Pixel 9 / Pixel 9 Pro / Pixel 9 Pro... XL?

Zorachus said:
https://x.com/zacbowden/status/1825924028122419599?ref_src=twsrc^tfw|twcamp^tweetembed|twterm^1825924028122419599|twgr^19f618cfe0894f8f1e9984f7acfb4b59892b28b2|twcon^s1_&ref_url=https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/google-pixel-9-series-9-9-pro-9-pro-xl-9-pro-fold.2417231/page-30
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Hole punches should be banned.
Either under display cameras or have it above the display (like Sony) so it doesn't go to top edge, not ideal but better than the hole punch. The under display camera on the Z Fold series has been fine, its fine for video conferencing. Of course that phone has the advantage of being able to use its main cameras for selfies. Personally I have no use for a front facing camera so I couldn't care less if they didn't even have one.
 
I understand these influencers I mean YouTubers reviewing the new pixel 9 line are talking about the cool new look. New industrial design the way it feels in the hand. They all seem to like it which is cool. And no surprise.

But to me that doesn't really matter, because once you slap a case on these new phones that brand new industrial design goes out the window, and when you start using them for a week like you did your previous phone, then tell me how they are.

Once the newness wears off, and just using it as a smartphone after awhile, is it truly a huge upgrade over a Pixel 8 Pro or S24 Ultra? Or just slightly marginally better?
 
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The more videos I see of the Pixel 9 Pro design and look in hands, I'm not so sure. It looks great, but then it doesn't look great LOL. Google copying the Apple iPhone design is a major turnoff and screams copycat in a sad way, plus the iPhone is ugly AF anyways.

I always liked how Google Nexus and Google Pixel phones were their very only thing design wise, they were always super unique and totally different looking, good or bad, love it or hate it type thing.

Like I wouldn't want the Pixel 9 to copy the Samsung S24 Ultra look either that'd be just as bad.

I miss the panda look the cool design of the Pixel 2 XL, or the Pixel 4 XL, those were beautiful. So was the Nexus 6P, LOVED that design.

Oh well, it is, what it is.
 
I've heard others say this too, that smartphones have plateaued, they are now like an appliance in your home, no different than a dishwasher or refrigerator or oven. Do people upgrade their washing machine year to year? Do you get a new stove every year? No, only unless it broke and doesn't work anymore.

Same should be with smartphones, a 2023 flagship smartphone compared to a 2024 flagship smartphone are no different. Even a smartphone from 2021 or 2022 does the same exact tasks as a 2024 smartphone, they all make phone calls, they all send texts and e-mails, they all take photos and videos, they all get you on the internet, they all have GPS navigation.

I truly see the smartphone craze fading away soon, and people won't be waiting in line for a brand new release, or preordering a new phone and foaming at the mouth for the delivery :) Pretty soon, the iPhone 19 or Pixel 13 or Galaxy S27 Ultra just won't be that exciting or supercool anymore, they will have become like your refrigerator, where people stop thinking about wanting a new one.
 
Zorachus said:
I truly see the smartphone craze fading away soon, and people won't be waiting in line for a brand new release, or preordering a new phone and foaming at the mouth for the delivery :) Pretty soon, the iPhone 19 or Pixel 13 or Galaxy S27 Ultra just won't be that exciting or supercool anymore, they will have become like your refrigerator, where people stop thinking about wanting a new one.
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I think most people are already there. In my office the standard upgrade cycle seems to be 3-4 years and it's typically driven by wear and tear. Younger people (15-25) don't seem to give a damn about having the latest model, but they're VERY slanted toward wanting an Apple vs. an Android. So much that they'd rather have a pretty old iPhone vs. the latest Sammy or Pixel. A lot of that is based on the green/blue bubble thing and the low-res SMS images/videos that get shared between Android and iOS.
 
The tools on MacRumors forum certainly don't like me saying that smartphones have become like appliances, and that there's really no need for year to year upgrades anymore. LOL, They are blowing me up over that.

But that crowd almost every forum member currently has the iPhone 15 Pro Max, the Galaxy S24 Ultra, and Pixel 9 pro XL each, most of them all buy the newest phone the minute they come out. And yeah I used to be like that, but I'm just burned out and tired of the annual smartphone upgrade now. Just no point anymore.

I think I'm still burned from my Pixel 6 Pro to Pixel 7 Pro experience, I remember that one clearly, when I went from the 6 Pro to 7 Pro a couple years ago, there was like virtually no difference between the two phones, after a week, my 7 Pro felt exactly like my 6 Pro, like literally the exact same phone. And I was mad, like WTF, what was the point of this "upgrade" there's zero difference. I used to call my Pixel 7 Pro the Pixel 6.25 Pro.

And the only reason I bought the Pixel 8 Pro was because of the FLAT display, as I hated the curved edge screen on the 7 Pro. But now, I've had my Pixel 8 Pro almost a year, and "it just works" no issues, no problems, it does what a smartphone does, and I've been comfortable and satisfied with it. What would buying the Pixel 9 Pro XL do for me that my 8 Pro can't?
 
My 9 Pro XL will be delivered tomorrow. After trying it at Best Buy I'm not even opening the package. Already printed the return label.
 
Me and my wife skipped 4 generations each. Mi9 to the 14. I really don't get the craze of having each new gen of phone. I very much doubt people are doing such intensive tasks that they need each and every bleeding edge in hardware advancement.
 
I used to be the crazy upgrade-holic smartphone weirdo. Yeah back in the day 10 years ago, a new smartphone release would have a big upgrade or something brand new and cool. But that ship has sailed for me.

Mainly since the last few years, modern day smartphones have gotten so good since like 2021 or so, the year to year difference is so minimal, and some years not even noticeable anymore.

I'm moving to upgrade maybe every couple years now, or if it's broke.
 
I was on a 2-year cycle for a long time. Every other iPhone introduced something major. When I switched to Android (2015), they were doing the same thing, usually to try and introduce something before Apple. Yet somewhere around 2018 most of that stopped. Better cameras stopped mattering because the older ones were good enough. People are typically sharing/viewing photos on phone and tablet screens anyway. 5G? I wouldn't quite call it a bust, but it hasn't exactly made much difference in the smartphone connectivity world. Storage? People are mostly using cloud data. 100-120Hz screens are nice, but it's not like they were revolutionary.
 
Waiting on my 9 Pro.
Probably not much of a difference between my 8 Pro, but I really wanted the smaller phone and the $699 trade in credit just sealed the deal.
 
hmz said:
Waiting on my 9 Pro.
Probably not much of a difference between my 8 Pro, but I really wanted the smaller phone and the $699 trade in credit just sealed the deal.
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You'll notice the new design, that's for sure. It's a modest upgrade, but it looks and feels posher. The 6.3-inch screen feels like the right size.
 
Aurelius said:
So... I have a Pixel 9 (the base model) in my hands. Any questions?
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3DMark Wild Life (stress test) and Geekbench 6 results would be nice. Interested to see how much it throttles and also if the CPU performance is comparable to previous flagship SoCs.
 
DWolvin said:
What did you change from and does anything stand out to you?
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I'm coming from an iPhone 13 Pro (which is still around, to be clear). I also have a Pixel 6.

A few things stand out. The design, of course; it's probably the most premium-feeling regular Pixel so far. I also like the much-improved ultrawide and selfie cams. I'd still want a telephoto lens for flexibility, but for a lot of people this would be good enough even for zoomed shots.

And battery life! Not that it's absolutely stunning, but if you have an earlier model that has always fought to make it to the end of the day, you might be satisfied now.
 
Tup3x said:
3DMark Wild Life (stress test) and Geekbench 6 results would be nice. Interested to see how much it throttles and also if the CPU performance is comparable to previous flagship SoCs.
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I'll need some time to run the 3DMark stress test, but in Geekbench it's 1695 single-core, 3995 multi-core, and 6457 for GPU. Not a huge jump over the Tensor G3 aside from the graphics. The Pro models have a vapor chamber that helps with sustained performance, so they should do a bit better.

The focus this year seems to be on the NPU; on-device AI isn't usually instantaneous, but it's a heck of a lot quicker than waiting for something from the cloud.
 
Zorachus said:

View: https://www.threads.net/@ozzieuk/post/C-5lEZwojr6
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I would take these reviews with a grain of salt. We already know the T3-T4 is a side grade at best. Yes it has a die shrink and they took away a core....

One thing I am looking forward to is SOS Sat communication. Will wait for it to mature a bit. The Jump from 6 to 10pro should be nice unless Google first custom SoC is garbage(not a samsung rebadged chip)
 
GSMArena's screen brightness test shows that Pixel 9 Pro XL has the brightest display ever on a smartphone.
 

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Vengance_01 said:
I would take these reviews with a grain of salt. We already know the T3-T4 is a side grade at best. Yes it has a die shrink and they took away a core....

One thing I am looking forward to is SOS Sat communication. Will wait for it to mature a bit. The Jump from 6 to 10pro should be nice unless Google first custom SoC is garbage(not a samsung rebadged chip)
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It's an improvement in graphics and AI power, and of course there's more RAM. But I'd say that 8 owners have little reason to upgrade. This is more for people like me, who are coming from a three-year-old (or older) phone and will see major improvements across the board.
 
Went to Best Buy on my lunch break just to see if they would give any deals on this?

Walked in with my S24 Ultra as a trade-in, which was just collecting dust on my desk not used anymore.

Cost me a whopping $48 bucks, and walked out with an Obsidian color Pixel 9 Pro XL, AND they gave me $200 BB Gift card. They honored the $1099 trade-in deal with my old Galaxy. Abd for some reason also gave me the BB Gift card.

Did they make a mistake? With my trade-in it cost less than fifty bucks out of pocket, plus got a $200 gift card and the 9 Pro XL.

Was on the fence on even doing this or getting the phone. But hey for that deal, I'll take it.
 

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I just looked around and the only trad-in I have (other than my in use Pixel 7) is an LG G7. Best Buy doesn't even know what that is :ROFLMAO: but similar models seem to get a $100 trade in credit.
 
Zorachus said:
Went to Best Buy on my lunch break just to see if they would give any deals on this?

Walked in with my S24 Ultra as a trade-in, which was just collecting dust on my desk not used anymore.

Cost me a whopping $48 bucks, and walked out with an Obsidian color Pixel 9 Pro XL, AND they gave me $200 BB Gift card. They honored the $1099 trade-in deal with my old Galaxy. Abd for some reason also gave me the BB Gift card.

Did they make a mistake? With my trade-in it cost less than fifty bucks out of pocket, plus got a $200 gift card and the 9 Pro XL.

Was on the fence on even doing this or getting the phone. But hey for that deal, I'll take it.
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i might soften my stance after we get real reviews from users. and BF should be better than pre order deals...
 
Zorachus said:
Went to Best Buy on my lunch break just to see if they would give any deals on this?

Walked in with my S24 Ultra as a trade-in, which was just collecting dust on my desk not used anymore.

Cost me a whopping $48 bucks, and walked out with an Obsidian color Pixel 9 Pro XL, AND they gave me $200 BB Gift card. They honored the $1099 trade-in deal with my old Galaxy. Abd for some reason also gave me the BB Gift card.

Did they make a mistake? With my trade-in it cost less than fifty bucks out of pocket, plus got a $200 gift card and the 9 Pro XL.

Was on the fence on even doing this or getting the phone. But hey for that deal, I'll take it.
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For that kind of money, it doesn't hurt to switch! Looking forward to how the Pro XL fares in Zorachus land, I know you're particular about it.
 
Zorachus said:
Went to Best Buy on my lunch break just to see if they would give any deals on this?

Walked in with my S24 Ultra as a trade-in, which was just collecting dust on my desk not used anymore.

Cost me a whopping $48 bucks, and walked out with an Obsidian color Pixel 9 Pro XL, AND they gave me $200 BB Gift card. They honored the $1099 trade-in deal with my old Galaxy. Abd for some reason also gave me the BB Gift card.

Did they make a mistake? With my trade-in it cost less than fifty bucks out of pocket, plus got a $200 gift card and the 9 Pro XL.

Was on the fence on even doing this or getting the phone. But hey for that deal, I'll take it.
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Nice, so could you have got the non-XL for free or made $50 on it then? If so, you should have did that, lol. We need non-XL sales damnit so they keep offering them! 😜
 
They don't have the 256GB in store. :-(

How was the trade in? Do they just turn it on and see if it has cracks/scratches?
 
cpufrost said:
They don't have the 256GB in store. :-(

How was the trade in? Do they just turn it on and see if it has cracks/scratches?
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I cleaned it off with a cloth. Really spent 5 minutes cleaning it so it's brand new shiny looking again. Of course! Deleted everything on it. Remove my accounts. And then did a factory reset and then did a factory reset

They look it over for about 10 seconds to make sure it's in good condition. They turn it on just to check the code and that was it.
 
You know what's weird is they offer $1099 for the 128GB version but if you select 256 (storage on new Pixel 9 Pro XL) the trade in offer drops to $600.
 
Mine is sitting unopened on my desk. How is the fingerprint scanner compared to previous models? I couldn't test it when I was at BB.

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