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Apple News lets users follow news with a widget that updates in real time
The feature leverages the power of Dynamic Island on iPhone 14 and later
In order to make it easier to follow the results of the US elections, Apple has implemented a very useful measure: the company is displaying the results in real time on the iPhone’s lock screen. In this way, we can see the progress of the count at a glance.
And not only that, since users of the most recent iPhones will be able to see the count directly from the Dynamic Island (available on the iPhone 14 Pro and later models) while doing other things with the phone. Of course, to see this information on the iPhone screen, you must have previously registered.
The feature takes advantage of the potential of iOS Live Activities
The feature we are talking about is part of Apple News, a free app available in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Australia that compiles relevant news about the topics that interest us most. As reported by the specialized media AppleInsider, the application is taking advantage of the potential of Live Activities to show real-time information about the United States elections.
Live Activities are commonly used in all kinds of apps to show relevant information, thus avoiding the user having to enter the corresponding app to consult the information. For example, they are available in applications such as Uber, showing the time left until the driver picks us up and information of interest, such as the license plate and model of the vehicle.
The widget displayed by Apple News shows users the electoral count of both candidates for the US presidency, as well as the results of the elections for the Senate and the House of Representatives. Without a doubt, it is a very convenient way to be updated at all times.
The widget is not only available on the iPhone: it also appears on the iPad and the Apple Watch. However, as we mentioned at the beginning of the article, it is necessary to enable the tracking of the results. This is something that can be done through Apple News, where Apple has included a special banner for the elections.
At this point, it is interesting to note that this is not the first time that Apple News has used Live Activities in this way: at the beginning of the year they did the same to report the results of the caucuses, where the candidates of each party for the final elections are chosen.
The iPhone 16 Pro Max (Image credit: Future / Lance Ulanoff) Apple, it seems, is all about ‘intelligence’ these days, as following on from the launch of Apple Intelligence, the company might be about to roll out a feature dubbed Battery Intelligence. But unlike Apple Intelligence’s suite of tools, this new feature will seemingly have just one job.
9to5Mac has found a framework called ‘BatteryIntelligence’ in code from the latest iOS 18.2 beta, and while the feature isn’t active in the beta, it’s reportedly designed to estimate how long it will take to charge your phone.
According to 9to5Mac, Battery Intelligence won’t just estimate the time to reach 100%, but it’ll also let you choose to get an estimate for when your battery will reach 80%, and perhaps other charge levels.
It’s easy to see how this could be a useful tool – if you don’t have long to charge, you’ll be able to get an immediate indication of how fully charged your phone will be able to get in a given time. Or, if you don’t want to charge your phone above a certain level (in order to preserve battery health), but haven’t set a charging limit, you’ll know to check on it after however much time the estimate says.
The iPhone 16 Pro Max (Image credit: Future / Lance Ulanoff)
However, as this feature isn’t currently enabled, it’s unclear whether it will actually launch as part of iOS 18.2. It might land with iOS 18.3 or beyond instead, and it’s always possible that Apple will choose not to roll this tool out at all.
Still, there’s a good chance that Battery Intelligence will launch, and since the framework for it is present in iOS 18.2 beta code, we’d think it’s likely we’ll see it sooner rather than later.
Either way, there’s plenty more to get excited about in iOS 18.2, with numerous new AI tools coming, including Image Playground, Genmoji,ChatGPTintegration, and Visual Intelligence.
iOS 18.2 will also add improvements to the Camera Control button and the Find My feature, and it should be coming soon, with iOS 18.2 reportedly landing in early December.
The next Pixel update has been accidentally teased early by a Verizon support page that detailed all the fixes coming to the Google Pixel 9 line-up – and older Pixel 6,7 and 8 devices.
First spotted by 9to5Google the patch should have supposedly launched on November 5 according to the Verizon page, however, the update isn’t yet live at the time of writing. That said, we expect it’ll roll out sometime soon to bring the following improvements to your Pixel 9 smartphone via version AP3A.241105.008:
Security
Provides the most up-to-date Android security patches on your device.
Bluetooth
Addressed an issue with Bluetooth range under certain conditions.
Camera
Addressed an issue with camera tilt when zooming between cameras under certain conditions.
Sensors
Addressed an issue that occasionally prevented Adaptive brightness from activating in certain conditions.
Touch
Addressed an issue when pressing the keyboard dismiss button in certain conditions.
User interface
General improvements for performance and stability in certain UI transitions and animations.
Display & Graphics
Resolved an issue that caused white dots to flash under certain conditions.
(Image credit: Google) The AP3A.241105.007 update for the Google Pixel 6, Google Pixel 7, and Google Pixel 8 devices includes fewer stability fixes and instead just includes these details:
The most up to date Android security patches on your device.
General improvements for performance and stability in certain UI transitions and animations.
So nothing too major for any of the Pixel phones unlike the arrival of Android 15 last month. However, if your Google Pixel 9, Pixel 9 Pro, or Pixel 9 Pro Fold has had problems with any of the listed issues, you’ll appreciate that they’ve finally been addressed.
As for non-Pixel updates, Samsung users are still waiting for the full Android 15 launch, though a One UI 7 beta has been tipped to land later this month with new icon styles, lock screen live widgets, and math and physics support in Circle to Search among other tools. The non-beta rollout is expected sometime in early 2025.
The ideal assistant when you see way too many message notifications
(Image credit: Google) Step away from your computer or phone for a few minutes, and you might return to an avalanche of notifications about new messages. If you’re using Google Chat, you won’t have to comb through them all to find out what you missed anymore, thanks to Google’s Gemini AI assistant. You can pull up Gemini from the Google Chat sidebar and ask the AI to summarize the conversation and dig into the most important bits.
The new feature expands Gemini’s presence from other Google Workspace applications like Docs and Drive into Google Chat. If you click on the “Ask Gemini” icon at the top of the Google Chat interface, a chat window for the AI will appear where you can ask about what’s been said in group chats, direct messages, and spaces.
If you ask the AI to “catch me up,” you’ll get a complete conversation summary, which you can ask for in bullet points. If it’s too short, you can request a longer summary too. You can also ask for more specific details, like any requests for help, key takeaways, or other decisions made in the thread. You can even ask about other people’s tasks or what a person said about specific topics. The demo below shows how it works.
Gemini can’t sort through your entire conversational history, just the current view. It also is restricted to Google Chat. That means no emails or files in Google Drive, despite Gemini having a presence and access to those applications in other circumstances. Google claims this is deliberate as it maintains focus on the current chat in context without pulling in irrelevant information. Plus, tightly constraining data sources reduce the risk of Gemini hallucinating. You also won’t be able to pull up Gemini in Google Chat without a subscription to Gemini Business, Enterprise, Education, or Education Premium.
Even with those (likely temporary) limits to availability, bringing Gemini to Google Chat fits with how Google is working to embed Gemini across all of its platforms and services. That includes Gemini Extensions to take up Google Assistant’s role with Google Messages, Maps, and pretty much everything Android does.
Government rules require all smartphones sold inside Indonesia to have 40% of their parts manufactured domestically. Or their manufacturers need to make significant investments in the local economy. Febri Hendri Antoni Arief, Indonesia’s industry ministry spokesperson, says the rules are to ensure “fairness for all investors in Indonesia,” Reuters reports.
Unlike rival smartphone manufacturers Samsung and Xiaomi, Google doesn’t have any manufacturing facilities in the Southeast Asian nation. “Google’s products have not adhered to the scheme we set, so they can’t be sold here,” Arief says.
Indonesians can still buy an iPhone 16 or Pixel abroad, but they may have to pay additional taxes, according to the minister. He added that local authorities may deactivate phones that are imported and sold unofficially.
Regardless of the recent clampdown, Indonesian consumers have long favored Asian brands over Western ones, with neither Google nor Apple being the most favored brands. Chinese brand Oppo is by far the country’s most popular smartphone manufacturer, with a market share of around 17%, followed by Samsung at 16.4%.
Indonesia is the world’s fourth most populous country after China, India, and the US with a median age of just over 30 and over 100 million people under 30. It was estimated that 68.1% of Indonesians had a smartphone in 2022, according to data from Statista.
Google has joined Apple and Samsung in offering certified refurbished models of its phones. These phones come with a warranty and even a charger in the box. However, retailers may sometimes offer better deals.(Google is currently only selling refurbished Pixel phones in the US)
Google is selling refurbished Pixel 7 and Pixel 6 smartphones.
This year Google announced a handful of phones including the budget Pixel 8a and the foldable Pixel 9 Pro Fold. However, it hasn’t stopped selling older models like the Pixel 8 and the Pixel 7a from last year, both of which are available to purchase on the Google Store. Now, it has begun selling certified refurbished units of some older models, too.
Interested buyers can now purchase certified refurbished units of the Pixel 7 for $429 and the Pixel 7 Pro for $629 on the Google Store. There are also refurbished units of the Pixel 6a for $249, the Pixel 6 for $339, and the Pixel 6 Pro for $539.
Google says each device has undergone a careful inspection process and has also been tested to ensure premium quality. Devices that are found to have issues are repaired with original Google parts, and each device is shipped with the latest Android software before repackaging. This should mean the phones will run Android 15 out of the box.
Each refurbished device also comes with a brand-new, one-year warranty and full customer support. In addition, Google is shipping a charger with the refurbished Pixel phones. This is a surprise since Google stopped shipping its phones with a charger since 2021’s Pixel 6 series. The refurbished phones also ship in a 100% plastic-free packaging like the Pixel 9 series.
The refurbished Pixel smartphones will come with the latest version of Android and a charger in the box. (Image source: Google)
Google is selling the refurbished Pixel phones in the US only for now and has not said if they will be available in other regions. However, what it has confirmed is that it plans to update the generation of available refurbished Pixel phones.
While it is nice to see Google sell refurbished Pixel phones, whether they are worth buying is a different question entirely. Buyers will surely find better deals on newer products on online stores. As an example Amazon currently has the Pixel 8 for $499 which is a better deal than the $429 refurbished Pixel 7.
Heck, you’ll even find renewed and refurbished models for much less, such as this Amazon renewed Pixel 7 that’s available for $249. Although it doesn’t come with a charger in the box.
(Image credit: Shutterstock / Mojahid Mottakin) Last month Google quietly revealed Android 15 would be arriving in October as part of its release notes for the Android Beta Exit update – which is available to people who have been testing the OS ahead of its launch. Now a new report has revealed precisely when Android 15 might release for Pixel devices: October 15.
This comes via Android Headlines that reports that the Android 15 release date for Pixel 6 and later phones, is coming 42 days after the operating system’s source code went up on the Android Open Source Project (AOSP). If correct, this would mark the longest delay between the AOSP release and the update being pushed to users, beating Android 12’s 15-day delay.
The hope is this extended wait time should lead to Android 15 being a lot less buggy and more stable when it finally comes out compared with previous versions.
While the date does match up nicely – a 15th of the month release date for Android 15 – it’s still worth taking it with a pinch of salt, as we recommend with all unofficial leaks. Android Headlines hasn’t revealed how it discovered the October 15 date, and it itself admits that the date could be pushed if Google’s bug-squashing efforts do not go according to plan.
The Google Pixel 9 (Image credit: Peter Hoffmann) It’s also worth highlighting that October 15 is being reported as the Pixel launch date for Android 15. Samsung, OnePlus, and other Android OS device makers will still be preparing their own versions of Android 15 to roll out to their phones. Though given the long delay time since being released on AOSP there’s a good chance these non-Google rollouts could follow more quickly behind the Pixel launch compared with previous years.
The wait will be worth it, however. Based on the betas so far there have been some very neat features shown off, such as…
Android OS updates also come with subtle tweaks and optimizations that can have a significant effect on how your phone operates. One such upgrade was revealed by VP of Engineering for the Android Platform Dave Burke on the Android Faithful podcast earlier this year; he explained that devices running Android 15 can switch to the low-power doze mode around 50% faster than devices running Android 14.
The upshot of this is that Google saw as much as three extra hours between device recharges. Not every user will see as much of a battery life boost, but even an hour – or just half an hour extra between charges could be a massive helper for users – especially as a free update.
Lock screen widgets
Android 15 should see the return of lock screen widgets (we’ve not seen them since the Android 4 days), and the possible addition of a Communal Space that allows multiple users to share access to apps on the lock screen.
The downside is we expect the selection of apps that support this feature at launch won’t be the most widespread – perhaps limited to tools like Google Calendar and Google Clock – though the delay between the AOSP release and Pixel launch may mean a few other services are ready to support lock screen widgets at launch.
Private Space
Taking a page out of Samsung’s book with its Secure Folder feature, Android 15 is adding a native version called Private Space. It’s a folder for apps that requires a password, PIN, or biometrics to open. Any apps in this folder will be completely hidden from anyone who can’t open it.
Gemini upgrades
Gemini upgrades are coming in 2024 (Image credit: Google)
Google’s Gemini AI is also getting a few Android 15 improvements as well. Ask Photos makes it easier to find old snaps using more natural language, and even use it to answer questions based on pictures you’ve taken. Then there’s a new Gemini overlay that can answer questions about what it sees on your screen. While Gemini Nano will be an on-device version of Gemini that doesn’t need to share your information with a cloud – making it more private.
Without a shadow of a doubt, Google makes some of the best Android phones — its handsets are some of the most popular iPhone alternatives and the biggest competition tends to be Samsung’s flagship phones.
So what sets them apart? Pixels offer the most intelligent AI and search features on any phone, killer camera systems and unique designs. What’s great about Pixels is that there are options for every budget, even if you buy an affordable handset like the Pixel 8a you won’t have to make too many sacrifices.
Previously, if you wanted the very best Pixel you would have to buy a Pro phone with a huge screen. While that works for some people, others will inevitably be put off by having a handset that feels more like a mini tablet than a smartphone and will barely fit in your pocket.
Now for the first time, Google has shrunk the size of its Pro handset. The Pixel 9 Pro has the same 6.3-inch screen as the Pixel 9 and Google has launched a separate XL phone for those who do want a big 6.8-inch display. But how else does the latest 9 Pro smartphone compare to its predecessor, the Google Pixel 8 Pro? And which one should you buy?
Google Pixel 8 Pro vs Google Pixel 9 Pro: Design and display
Perhaps the most obvious difference between the two generations is the size, the Google Pixel 9 Pro is smaller than its predecessor, a lot smaller. The Google Pixel 8 Pro had a 6.7-inch screen whereas the Pixel 9 Pro is only 6.3 inches. For those who prefer a bigger handset, the Google Pixel 9 Pro XL has a 6.8-inch screen but is otherwise a very similar bit of kit.
Another big design change is to the look of the long camera bar on the back, the 9 Pro replaces it with an island that sits in the middle at the top of the phone. Google has also done away with the glossy glass and curves, using polished matte glass and a flat back instead. Which of the two you prefer will be entirely up to you but the latest model undeniably keeps up with the trends, making it look super modern in comparison.
The two devices come in slightly different colours: the Google Pixel 8 Pro is available in obsidian black, porcelain white and bay blue, while the Google Pixel 9 Pro comes in obsidian black, porcelain white, hazel green and rose quartz pink.
Both handsets use Gorilla Glass Victus 2 to protect them from scrapes and both are IP68 water and dust resistant.
The Google Pixel 8 Pro has a 6.7-inch screen with a resolution of 1344 x 2992 pixels at 489ppi with 2,400 nits of peak brightness, whereas the Google Pixel 9 Pro has a 6.3-inch display with a resolution of 1280 x 2856 pixels at 495ppi and 3,000 nits of peak brightness. Both are very bright handsets but the Pixel 9 Pro takes things a step further and it’s a noticeable difference especially when you use it under bright sunlight.
Google Pixel 8 Pro vs Google Pixel 9 Pro: Camera
Upgrades to the camera system have been minimal, both the Pixel 8 Pro and Pixel 9 Pro feature a 50MP main camera, a 48MP ultrawide camera and a 48MP telephoto lens with 5x optical zoom. In saying that, the Pixel 9 does widen the aperture of its ultrawide camera from f/2.0 to f/1.7 so it will let more light in and improve the quality of the final photos, particularly in low lighting.
The front camera has had a bigger refresh going from a 10.5MP snapper to a 42MP camera on the Pixel 9 Pro, and it now has a wider field of view and can take in more light.
（Image from Google Pixel 9 Pro） （Image from Google Pixel 8 Pro）
Google’s cameras are so effective because of the selection of camera software to boost the look of photos both pre and post-capture. And every year it adds more of them into the mix.
The Pixel 9 Pro will get all the same features as the Pixel 8 Pro and some of the new tools for 2024 will be available in the eighth generation (but not all of them).
One feature unique to the latest series is Add Me which gets everyone in the photo, even the photographer — you just take a picture, switch photographers and take it again, the phone will then combine the two to create one final image. 8K video recording will also be limited to the newer model.
Google Pixel 8 Pro vs Google Pixel 9 Pro: Performance and battery
Performance has been boosted for the ninth series which will help the phone cope with even more AI features packed into the system.
The Google Pixel 9 Pro uses the Tensor G4 processor and 16GB of RAM, boosted from the Tensor G3 processor and 12GB of RAM in the Pixel 8 Pro. Both phones run smoothly but the Pixel 9 Pro is particularly slick, even if it still doesn’t reach the speeds of the most powerful phones on the market.
Because of the smaller body, the battery has shrunk from a 5,050mAh cell in the Pixel 8 Pro to 4,700mAh in the Pixel 9 Pro (the same size as the Pixel 9). But it’s worth remembering that it also has a less demanding phone to power. In practice, both easily last a full day out and about, although both will need charging before you leave the house the next morning.
Charging has had a slight downgrade where the Pixel 8 Pro supported 30W charging, the Pixel 9 Pro only supports 27W charging. In my experience it was a little slower because of it, the Pixel 8 Pro took about an hour for a full charge but the Pixel 9 Pro took about 80 minutes.
Google Pixel 8 Pro vs Google Pixel 9 Pro: Software
Both the Google Pixel 8 Pro and Google Pixel 9 Pro ship with Android 14. The 9 series launch happened earlier than usual so didn’t line up with the release of the next version of the software. Both came with seven years of software updates which means the Google Pixel 8 Pro will last until 2030 while the Pixel 9 Pro should still be going strong until 2031.
For the most part, the two devices will have the same extensive list of software features. Upgrades to Call Assist will be available on both handsets, with a new tool to transcribe your phone calls. Google’s Gemini AI chatbot is available across both too.
There are a few features that will only be available on the latest version. If you buy a Google Pixel 9 Pro you will get one year of Gemini Advanced for free, it works across Gmail and Drive and comes with 2TB of cloud storage. You’ll also get Satellite SOS to call for emergency help without the need for cellular, and some extra camera tools like Add Me and 8K video.
Google Pixel 8 Pro vs Google Pixel 9 Pro: Which should you buy?
If you want Pro features but you’re not keen on having a huge smartphone, the Google Pixel 9 Pro will be a better option than the Pixel 8 Pro. However, it will set you back £1,000 or more unless you can find a good Pixel 9 deal.
In comparison to the Pixel 8 Pro, avid selfie snappers will enjoy the upgraded front camera on the Pixel 9 Pro, mobile gamers will appreciate its speedier performance and AI fans will be pleased with the year of Gemini Advanced that comes included. But ultimately the difference in size will likely be the deciding factor. If you’d rather keep the price low and you’d prefer to have a big screen, Pixel 8 Pro deals should build momentum in the coming weeks and months.
I was initially skeptical of the Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold, especially because I didn’t get a chance to try the previous phone.
Foldable phones exist in a vulnerable area where it’s hard to know who these phones are really designed for. The gimmick of the foldable screen is the high price and specifications, which are often not as good as flagship phones at the same price. It’s no wonder they’re hard to pull off quickly – but after using the Pixel 9 Pro Fold for a week, I’m feeling a lot better about this smartphone subcategory.
This year’s Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Z Flip 6 are closer to the Galaxy S24 series in terms of specs and aesthetics, but this is only Google’s second attempt at a foldable phone. Google’s phones are also known for being underpowered compared to other Android devices – that’s true of the Pixel 9 Pro Fold, but Google’s excellent operating system makes the transition to a foldable form much easier – and, in my opinion, it makes all the difference.
I’m quite a big fan of the Google Pixel range. Ever since the gentle reboot that introduced the camera bar with the Pixel 6 range, it has maintained a top spot for me as the phone I recommend to iPhone users that want to leave to Apple’s walled garden. I don’t think Google’s phones are as well suited for longtime Android users as you’ll get better performance from similarly priced flagship phones from Samsung, but the clean and lightweight Android OS on Pixel phones would give Apple lovers a sense of familiarity.
That’s absolutely true for the Pixel 9 Pro Fold – this phone is great if you’re an iPhone 14 or iPhone 13 user who wants to upgrade to a foldable, but don’t want to deal with a lot of the complications some versions of Android bring. It’s well designed and feels like a genuine competitor to Samsung’s foldable, while being cheaper than Samsung’s Fold.
That being said, it’s a bit expensive at $1,799 / £1,799 / AU $2,699 – a huge price increase from the Pixel 9 Pro XL’s $1,099 / £1,099 / AU$1,849 price tag. I don’t think the screen necessitates such a drastically higher cost than what is, specs-wise, a better phone, but it does make for a great option if you want a tablet and a phone in one device. If Google could make the price of its foldable more competitive, I think there’d be a lot more to love with this device.
The problem with foldables is that they exist in a small market with underlying disadvantages. You’re asking users to pay quite a lot of money for a gimmick that offers not much actual benefit, fitted to a device that’s not as powerful as flagship devices. That’s Samsung’s pitch at least – and although I do love Samsung’s latest slew of folding phones, it’s no wonder why international sales were reportedly low (per Phone Arena).
But I think that these problems expose a general advantage that Google can obtain over Samsung in the foldable market. Because it’s such a small space within the larger phone market, Google has a real opportunity to make some headway and convert iPhone buyers into the Android ecosystem with a flashy gimmick that has consumers curious. At the same time, foldable-curious Android users could latch onto the Pixel 9 Pro Fold as their first try at the technology.
The specs differences between the Pixel 9 Pro Fold and the 9 Pro XL are subtle, with the 9 Pro XL including a much more impressive camera array and a bigger battery – but the differences are not as dramatic when comparing the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra to the Galaxy Z Fold 6. A better camera system, better processing power and probably the best display you can get on a smartphone right now are just some of the things that put the S24 Ultra against its foldable cousin.
So the real win for Google stems from the fact that they’ve closed the gap between their flagship device and their foldable. I can’t give Google too much credit for this, given that Pixel phones are underpinned by an SoC that is effortlessly bested by Snapdragon’s silicon in Samsung devices, but it does lead to a great option for consumers – a cheaper book-style foldable than what Samsung is offering. Couple this to Google’s much friendlier OS and I think there’s an absolute winner here.
But it’s up to Google to do something really interesting here
Of the three foldables released over the past three months, Google’s Pixel 9 Pro Fold has won my heart – but despite this discussion of synchronization between foldables and flagships, Samsung’s Z Flip 6 is still technically the budget winner, even if the foldable aspect is less useful.
It’s honestly difficult to talk about the Galaxy Z Flip 6 and the Pixel Fold 9 Pro in the same article because the Z Flip 6 is much less powerful than its flagship counterparts and it’s a massively different form factor to its foldable siblings. The Flip is a winner as a compact phone (as its predecessor is currently listed as the one to pick on ourbest phonespage) and the design is easy to love if you long for the pre-smart phone age of flipping screens, but it’s an anomaly beyond these two niches.
My hope is that with an upcoming generation of Pixel devices, a Pixel Flip will launch as well. Google could avoid higher year-on-year costs by releasing updated Flip and Fold models interchangeably, so that one year there’s a Flip and one year there’s a Fold. Better yet, it’d be great for Google to release a foldable that has more in common with the standard Pixel device for its small form factor and less powerful specs, both as a way of further reducing the price and to introduce a better separation between the standard Pixel range and the annually-released ‘A’ series model – which is often so good that I’ll happily recommend it to people over Google’s standard range of devices.
The Pixel 9 Pro Fold is a brilliant phone and I’ve loved using it. It feels great to use as a tablet at home and the office, as well as a phone on the go. I would love to see Google keep the momentum going with future devices, in presenting an accessible product in terms of both price and operating system.
It’s difficult to break out of the Apple ecosystem. Sure, plenty of people find it a comfortable place to be, as Apple provides an exceptionally well-crafted user experience and interface, but for folks wanting a little bit more out of a device – particularly for better compatibility with Windows devices and a greater range of apps – Android is there for you… if you can deal with Android. Thankfully, Google offers the best Apple detox.
Back in 2022, I switched from the iPhone 12 mini to the Google Pixel 6a, and I loved it. I instantly fell in love with Google’s assortment of apps and the on par experience offered by Google. The search giant completely mastered the ins and outs of a competitive Android experience, backed up by a range refresh with the Pixel 6 phones from the year prior. It’s no surprise why I liked the phone so much; while Samsung and Oppo are both competitive smartphone rivals in terms of performance and stats, Google went all in on user experience and mastering the camera.
And in my opinion, this remains the secret sauce of the Google Pixel range – which I have rediscovered with the Google Pixel 9 Pro XL. Samsung’s phones are brilliant, and the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra remains my personal phone because of its immense performance. Google Pixels are, however, the best iPhones that Apple doesn’t make.
Using the Google Pixel 9 Pro XL over the past week has been brilliant. Google’s phones remain the easiest Android devices to get used to, without unnecessary bloatware heaped on top of the OS. The bloatware problem remains an annoying disadvantage to phones from, for example, Oppo and Asus – and to a lesser extent Samsung. Instead of a slurry of apps from a wide range of developers, Google sticks to its own in-house developed apps and nothing more until you hop on the Play Store. The company already has the best maps app in the world, along with what I would consider to be the best cloud-based Drive and Photos app, so those bases are well covered.
For many Android phones, setup is an awkward tap dance between services linked to Google and services linked to the phone maker. Many of the apps made available to me on my Galaxy S24 Ultra have gone unused because I simply don’t want to use Samsung’s version of them (for example, Samsung Gallery and Samsung Pay) when I can simply use Google’s versions.
On a Pixel, setup is simple and reliant on a Google account that you probably already have (by virtue of Gmail being the world’s most popular emailing service, which doubles as a Google account). If you don’t, that’s fine, you can use a non-Gmail account to create a Google account. It’s an extremely clean process that’s helped by a really user-friendly OS design. And then once all of this is done, you’re free. Install the apps that you want and enjoy the wider compatibility with non-Apple devices (including Android and Windows devices). There’s absolutely nothing wrong with sticking to Apple, but the Pixel represents an easy way out if you’re looking for one.
Not only does Google’s approach to software make it an attractive Apple alternative, but the hardware side of things has gotten noticeably more premium in recent years.
The camera bar, introduced with the Pixel 6 range, made the phones look both unique and exceptionally premium, while also ushering in a new camera system that put Pixels on the same stage as the iPhone and Galaxy S range. The Pixel 9 range includes a fairly redesigned camera bar that’s much more rounded, essentially making the need for a case necessary for how much it protrudes out.
In fairness, Google has squandered one of the more competitive aspects of the Pixel range. A modest price jump for thePixel 8 andPixel 8 Proin 2023, followed by another price jump in 2024 for thePixel 9and Pixel 9 Pro XL (spurred by the introduction of the Pixel 9 Pro as a separate device from the Pro XL) has made the phone noticeably less competitive on the price front.
Keep in mind that Google’s proprietary Tensor processors, now theTensor G4 chipwith the latest phones, is historically less powerful than its competition from Apple and Samsung. This performance gap was previously alleviated by a much lower cost, but it’s now exacerbated by costs that put it in more heated rivalry with those other companies. Most people probably wouldn’t notice a performance gap, but it’s something that might irk power users who use hugely demanding apps or play graphically intensive games.
Google has also opted out of a ‘Titanium’ model, bucking a trend established by Apple with the iPhone 15 Pro and followed by Samsung with the Galaxy S24 Ultra. Unlike higher-end Samsungs, which also followed through with a price increase, there’s also no vapor cooling chamber to speak of and a noticeable lack of UFS 4.0 storage (Google uses 3.1) which results in slower read/write speeds compared to the S24 range.
So this is where my head is at: if you’re looking to try out an Android phone for the first time, then I would strongly recommend theGoogle Pixel 8aas a starter phone. If you want something more powerful, then consider gravitating to the Pixel 9 for better performance, or the Pixel 9 Pro and Pixel 9 Pro XL for better photography.
If you’re comfortable with the Android world, then I would highly recommend the phones from the Samsung Galaxy S24 range or many other phones.
