Last week was the start of Pixel 9 pre-orders. Those have now ended for the vanilla Pixel 9 and the 9 Pro XL and they are available for sale. The offer of a free storage upgrade is still available from Google’s online store and from Amazon, though. The small Pixel 9 Pro and the Pixel 9 Pro Fold are still on pre-order, their launch is early next month.
Here are the two models that are available as of this week, the Google Pixel 9 and the Pixel 9 Pro XL.
This week we wanted to focus on what can you get instead of a Pixel 9. For starters, a Samsung Galaxy S24 model. These three will get 7 years of software support, just like the Pixels, and they have a host of AI features that are often powered by Google itself. Still, One UI offers some advantages (e.g. DeX, Good Lock) and you can have more storage for less money. That said, the Galaxy S24 phones are short on RAM compared to their Pixel counterparts, but that shouldn’t be an issue for AI.
Right now is a terrible time to buy a new iPhone – the iPhone 16 series is a few weeks away and once they arrive, prices of current models will drop. We will revisit the Pixel vs. iPhone issue in about a month.
OnePlus will refresh its lineup soon too, but the brand is not as allergic to discounts as Apple. The OnePlus 12 is the same price as the base Pixel 9, but uses a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, which handily beats the Tensor G4. And there’s a version with 16GB of RAM, unlike the Samsungs (they do have 8 Gen 3 “for Galaxy” chips, which run at higher clocks).
Come to think of it, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 inside the OnePlus 12R is still quite punchy. There’s no telephoto camera on this one, but it does have an LTPO display, unlike the base Pixel 9. This one is much larger than the Pixel 9, though, with a 6.78” display. Also, software support will be shorter – 3 OS updates and 4 years of patches for the 12R and 4 OS updates and 5 years of patches for the flagship 12. That said, the OnePlus 12 and 12R started with Android 14, just like the Pixels, so at least they are not a step behind.
We also want to highlight two Motorolas. The Moto Edge 50 Pro is based on the Snapdragon 7 Gen 3, which is a bit slower than the Tensor G4, but it is quite efficient. With the 4,500mAh battery, it gets almost the same endurance as the Pixel 9 Pro XL with its 5,060mAh battery. And this one charges much faster – 125W wired and 50W wirelessly. The 10MP 3x telephoto lens is no match for the 48MP 5x periscope of the XL model, but it’s better than what the vanilla Pixel 9 has (no tele at all) and this phone is considerably cheaper. Take that into account when we tell you that the software support situation isn’t as good – Motorola is promising 3 OS updates, but even those won’t be as quick to arrive as Google’s.
For a bit less than the vanilla Pixel 9 you can have the Motorola Edge 50 Ultra instead. This one uses the Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 – not the top chipset this year, but more than fast enough to beat the Tensor – and this one has a more competitive 64MP 3x tele camera to go with the 50MP main (1/1.3”) and 50MP ultra wide. And don’t forget the 50MP selfie camera, which is used both on the Moto Edge 50 Pro and Ultra. The Ultra is also set for 3 major OS updates, as long as you’re patient.
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