The Pixel 9 series made its big announcement last week. Pre-orders for the base Pixel 9 and 9 Pro XL have ended and are now available for purchase. You can still get a Google store credit ($100 for the base, $200 for the XL) or an Amazon gift card. The little Pixel 9 Pro and Pixel 9 Pro Fold are still up for pre-order, and they’re set to launch early next month.
Here are the two models available this week: Google Pixel 9 and Pixel 9 Pro XL.
This week, we wanted to focus on what you can get instead of the Pixel 9 — the Samsung Galaxy S24, for starters. These three models will get 7 years of software support, just like the Pixels, and they have a ton of AI features that are often handled by Google itself. That said, One UI does offer some advantages (e.g. DeX, Good Lock) and you can get more memory for less money. That said, the Galaxy S24 phones do have less RAM compared to their Pixel counterparts, but that shouldn’t be a problem for the AI.
Now is a terrible time to buy a new iPhone—the iPhone 16 series is just weeks away, and when it does arrive, prices on current models will drop. We’ll revisit the Pixel vs. iPhone debate in a month or so.
OnePlus is about to refresh its lineup, but the brand isn’t as allergic to discounts as Apple. The OnePlus 12 is cheaper than the Pixels and even the Galaxy, but it uses the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, which clearly beats the Tensor G4. And there’s a version with 16GB of RAM, unlike Samsung (they have 8 Gen 3 chips “for Galaxy,” which run at higher clock speeds).
If you think about it, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 in the OnePlus 12R is still pretty powerful. It doesn’t have a telephoto camera, but it does have an LTPO display, unlike the entry-level Pixel 9. That one is significantly larger than the Pixel 9, though, with a 6.78-inch display. It also has shorter software support — 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’re not a step behind.
The new Moto Edge (2024) is powered by the slow-moving Snapdragon 7s Gen 2, which disappoints with a fancy curved OLED display and a leather back. However, last year’s Motorola Edge+ (2023) costs $500 for a 512GB phone and is equipped with the same Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 as the 12R. It doesn’t have an LTPO display (a 6.67” FHD+ 120Hz OLED), but it does have a 12-megapixel 2x telephoto lens and a 50-megapixel ultra-wide-angle lens, in addition to the main 50-megapixel one. There’s also a 60-megapixel selfie camera. Software support won’t be as good as you’ll find on Google or Samsung phones, even OnePlus models.
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