What just happened? Ahead of the Pixel 9 launch on August 13, Google has unveiled new details of its next-gen smartphones through various teasers on social media. The company has now released a YouTube video, confirming several features of the Pixel 9 Pro.
The range of features detailed in the video includes Image Extender, which uses AI to analyze the contents of an image and generate new visual data to extend it in any direction. Other teased features include Clear Calling that will allow users to better hear the person on the other end of a call, Zoom Enhance, which will bring the power of lossless zoom into video recording when the subject is too far away, and Ask The Video, which will scrub videos for answers to user queries.
Google confirmed that the Pixel 9 Pro and Pro XL will get a new feature called Pixel Screenshots that will save and process details from screenshots, allowing users to revisit them later. It is similar in some ways to Microsoft's controversial Recall tool that was eventually withdrawn over privacy concerns. However, unlike Recall, Google's feature will only work with screenshots manually taken by users. What's more, users will also be able to choose whether to enable AI processing of screenshots.
Another confirmed feature is Pixel Satellite SOS that will allow users to contact emergency services using satellite connectivity when cellular signal is unavailable. An earlier leak claimed that the service might be free for the first two years.
The list includes several classic features that are already part of the current Pixel lineup, such as Best Take, which uses AI to combine multiple photos into one great image. There's also Magic Eraser, which lets users automatically delete elements that distract from the main subject of a photo. Moreover, the upcoming phones will get the Live Translate feature that allows users to read text in another language simply by pointing the camera at a sign or a menu.
Elsewhere, a series of hands-on images posted on XDA Forums offer a close look at what's said to be the Pixel 9 Pro XL. One of the images includes a partial spec sheet, which suggests it could come with 16GB of LPDDR5 RAM and 256GB of UFS storage. An earlier leak suggested that Google might offer a 128GB storage variant as the base model.
The latest image also shows that the Pixel 9 Pro will use Samsung's Exynos 5400 5G modem as an upgrade over the Exynos 5300 found in the Pixel 7 and Pixel 8.