Deals: Here are the pre-order offers for the Google Pixel 9 series

By far the biggest launch of the week was the arrival of the Google Pixel 9 series. The search giant unveiled two new flagships, a new near-flagship phone, and a new foldable, all of which are currently up for pre-order.

The Google Pixel 9 takes over from the Pixel 8: a non-LTPO FHD+ display and the lack of a telephoto lens prevent it from being given the “pro” moniker. However, this phone does feature the new Tensor G4 chipset and a 48MP ultra-wide camera. The wide and ultra-wide cameras are the same as the 9 Pro and 9 Pro XL.

Google is offering trade-in deals. Note that from what we've seen, storage doesn't matter (i.e. a 128GB and 256GB Pixel 8 trades in for the same price). A Pixel 8 in good condition is valued at $490, a Pixel 7 at $360. An iPhone 15 is $480, an iPhone 14 at $440. The value of Samsung phones isn't great, a Galaxy S23 is $320, even the S24 (which isn't even a year old) is $400.

You may have noticed that there is no free storage upgrade. Instead, Google, Amazon, and Best Buy each offer store credit or a gift card and they all have the same value, for example, the Pixel 9 comes with a $100 credit/gift card.

The Google Pixel 9 Pro is exactly the same size as the Pixel 9, but it's a true Pro phone with a higher-resolution LTPO display (1,280 x 2,856 px) and a 48MP 5x telephoto camera. The Pros get an additional upgrade: a 42MP selfie camera with an ultra-wide lens.

The Pixel 9 Pro isn’t quite the small flagship some might have hoped for: It’s bigger and heavier than the Galaxy S24 and iPhone 15 Pro. It’s also a bit bigger than the Pixel 8. Still, you don’t get the 5x telephoto lens on Samsung or Apple phones (only 3x and with a lower-resolution sensor), nor do you get a high-resolution ultra-wide or selfie camera. And it’s not like Samsung and Apple are doing fast charging, so Google doesn’t look bad in comparison. There are trade-in deals with the values ​​mentioned above.

The Google Pixel 9 Pro XL is the sequel to the 8 Pro (Google changed its name, which makes things confusing). It's a larger version of the 9 Pro with a 6.8-inch display (up from 6.3 inches) and a larger 5,060mAh battery (up from 4,700mAh). One additional difference here is that wired charging goes up to 37W (up from 27W), which gets the battery to 70% in 30 minutes. It's not VOOC charging, but we'll take it.

Note that all Google Pixel 9 phones will be supported for 7 years.

The Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold is a major improvement over Google's first attempt at a foldable. It closes at just 10.5mm, compared to 12.1mm for the Galaxy Z Fold6 and 11.7mm for the OnePlus Open. It's heavier than both, though, at 257g.

The OnePlus phone has an excuse: it's a 2023 model. The Galaxy Z Fold6, however, is brand new and we think Google has overtaken Samsung in the race to develop foldable devices.

Anyway, note that even though the Pixel 9 Pro Fold uses all new internal and cover displays, it has more or less the same camera hardware as the original Pixel Fold. However, the original Fold launched with the older Tensor G2, so the new model with a G4 is also significantly more powerful and efficient.

Google has launched a new 45W charger, which you'll need to get the maximum charging speed with the Pixel 9 Pro. The old 35W charger won't cut it. That said, if you have a USB-PD charger that works for you, you can skip this one.

The new Google Pixel Watch 3 comes in two sizes, 41mm and 45mm, while the Watch 2 was only available in 41mm. The 45mm option gets you a larger 1.4″ display (up from 1.2″) and a larger 420mAh battery. We've linked the Wi-Fi watches below, but you can get an LTE version for $100 more. If you opt for the 4G version, Google will give you 2 years of free data on Google Fi. Note that while texting is supported, calling from the watch is not (at least not on this free plan).

Finally, Google unveiled the new Pixel Buds Pro 2. This is the first time its custom Tensor chips have ventured into the TWS earbud form factor, but promises massive improvements in noise cancellation (2x in the 400Hz-2kHz range). And the ANC automatically adapts to your environment. The earbuds have no stem (cough, Samsung, cough) and promise long battery life (8 hours for the earbuds with ANC enabled, up to 30 hours with the case).

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