Generative AI is the reason to buy a new smartphone this year; there’s no question about it. Samsung started the trend with Galaxy AI on the Galaxy S24 in January. Galaxy AI is also the main selling point of the Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Flip 6 announced last week.
Apple unveiled Apple Intelligence at WWDC last month, letting customers know they’ll need an iPhone 15 Pro or later to use those advanced AI features. That’s a big nudge to buy one of the four iPhone 16 models hitting stores this September.
Google is about to unveil some exclusive Google AI features for the Pixel 9 series as well. That’s what a recent leak revealed, hinting the multimodal Gemini assistant won’t be the only novelty from the Google AI experience.
But we have a new leak that gives you another reason to buy one of the four Pixel 9 phones launching next month. Google will bundle the phone with up to a year of Gemini Advanced access. That’s worth $240 and includes access to 2TB of Google One cloud storage.
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As a reminder, Gemini Advanced costs $20/month, or just as much as ChatGPT Plus. It’s part of the new 2TB Google One subscription that Google launched a few months ago. For $10, you only get 2TB of storage if you don’t want premium Gemini access.
After dissecting the Google app beta for Android, 9to5Google found clear references that free Gemini Advanced access is coming to Pixel 9 buyers. Here’s one such line of text in the code:
Your Pixel Pro gives you access to a 1-year subscription to Gemini Advanced, our most capable AI model with priority access to new features, at no cost to you.
The free Gemini Advanced access will likely apply to three phones: Pixel 9 Pro, Pixel 9 Pro XL, and Pixel 9 Pro Fold.
The cheaper Pixel 9 model will be left out of that promotion, but you’ll get six months of premium Gemini access worth $120. The wording is slightly similar, suggesting the promo might not be available everywhere:
Your Pixel may give you access to a 6-month subscription to Gemini Advanced, our most capable AI model with priority access to new features, at no cost to you.
Still, these are great perks to have, especially if you’re a fan of Gemini and want access to the best Gemini features.
None of this is confirmed, but Pixel leaks are usually correct. Not to mention that we don’t have long to go until the Pixel 9 phones become official.
Project Astra unveiled at Google I/O 2024. Image source: Google Inc.
Google will unveil the four Pixel 9 phones on August 13th, some two months earlier than expected. And Google has every reason to do so. First, the Pixel 9, Pixel 9 Pro, and Pixel 9 Pro Fold (Pixel Fold 2) have leaked. We might as well have them in stores.
Secondly, the iPhone 16 threat is massive this year. Reports say Apple is preparing for record sales, and Apple Intelligence might play a big role in this wave of upgrades. Getting the Pixel 9 in stores before Apple might help Google score extra sales, especially if the free Gemini Advanced access is real.
Thirdly, Google must want to beat Apple to market with its Google AI suite of apps, which will probably include the Gemini assistant we saw at I/O 2024. This would also help Google fight better against Samsung’s Galaxy AI, which has no answer to Apple Intelligence or Google AI.
The final reason concerns foldable phones. Motorola beat Samsung with its 2024 Razr phone announcements. Samsung has just launched the Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Flip 6, with rumors saying a more affordable variant is on the way.
Honor released an even thinner Magic V3 in China, with a cheaper Honor Magic Vs3 version joining it. Xiaomi is about to unveil the Mix Fold 4 and Mix Flip, phones manufactured by an advanced robot factory run by AI.
Google did not unveil the Pixel Fold 2 at I/O 2024 because there was no place for hardware at the show. Also, the Fold 2 will be sold as the Pixel Pro 9 Fold.