
Half the family is looking at the camera
Not capturing the right moment
Waiting for hours
The air is not good
Same old memes
Lost in translation
Forgot which restaurant your friend liked
Awkward Photo Requests from Strangers
Mother is never in the picture
Photobombers
Blurry photos
Writer’s block

It’s immediately clear that this isn’t entirely new, but Google’s framing here is the edge that Gemini brings via AI. The photo-related features are covered by Best Take, Face Unblur, Magic Eraser and Magic Editor.

We see references to Call Screen, a nod to the 5x optical zoom and recent translation skills, but there are also a few things that could be new, as well as a dig at rivals Apple.

What new features are coming to the Pixel 9?

In the middle of the list is “gatekeeping”, which can be interpreted in many ways, but it could be a dig at iPhone and its walled garden approach. Apple has spent years pushing its own products and services over others, while Google likes to see Android as a more open platform.

Whether you agree or not is open to interpretation.

Gemini powers the AI experience on the Pixel phone, and the references to “forgetting” suggest we’re going to see a new way to capture that information. Thanks to a leak from Google AI FeaturesWe know there is a Screenshots feature coming, which will extract information from screenshots so Gemini can easily report it to you later.

The same leak also introduced us to something called “Add Me,” which addresses the “awkward photo requests” and “mom is never in the picture” side of things. Add Me lets you add a missing person back into a group photo, so you don’t have to ask a stranger – and mom gets taken.

Recently we saw Samsung talk about Galaxy AI (also powered by Gemini), which would allow contextual replies to messages. It looks like the Pixel might be able to do this too.

The reference to emails and times is likely about using AI to improve important emails. Spam is already filtered out and social media is already separated, but this suggests Gmail can go even further.

That gives us a whole host of things to get excited about when the Pixel 9 phones hit the market. Created by Google Event on August 13th.

Brief summary

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