I don’t like large telephones, but, for the previous three years or so, I’ve been carrying the Pixel 6 Professional, 7 Professional, and eight Professional as my every day drivers. Three large and chunky telephones that make my wrists uncomfortable and drive me to juggle my fingers any time I wish to attain the highest or backside corners of the show. However I pay the value as a result of that’s how I get Google’s glorious telephoto digital camera. And that’s how I get entry to all of the cool Professional-only options, just like the guide digital camera mode, Video Enhance, and on-device Gemini.
However rumor has it that the Pixel 9 line-up will likely be totally different this time round. As an alternative of 1 small Pixel 9 and one bigger Pixel 9 Professional with all the additional bells and whistles, Google might be releasing three totally different fashions: a fundamental 6.03-inch Pixel 9, a comparatively small 6.1-inch Pixel 9 Professional (with a telephoto lens), and a bigger 6.7-inch Pixel 9 Professional XL.
That center one? That’s the one. That’s what I need. My Carpal Tunnel-riddled wrists and my small girls’s denims pockets need it too.
Ever since I used the Pixel 5 for a complete 12 months, I’ve been craving for a smaller, extra comfy, and extra ergonomic Pixel with out compromising on options. One I might slip into my denims’ pockets with out it protruding. One I can maintain and use, single-handed, for actual, with none finger and palm acrobatics. And each time Google has launched a smaller Pixel — the 6, 7, and eight — I’ve cherished their measurement and design, however couldn’t get myself to make use of them long-term.
See, I journey rather a lot. I additionally attend concert events and sports activities video games on common a few times a month. The telephoto lens isn’t a luxurious for me anymore; it’s a necessity. And I can’t return to a digital zoom — regardless of how good Google claims it’s. 5x is the start for me; it’s the 10x that I discover myself utilizing very often, and if my cellphone’s digital camera can’t deal with that, then it’s failing at capturing the reminiscences I care about. So I’ve stacked up the Pixel 6, 7, and eight in a drawer, and I pull them out once in a while, marvel at their design, check one thing on them, then put them proper again in. I simply can’t use them.
I need a smaller sized Pixel 9 Professional. My Carpal Tunnel-riddled wrists and my small girls’s denims pockets need it too.
If the rumors are correct, and we do imagine they’re as a result of that’s what our leaked Google roadmap predicted, then the smaller Pixel 9 Professional might be one of the best of each worlds for me. A smaller Pixel with no digital camera compromise.
It doesn’t appear like it’ll be as small because the Pixel 5 was but it surely could be equally sized to the Pixel 8, making it considerably narrower and shorter than the Pixel 8 Professional and the larger upcoming Pixel 9 Professional XL. That seems like a win to me.
Rita El Khoury / Android Authority
My two considerations about this are worth and options.
We’ve already seen Google depart the smaller Pixel 8 behind the 8 Professional, and I wouldn’t wish to put money into a cellphone that’ll be equally mistreated in comparison with its larger sibling. The Pixel 9 Professional, no matter measurement, ought to carry its Professional moniker: all of the options, all of the updates, all of the AI novelties. No “{hardware} limitation” mumbo-jumbo to excuse a missing function. I used to belief Google to do this within the Pixel 2 and three period, however I’m unsure how a lot I do this now. However we’ll solely know for sure as soon as the 2 telephones are formally introduced: If there are already differentiating options between them — in addition to show and battery measurement — then we could also be taking a look at extra letdowns for the smaller Professional sooner or later.
I am nonetheless involved concerning the Pixel 9 sequence. Will the XL value much more, will the Professional have all one of the best XL bits?
The second challenge is worth. By including one further Pixel tier, Google might be upping the price of its Professional line-up. There’s a worry that, as an alternative of slotting between the prevailing non-Professional and Professional pricing, the smaller Pixel 9 Professional can be as costly because the Pixel 8 Professional was, whereas the Professional XL would go additional up, primarily emulating Apple’s iPhone technique and aiming for the premium market. Pixels was once the extra inexpensive flagships; this could push them additional into the high-end Galaxy and iPhone realm. As soon as once more, we received’t know that till the cellphone is formally introduced.
For now, what we do know is {that a} smaller Pixel 9 Professional is a risk, and to that, I say: Sure. Make it occur, Google. I’ll be the primary in line.
Are three flagship Pixels higher than two?
267 votes