By far the biggest launch this 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 on pre-order.
In the UK, the phones come with a free storage upgrade – usually, this means getting a 256GB model for the price of a 128GB one. However, for phones that have a higher tier, you can have the 512GB model for the price of a 256GB model (the new Fold starts at 256GB, so 512GB is the only option right now).
Let’s look at the Google Pixel 9 first. Both Google and Amazon are offering a £150 bonus for trading in an old device – and good thing too, because the trade-in valuations are terrible. A Pixel 8 in good condition is valued at only £165, which means £315 with the bonus added. An iPhone 15 fetches a more respectable £463 (including the bonus), while a Galaxy S23 is valued at £310, less than the Pixel. For older devices, e.g. Pixel 7 or Galaxy S22, the trade-in bonus tends to be higher than the trade-in value.
The Google Pixel 9 Pro and 9 Pro XL both get a slightly higher £200 trade-in bonus. Additionally, you get a free year of Gemini Advanced (normally £19 a month).
Google Pixel 9 Pro
coming September 16
free storage upgrade (ends September 5)
£200 extra trade-in value
Note that there is limited availability when choosing colors and storage. For example, the Pixel 9 Pro XL in Rose Quartz is available only in 256GB. The small Pro tops out at 256GB when looking at the Porcelain and Rose Quartz versions, but switching over to Hazel or Obsidian also reveals a 512GB option. Google might stock up on more color/storage combos, but keep in mind that the free storage upgrade offer ends on September 5.
The Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold bumps the trade-in bonus to £300 and you get a free upgrade to the 512GB model. The original Pixel Fold is valued at £581 (including the bonus), a Galaxy Z Fold4 (the newest option in the trade-in menu) gets you £491 (again, this includes the £300 bonus). Like we said, the trade-in deal is mostly carried by the bonus as the value for old phones is pretty bad. You do get a free year of Gemini Advanced, for what it’s worth.
Google launched a new 45W charger, which you will need to get the maximum charge speed with the Pixel 9 Pro – the old 35W charger won’t cut it. That said, if you have a USB-PD charger you are happy with, you can skip this one.
The new Google Pixel Watch 3 comes in two sizes, 41mm and 45mm, while the Watch 2 was available only in 41mm size. The 45mm option gets you a larger 1.4” display (vs. 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.
Finally, Google unveiled the new Pixel Buds Pro 2. This is the first time its custom Tensor chips venture into the TWS buds form factor, but promise massive improvements to noise cancellation (2x in the 400Hz-2kHz range). And the ANC adapts to your environment automatically. The buds have no stems (cough, Samsung, cough) and promise long battery life (8 hours for the buds with ANC on, up to 30 hours with the case).
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