Pixel 9 Pro: What Apple fans need to know about the Google event

Google unveiled the Pixel 9 Pro during the ‘Made by Google’ event. This is what you need to know as an Apple fan about the Google event.

Google Pixel 9 Pro

The Pixel 9 series that Google has presented consists of four devices: the Pixel 9the Pixel 9 Prothe Pixel 9 Pro XL and the Pixel 9 Pro Fold. All of these devices are equipped with the Tensor G4 chip, which means they all support Google’s AI (Gemini). Thanks to this new chip, the AI ​​can handle not only text, but also audio, video and images.

What we think you need to know as an Apple fan from the presentation is what the flagship Pixel 9 Pro has to offer compared to the iPhone 15 Pro, what you can do on the new Pixels with the Gemini Nano compared to Apple Intelligence, and how good the Pixel 9 Pro Fold is.

Google Pixel 9 Pro vs Apple iPhone 15 Pro

In a few weeks, we’ll be able to compare the Pixel 9 Pro to the iPhone 16 Pro. Until then, we’re curious to see how Google’s new top device compares to the iPhone 15 Pro. In terms of design, Google has clearly taken a good look at the 15 Pro …

At 152.8 x 72 x 8.5 mm, the Pixel 9 Pro is slightly larger than the iPhone 15 Pro (146.6 x 70.6 x 8.3 mm), making the iPhone a little easier to slip into your pocket. Logically, the Pixel is also slightly heavier. 12 grams to be precise (199 vs 187 grams). The Pixel 9 Pro’s screen is also slightly larger (6.3 inches) than that of the iPhone 15 Pro (6.1 inches), and its resolution is slightly higher (1280 x 2856 pixels vs 1179 x 2556 pixels).

Furthermore, the new top model has an Octacore processor (1x 3.1 GHz Cortex-X4 + 3x 2.6 GHz Cortex-A720 + 4x 1.92 GHz Cortex-A520). The Pixel 9 Pro therefore has more computing power than the Hexacore processor of the iPhone 15 Pro (2x 3.78 GHz + 4x 2.11 GHz). In addition, the new Pixel Pro has twice as much RAM as the iPhone 15 Pro (16 GB vs 8 GB). The Pixel is therefore faster than the iPhone. But to be honest, they are both blazing-fast devices. Whether you will notice much difference in practice is the question.

The Google camera is slightly better than the iPhone’s in terms of specs (50 MP and f/1.7 (wide angle) vs 48 MP and f/1.8 (wide angle)). In practice, you probably won’t really notice a difference.

The differences are somewhat greater for the telephoto and ultra-wide cameras (48 MP and f/2.8 (telephoto) vs 12 MP and f/2.8 (telephoto), plus 48 MP and f/1.7 (ultra-wide) vs 12 MP and f/2.2 (ultra-wide)). Megapixels don’t say everything, so which device takes the best photos remains to be seen in practice. Google Pixel 9 Pro is available in Porcelain, Rose Quartz, Grey Green and Obsidian, priced from 1099 eurosYou can currently buy an iPhone 15 Pro for around 1020 euros.

Gemini Nano vs Apple Intelligence

At both Google and Apple, all AI processing happens on the smartphone itself and not on a server in the cloud. On the new Pixels, this is thanks to the built-in Gemini Nano. Only when a task cannot be completed, do both smartphones still move to the cloud. One difference is that everything Gemini does is handled by Google’s own AI model. At Apple, tasks are outsourced to ChatGPT.

Text generation is likely the feature you’ll use the most on both platforms. They both offer broadly similar functionality (composing emails, creating summaries, reviewing and refining documents, among other things). Apple Intelligence’s text generation features have yet to debut on Apple devices, but Google’s Gemini features are available on all devices now, including the Pixel 9 Pro.

Both Gemini and Apple Intelligence have image-generating capabilities, with Gemini’s available only on Pixel 9 models. You type a prompt and the app generates an image, and you can then preview and refine variations by adjusting the prompt. Apple’s Image Playground offers the exact same capabilities, but with fewer styles to choose from. Also coming soon is Google Magic Editor (an upgrade to Magic Eraser), which lets you fix photos by tweaking parameters.

Gemini’s new Live Mode lets you talk to your AI like you would a person. This feature is currently only available in English and only for Gemini Advanced subscribers. Apple Intelligence doesn’t have a Live Mode yet, but that will undoubtedly come in the future.

This is how good the Pixel 9 Pro Fold is

There have long been rumors that Apple is working on a foldable iPhone, but Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold is now the first smartphone with a foldable screen that has officially been released in the Netherlands. So you actually have a combination of a smartphone and a tablet in one device. When unfolded, the Fold is only 6.5 millimeters thick and then has a screen of no less than 8 inches, with a resolution of 2152 x 2076 pixels. When folded, you have a screen of 6.3 inches (2424 x 1080 pixels) at your disposal. The Fold weighs 257 grams, which is quite heavy for a smartphone but not for a tablet.

The Pixel 9 Pro Fold is of course equipped with the Google Tensor 4 chip, so that Gemini Nano is supported. On the back you will find three cameras: a primary camera of 48 megapixels, a wide-angle lens (10.5 megapixels) and a telephoto lens of 10.8 megapixels for optical zoom. The device also has two selfie cameras, one on each screen. Both cameras are 10 MP and f / 2.2 (wide).

Like the Pixel 9 Pro, the Pixel 9 Pro Fold is an excellent device. Whether that also applies to the foldable part remains to be seen. The Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold is available in the colors Porcelain and Obsidian. With a starting price of 1899 euros the Fold is certainly not cheap. For that amount you get the version with 16 GB RAM and 256 GB storage. If you want 512 GB storage, you even pay 2029 euros.