Tuesday, November 5, 2024

Giant Pixel 9 leak gives us our first real-world look at the Fold

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Android Authority composite/NCC

Google doesn’t seem to have much luck keeping its latest Pixel under wraps. First, photos of the new Pixel 9 Pro Fold leaked back in February, and we’ve seen at least three more major real-life leaks of the upcoming phones since.

Google’s luck has not gotten any better as we approach the launch. The entire Pixel 9 series has just leaked through the NCC regulatory agency (essentially the Taiwanese version of the FCC), revealing photos, including the first clear photos of the Pixel 9 Pro Fold (with a good look at its crease), battery sizes, new charging speeds and more.

All four Pixel 9 models showed up at the NCC: the Pixel 9 (model number GUR25), Pixel 9 Pro (GEC77), Pixel 9 Pro XL (GZC4K), and Pixel 9 Pro Fold (GGH2X). Additionally, the NCC has photos of the internals of the phones. I’ve compiled a gallery of pictures of each of the phones below.

This is the Pixel 9 Pro Fold

The photos confirm Google is moving the inner selfie camera to the corner of the screen, which was already hinted at by the earlier renders. The new square camera arrangement that appeared in previous renders is also confirmed, replacing the Pixel series’ iconic long camera bar.

The 9 Pro Fold also appears to have slimmer top and bottom bezels on the inside display compared to the original Pixel Fold. The display crease also seems somewhat reduced, although we can’t be sure of that until we get some hands-on time. The phone is also lying completely flat in these pictures; the first-gen Fold couldn’t be opened all the way.

A closer look at the Pixel 9 series

Pixel 9

Pixel 9 Pro

Pixel 9 Pro XL

(Somewhat) faster charging

The NCC reports also reveal new charging speeds, which are measured as a part of the Taiwanese regulatory process. Unfortunately, the tests only reveal an approximate charging speed, not an exact value, so while we know it will be faster, we don’t know how much exactly. The value that stands out the most is 32.67W for the Pixel 9 Pro XL. It is safe to assume the device will support at least 35W, which would make it a modest yet nice upgrade over the Pixel 8 Pro, which only supports up to 30W.

I’ve compiled a table of the charging speeds from the reports below, with older Pixel phones added for reference:

Charging speed in the reports Advertised charging speed

Pixel 9

Charging speed in the reports

24.12 W

Advertised charging speed

?

Pixel 9 Pro

Charging speed in the reports

25.20 W

Advertised charging speed

?

Pixel 9 Pro XL

Charging speed in the reports

32.67 W

Advertised charging speed

?

Pixel 9 Pro Fold

Charging speed in the reports

20.25 W

Advertised charging speed

?

Pixel 8

Charging speed in the reports

24.66 W

Advertised charging speed

27 W

Pixel 8 Pro

Charging speed in the reports

26.91 W

Advertised charging speed

30 W

Pixel Fold

Charging speed in the reports

22.5 W

Advertised charging speed

23 W?

The NCC reports also reveal a brand-new 45 W Google-branded charging brick (model GW8L7), including photos you can see below:

The listings reveal the battery sizes for all the upcoming Pixel 9 devices, which I’ve compiled in a table along with the values from their predecessors:

Battery size (typical)

Pixel 9

4558 mAh

Pixel 9 Pro

4558 mAh

Pixel 9 Pro XL

4942 mAh

Pixel 9 Pro Fold

4560 mAh (1183 mAh + 3377 mAh)

Pixel 8

4485 mAh

Pixel 8 Pro

4950 mAh

Pixel Fold

4727 mAh (1460 mAh + 3267 mAh)

Lastly, the reports list the radio support on the Google Pixel 9 series — all models are certified for Thread, while the base Pixel 9 doesn’t have UWB, unlike all the other variants.

The Google Pixel 9 series is expected to launch at the Made by Google event on August 13th. While we wait, you can check out everything we know so far about the new phones here.

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