TL;DR
- Reliable leaker Steve Hemmerstoffer has posted renders of what’s allegedly the Google Pixel 9.
- The renders show a triple-lens rear camera system, including what appears to be a telephoto lens.
- It is possible this is the “compact” Pro variant we revealed via a trusted source in 2022.
Yesterday, nine months ahead of schedule, we saw a leak for the Google Pixel 9 Pro. Now, via the same source, we have renders for what appears to be the Google Pixel 9 (via 91Mobiles). You can see the renders above and below.
Interestingly, these renders show a phone with a triple-lens rear camera system. If this turns out to be accurate, this would be the first non-Pro Pixel with such a camera setup. Even more notably, one of the lenses appears to be a telephoto system.
The phone also shows many of the design elements of the alleged Pixel 9 Pro. This includes flat sides all around, just like an iPhone, and a fully redesigned camera bar.
One issue we had with the Pixel 9 Pro renders we saw yesterday was the supposed dimensions. Hemmerstoffer claimed the phone had a 6.5-inch display, notably smaller than the 6.7-inch display of the Pixel 8 Pro. However, Hemmerstoffer also said the overall dimensions of the Pixel 9 Pro were the same as the Pixel 8 Pro. Why would Google decrease the size of the display but not change the phone’s dimensions?
With these Pixel 9 renders, we have a similar but slightly different situation. The alleged dimensions for this phone are 152.8 x 71.9 x 8.5mm and include a 6.1-inch flat display. By comparison, the Pixel 8 is 150.5 x 70.8 x 8.9mm in size and has a 6.2-inch display. In other words, this phone is tangibly bigger than the Pixel 8, but the display still shrunk a bit. What’s going on here?
Is this the “real” Pixel 9 Pro?
Back in December 2022, we exclusively obtained Google’s Pixel roadmap plans. Talking with a trusted source, we told you that, in 2024, Google has plans to introduce three models to the Pixel 9 series: a vanilla Pixel 9, a Pixel 9 Pro that is basically the same size, and then a larger variant of the Pixel 9 Pro. This would line right up with what Apple does for iPhones: the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro are the same size but the Pro is better, and the iPhone 15 Pro Max is a Pro but bigger.
It is very possible, then, that Hemmerstoffer is incorrect, and the phone you see here is actually the Pixel 9 Pro — the compact version of it. If so, the phone shared yesterday is the larger variant — the Pixel 9 Pro Max, if you will (probably not the real name, Google wouldn’t be that egregious).
If our theory is correct, then there might be another Pixel 9 leak on the way, which would probably be the real Pixel 9. This hypothetical phone would be around the same size as this one but with two lenses on the back instead of three, once again matching Apple’s strategy.
We’ll need to see how this all pans out. Stay tuned, as clearly there are going to be a ton of early leaks for the Pixel 9 series coming soon!
