Pixelated - Pixel 10, now in living color

Episode Date: July 25, 2025

Welcome to episode 63 of Pixelated, a podcast by 9to5Google. This week, the Pixel leaks start comin' and they don't stop comin', as we break down the massive amount of Pixel 10 and Pixel Watch 4 leaks that continue to fall into our lap. Come for the conversation on which colors are doing it for us — and which aren't — and stay for the breakdown on why the Pixel 10 series just might arrive with Qi2 built-in. Plus, what's the deal with foldables, and is the Pixel Watch 4's new charger ridiculous, or ridiculously awesome? Subscribe YouTube Podcasts Pocket Casts Spotify Apple Podcasts Overcast Timecodes 00:00 - Our first official Pixel 10 Pro look 00:19 - Pixel 10 series color leaks 11:40 - Qi2 rumors 22:07 - Pixel 10 Pro Fold leaks and broader foldable thoughts 39:30 - Pixel Watch 4's leaked redesigned charger Hosts Abner Li Damien Wilde Will Sattelberg Read more Google officially shows off Pixel 10 Pro in new color, teases ‘exclusive offer’ Google Pixel 10 leaks in official-looking renders with telephoto camera, striking blue color [Gallery] Pixel 10 Pro’s subdued colors leak in official-looking renders, including ‘Jade’ [Gallery] Pixel 10 series poses for a family photo in latest leak, $50 promo coming too Google Pixel 10 series is thicker and heavier as Qi2 magnets seem more and more likely Pixel Watch 4 surfaces in official-looking renders with new colors and bands Pixel Watch 4 gets new side charger that’s still not wireless charging  Listen to more 9to5 Podcasts 9to5Mac Happy Hour Electrek The Buzz Podcast Space Explored Rapid Unscheduled Discussions Feedback? Drop us a line at [e-mail], leave a comment on the post, or reach out to our producer.

So we've had a little bit of a look, gents, at the official. I guess it is official, isn't it? It's Google have given us an official look at the Pixel 10 Pro. Interestingly, the pro only, no other device is. In a nice, nice color way, I guess that segues into, we've seen all of the colors of the Pixel 10, well, at least unofficially, officially, if that makes sense. But, hey, tell me which ones you're interested in the most.

I guess for me, it's, my... Most likely a pro phone. Well, we'll see, but most likely a profone. But it's that grayish color. The green is a bit too jade, I think. It's a bit too gold for me, the gold accents. So I'm probably going with the gray as much as it paints me because the hazel last year was just basically gray,

depending on the lighting condition. I completely regret going for the hazel last year, from being completely honest. It aged really poorly to me. Yeah, yeah. Like, I liked it at first because I think it was like the one splash of color that the pros even came close to and that it was like, no, it's just gray guys.

This is not like it. Like, I feel like I was really tricking myself into being like, this is gonna be a really special looking phone. And it's like, no, especially once you have a case on it, it's like, that camera bar is like just great. Yeah, no, I definitely get the impression that the more muted colors, the porcelain, I was going to call it white, and I'm thinking of the snow white or the snow version of the Pixel 7 Pro,

I think that looks a classic color. I think next time I'm just going to go with a plain white or porcelain version because that seems to be the best looking as far as I'm concerned. But in terms of this new, is it Moonstone, I think they're calling it? Is that technically the official color for it? Oh, the bluish gray, yeah. Yeah, it's kind of like, does it really add anything to the lineup? I feel like I get it.

They want to have the playful colors in the smaller devices, but give us one. Throw one bone our way this time. These renders as well don't really give an indication of what it's actually like in real life. Because again, that's probably why I made the mistake with the Hazel when I was like, it looks really, really good in renders. And then six months later, I'm like, yeah, this is a grey phone.

I should have gone with the postman. I have two thoughts on this. So first, I, I'll be positive. positive first. I think the jade, the greenish pro, looks really good. I was fully not expecting, I was basically expecting a repeat of last year's colors or at the very least, like, very similar neutral tones. And jade is a neutral tone, but I appreciate the like gold accent with the green. I am nervous that this is going to look a lot more faded in person than it does in these renders, but at least, you know, judging by these renders, I like jade a lot more. Because I,

I was, you know, we haven't really talked about the 10, but I was, I was basically like, okay, I'm getting the regular 10 in that, like, really sharp blue, uh, color, which is, which is, it's vibrant and pretty and I think looks really nice. And, but I don't know, like I actually really like this jade, uh, if, if it holds up in person to be negative for a minute, back to moonstone, which I think, I agree, looks really good in renders. My gut is that this is going to be, like, uh, apples. most recent like MacBook Air, which shipped in sky blue, but in person just looks like silver.

Like it, it just looks like a slightly cooler shade of silver. And I think this is going to be a similar thing where like Moonstone looks really good in renders in the way that the sky blue MacBook Air looks really good on Apple's website. And then you like see it in person. You're like, oh yeah, I guess in the right light, it is a little bit more blue than the silver, but not really. And I just, I can't escape the feeling that. this is going to be, especially because Google's pro phones, like many pro phones, are always just

so so bland in a way, right? So I just can't escape. Yeah, I wouldn't call them bland. I would call them businessman like. Okay. I think that's a polite way to call them. It's professional. It's professional. Professional in a way that's like boring. Yeah. I guess bland might be harsh, although I would describe the aesthetics of a boardroom as bland, so I'm right there. But no, I, that's fair. And it's, I actually do agree with you that I kind of liked that like, you know, the, as you said, the snow pixel seven, like that pure white pixel seven looked,

there was some things like so bright about it where I was like, yeah, that, that works for me. Do you remember the green and gold pixel seven pro? Because that's what I ended up getting. That was the one I wanted. wanted so bad and I believe was the top of my, top of my requests, because I was, I still think gold is gaudy personally. I think so, too, but, yeah, they, they, they, it's, it's tricky. I feel like colors are tricky because, like, you are, I guess in a way, you know, these smartphone

companies are the safest if they don't venture out and try something crazy the way Motorola does, but then you get us complaining that they're not doing anything crazy. So then anytime they do, I feel like those are probably the colors that sell the least or like the ones that are the most out there. Like people probably really do just want black and white as much as we say otherwise. And so I don't know. I get that it's a tricky balance, but I would really appreciate if one company was willing to at least do like one splashy pro color. And we're almost there with Jade, I feel. But again, I can't escape this feeling that in person it's going to be more of like a.

a greenish gray than a green. Yeah, I'm worried it's, I mean, speaking of someone who picked up, I think it's a very, very similar color for the Galaxy S-24 Ultra. I kind of regret going for the green. I think it's called jade green. I don't know what they call it. And I kind of regret going for that color option because it's one of their exclusive ones

and one that they pushed a little bit. And it's always like, it's almost like a muddy gray. It's really weird. It is very similar. You're right. Yeah. It is, I mean, it doesn't have as like almost shamed. campaign side rails, as the pixel does.

But these renders are a bit weird in that they, obviously, the ones that have leaked currently are only like, they're not technically front on, right? Are they back on? How would you describe it? It's just the rear of the device, flat profile. You only get to see a sliver of the very minuscule metal frame. Like, they look really matte colors, but then the leak that, well, I'll say the leak, Google shared the Moonstone Pro, they look a little bit glossy at times and a matte at other times.

I just feel like if they went mat and mat, it would look so nice compared to, say, the glossy. And I know that's a big complaint people have glossy side rails or just something that we kind of have to either take or, like, just accept if that makes sense. And I feel like Google are the only holdouts. I'm literally looking at phones on my desk and there is not a single one that has glossy side rails apart from a pixel. So maybe that might cheapen things a little bit more. I don't know. I feel like they've nailed some of the colors and then other ones are like, yeah, It's almost like a half step.

I have to admit, I really, really like the look of the Limoncello option. It definitely looks pea green. I don't mean to be brash there, but pea green. I mean, it's definitely reminded me a lot of the, the name escapes me now,

the yellow, the lemon grass, Pixel 7 Pro, which was fantastic. That was one of my favorite color phones ever. Yeah. It's like that, but slightly richer.

I don't know. What do you guys think? Do you think that the Indigo is the one that people are going to look at straight away or absolutely yeah i think so it's a bit on the dark side unfortunately it's not vibrant like last year we had right pretty vibrant vibrant greens and i guess what whoever decides the color tones we're going for that darker i wouldn't say stayed but i i think i would say it's a there's a professionality to it again like uh like with the pros that's fair yeah i it's just enough of a

pop of color the indigo for me. I guess I do it just I can't stop thinking about it as like a successor to the really blue original pixel. And so maybe that's part of it. Maybe it's just working from me on a nostalgia level. But but like I think it's like just enough, especially because like most people are going to put this in a case anyway that like really all you're getting is the accent from the camera bar. And I think maybe that's enough of a splash of color versus, you know, looking at the other three phones like obsidian is, is black. and Frost is essentially white. And then so you have lemon jello, which I agree, I think is eye-popping and is probably

the other color I'd be interested in on the regular pixel 10. Although it does remind me of Nike reminds me of like wearing like running shoes that that shape of yellow. But but the, you know, the camera bar itself is like fairly muted compared to the rest of the phone. And if you put a case on it, you know, unless it's a clear case, I do wonder if that kind of downplays the splash of color you get from that anyway. So the only one you end up actually seeing that is, uh, is, is, is, is, is, is, is indigo. I find it weird. I find it weird in some respects that I know that Google does

their color matched cases. You, you mentioned clear cases. I'm surprised that they don't do that a little bit more often or are we not going to get a clear case option from Google because I think some people want to buy an official clear case. I know they had some issues with those frosted ones with the pixel six series. Those are rough. Yeah, they're rough. And they've, they've kind of fixed it since then by getting rid of that frosted and I guess it's like kind of it is frosted right it is or etched maybe yeah finishes I feel like maybe the color match is a is a way of extending the design way beyond the actual device but I just think a clear case would work for these ones like like you say there's accents that they're not going to stand out hugely in a crowd but I guess

the camera bar does that automatically because there's nobody else really doing that I'm surprised at the frost. I know you mentioned that you made a really good point that it's probably like going to look white in real life, but it almost feels like that step between where you, where you'd go from the indigo to a genuine porcelain model. I'm surprised that they don't, we haven't seen any images of obsidian, like a deep obsidian, because that looks a lot more gray to my eye. And then this frost is like, I don't know, I'm surprised they haven't just put a plain porcelain. Well, maybe we'll get something come launch. Obviously, these are pre-release leaks. So, I'd be fascinated to see why they've only gone for four colors on this one.

They could have had that generic porcelain that I think a lot of people will pick up, right? I mean, I see a lot of people using the white iPhone 14 and 15 and even the 16. I think there's definitely room in the cheapest model, in this base model, which, I think, widely when we look at it, I still think this is going to be the biggest seller. I think this is the one that is going to be the most interesting to people, given there's hardly any real changes on the pro tiers this year. Right. So Chi charging, the one hardware spec that we've gotten so far in terms of actual hardware differences beyond visual appearances is that these phones are a wee bit heavier and that spurred some interesting speculation on our part. What do you think, what do you think this extra weight is a mass then?

Do you think this is just the magnets or the space of the magnet? Obviously, the thickness has increased by what is it around about. 0.1 millimeters, is that enough room for Chi to ch two magnets to be in the back of a pixel? Because I want to ask that more broadly. I know that we've, there's a theory that this could be that, but is that enough space?

Is that, is it going to be strong enough magnet to be that thin? I don't really know. I just want to hear what your guys' opinions are on it, really. I don't know what the space constraints are on a pixel, or on, on, on, on, on, on Megsafe, to be honest with you. Like, I, it's been so long. since there was, I mean, okay, that's actually not true.

This year, there was an iPhone without MagSafe, the iPhone 16. But I was going to say it's been so long since we had an iPhone without MagSafe. I would say that like it doesn't, at least when Apple does it, it doesn't seem to add, you know, a lot of bulk to the phone. Like I have an iPhone 16 and it is as thin as most non-pro phones. You know, it's, I think it's seven point whatever millimeters, which is, which is thinner than, then the pixel 10 series will be, right? Because we're at around 8.6, you know, 8.5 millimeters now.

So I think there's space, but obviously Apple's phones are very different. Like the way they build their devices is different. They often use smaller batteries and so on. And so it's just so hard to compare. And we otherwise haven't really had, you know, certainly from major OEMs, especially in the U.S., We have not had an Android phone with Chitou built in. It's all been through cases.

And so it's tricky. I think the thickness is kind of the wrong thing to look at. You know, Ben Shone put up a post yesterday breaking down the changes in thickness and weight. And I think the weight, you know, the fact that these devices are all effectively the same size, just a tiny bit thicker in some cases, not all cases. the 10 Pro XL is not thicker, but otherwise, just a tiny bit thicker and a tiny bit heavier, I think points towards, I just think there's a little too much smoke where I am leaning on the side of the pixel 10 series having Chitou built in, especially with this Pixel Snap initiative that I just

can't imagine them going all in on like branding for without it being a native part of the phone. But, you know, I've, I have been down this road before, right? Like, I have been suckered into thinking, we definitely are going to have, you know, Che2 on the Pixel 9 and nope, wasn't there. So it's, you know, it's same with the S25 series. So I don't know. I won't be too shocked if it's just through cases, but I think this is our strongest case yet for for Chitu finally being built into a device.

And what's the count to Damien? I'm going to rebuttal this by saying, I think it wouldn't be out the realm of possibility for Google to just make this a case-based system. Definitely. And this thickness and added weight is something to do with thermals. So basically a bigger thermal or vapor chamber in the devices. It's a very different chip this year. So we have to, you have to account for that too, right? Like this is.

Yeah, that's a great point, actually. Like we don't, we don't know what, you know, we don't really know what Google's doing in terms of thermal. To be honest, I hadn't thought of that, but you're right. This could be a case where maybe they realize that if they give the phone a little bit more space to cool itself, like it's a, it's a, you know, it's a more efficient product. So I honestly hadn't considered that. And it's totally possible. And I'm just, you know, over here coping and hoping that it's built in.

Yeah, I mean, don't get me wrong. I would take, I would take magnets. I was going to say magnetics, but it's magnets over a bigger event. paper chamber. But I just feel my gut instinct is if they have this effectively the same chassis, they will have, Google will now know, say, maybe they've, maybe they designed this three years ago. They may now be at the point where the every single millimeter within the, of volume, with inside the actual chassis, they can account for and they can work out where they can make the most returns on like certain things being moved into this position. I'm very fascinated to

see what happens when we see our first tear down, how much is exactly the same and how much is going to be varied as a result of like these internal changes. And as you say, the chip, hey, the chip could be made of, I don't know, lead. Like, we're only talking about like small amounts, right? But it would be cool to see, to see magnetics.

I don't know where I'm getting magnetic. Magnets for Chi 2 on the back of the device. And if it's part of that pixel snap initiative, I think we could see this whole, ecosystem, I hate the term ecosystem, but ecosystem of accessories that nobody else currently has. Like, yeah, third parties are doing it. But if Google can do those first party ones

and match Apple almost accessory for accessory, and then there's going to be crossover, I imagine there's going to be a lot of iOS accessory makers who are like, oh, sweet, we can do this now for one of the bigger brands on Android side of things. Granted, they don't sell as many, but I'd be fascinated to see how it all plays out. because there's two sides to it, right?

If it's the thermals, we're all going to be disappointed. If it's the Chi-2, it's going to be, oh, this is amazing. We've wanted this for so long. They just need to make sure they nail the fundamentals, right? Because Chi-2 as a standard is, does it mean faster charging? Or is it just the magnets as part of the wireless charging method? I'm not entirely fully up to scratch on it. I believe Chitin, Abner, you might know this better than I do, so correct me if I'm wrong.

But I believe, I believe Che2 was primarily the magnets. It might have had a faster charging speed. I think Chi 2.1 is, is more focused on speed. Okay. Yeah. Or two point, sorry, 2.2.1. Excuse me. Okay.

Yeah, okay. 2.2.1 has 25 watt charging, which is, which is fat. I believe Chi 2 is just 15 because that's what is in the latest iPhones. And that those are Chi 2 compliant. Okay, so I mean 15 watts via, well, technically magnetically onto a charger, it's probably going to be fine, right? I've never had an issue with 15 watt wireless charging. I've always felt like that is the right middle ground between the heat that it produces

versus the speed. I feel like once you start going faster, it starts getting hotter. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I wonder now you mentioned about heat. I wonder if they do add Chi 2, but also they're going to have to increase the vapor chamber or some sort of cooling for that, right? Because it can't just be, hey, the body of the device will cool. So I guess there's a two-fold thing.

Maybe both of us can be correct at the same time. But yeah, I just, I find it, I find a bit of a strange one because there's no concrete evidence either way, right? All the leaks to happen and nothing, there's no real true, hard evidence that we know we're getting G2 on the pixel 10. You know, it's really interesting because both last week and this week, the three of us have talked about how these are very like similar phones to what came prior.

And I feel like, you know, this, you know, less than a month out from launch, we should be sort of talking about these devices, like we know everything about them because they are so similar to their predecessors. And yet I feel like we actually have a lot of unanswered questions at the moment over like, because it would seemingly everything about these devices

save for the telephoto lens on the, on the pixel 10 is essentially like software, either software based or under the, hood. It's actually a lot more difficult for like a render leak to actually reveal what's going on with these phones. So I hadn't thought about that, but that we're here speculating a lot for a, for a pixel phone that is less than a month out from unveiling. Usually I feel like we, we have a much clearer picture, especially with so few hardware changes this year. It's interesting. Yeah. I mean, it's a fantastic point. I think we're definitely in a face.

where ordinarily we'd know the full inside and outside. And I think that's a good thing. Actually, when you put it like that, it actually is a pretty cool that, yeah, it is, we're calling it the same device, but there's probably going to be a lot of surprises that we weren't anticipating, which incidentally, that's making me a little bit more excited

to see what gets unveiled. Same. I'm sure we'll have some twists and turns over the next couple of weeks, but if G2 is high... That is always the thing, right? These are going to... The weekend before. you'll get that big final like product like drop where it's like and here's all the software features

and the marketing for tensor G5 and you'll be like or like the store page will leak right like every time but but for now it's a it's a much more exciting launch I mean just just mentioned in software as well I wonder how Google will approach if Cheeto is is is added as as a feat because it is a It's a hardware and it could potentially be a software feature as well because there's got to be something controlling how it charges and pairs with specific accessories. I don't wonder how they'll handle that because I know that the way that Apple's done it, certain things that you can add to the back of your phone will enable functionality if that makes sense. So I do I don't wonder, I wonder what this will do to all these other potential accessories because you could have a really, really cool subset of intricate accessories. we didn't necessarily know we ever needed or ever wanted on Pixel and that have been maybe missing on Android period

because like I say that Apple even has with their official cases when you stick them on the back of your phone, it actually acknowledges the actual pairing of an official accessory which is, I think attention to detail level is fantastic. I do wonder if with Google will follow suit with that with their own cases because that would be kind of cool as well. But yeah, interesting speculation on charging. Who would have thought that would have been interesting at all.

But yeah, let's get into some of the more specifics about the fold because I think this is one that probably is going to be the smallest of upgrades, right? And I know that we've seen some new colours of it. They've kept it snow. Was it snow porcelain and obsidian? I have the obsidian model. I would have preferred the porcelain. What do you think, Adam?

Do you think this is like a broach out towards more of a mass market appeal for foldables? or because we talked about it being a professional, they're more of a professional tool, the foldable or aimed at. What do you think is the thought process behind that in two slightly different colors, I guess, from the rest of the foldable space? Overall, I think the underrated change here is a bigger display. We haven't seen renders of the open screen yet,

but I think that would be a noticeable, appreciable change, decreasing those inner bezels, especially in the context of what the full Samsung songs fold brings this year. But that's a yeah it's it is I know we will meant the long name uh pixel 9 pro fold pixel 10 pro fold but it is interesting to see Google where Google sees this device and I agree this is a professional one. But even the part ignoring the price the multitasking capabilities are honestly still best suited that larger screen that in a screen it's best suited for that side-by-side productivity rather than say I don't know watching

videos or playing games on a bigger squareish screen. How do you think, how do you think then that this is going to be sold to the, I guess the foldable market is quite small, but there's still an ardent group of people who will buy foldable. So we just literally just have probably, it is Samsung's best foldable device in the galaxy fold seven. How are they going to position this? Because like when you're fighting an uphill battle to gain market share and someone, one of your biggest partners has just dropped probably their best foldable product

period, this is an incremental upgrade over the previous one, which was widely, widely really well received, if I can even say it. But like, I don't know where this sits in the market personally. I'm really intrigued to hear what you guys think because I don't think this can succeed. The software hasn't leaked yet, but I don't think we're seeing. It's for a foldable device, I don't think Google has put enough foldable features in it, multitasking. It improved multitasking or like the biggest thing that comes to mind is the camera. You can see an external display.

And I think Google Translate does something with it. I don't think there's enough optimization. there. Again, I don't know how much you can really do with that, like the camera preview or showing a fun animation to get kids to focus. That's character. That's a big thing, but I don't think that's enough in the grand scheme. Again, software hasn't leaked, but from the Android side of things, we haven't seen anything major yet. I wonder if Windows, It takes windowing for that to happen, for that to be a bigger deal. But it's the proposition of this year's refinement, I guess, is the best thing that Google can offer this year.

But again, hopefully there's something that we haven't seen yet that makes the productivity story a bit more comparing, especially compared to others' impressive hardware. I think Google picked the wrong year to take its foot off the foldable. gas because I really like in the way that I don't know who I would have like okay that's not true there are people that I would have recommended the fold six two over the pixel nine pro fold but I think largely speaking I thought the pixel nine pro fold was the better piece of hardware and unless you were really dying for like windowed multitasking as you said abner like I think the nine pro fold software experience just felt a little bit cleaner and more mature again like you know, that's sort of how I felt about 1UI 6 in general was just that it was,

it needed a little bit of a shakeup and it got it with 1UI 7 and 8. You know, I struggle kind of counter to last year. I struggle to think of like, who's going to, you know, this phone is still really heavy. It's, it's bulkier than last year's. So it's moving in the, you know, only by a little by, by I think, 0.3 millimeters, but it's moving in the wrong direction. And it's got to, you know, live in carrier stores and Best Buy next to the Galaxy's EFold 7, which looks super thin and futuristic and has better multitasking.

And like I just, you know, has the same software policy. So that's good. You know, it sure, maybe if, you know, if the Pixel 10 Pro Fold is dustproof, I think people will appreciate that. But I don't think, I don't think of the Fold 7 as a particularly unrugged vote. I think it's fairly protected from the elements and I think waterproofing was the more important of those two anyway. I don't know.

Like I really struggle when you're talking about assuming the sticks at $1,800, you know, yeah, it's a little bit cheaper than what Samsung's got this year. But I really think that this phone is going to struggle next to Samsung. Like I just like for the first time in several years, Samsung like really hit it out of the park on, leaping forward on foldable hardware, right? Like, we've seen this company kind of struggle to keep pace with its rivals, and it finally did it. And now Google is sort of in that position where it's like, okay, well, you, this is not like a,

this doesn't feel like a modern foldable now. Like, this, this would have felt like a modern foldable a year ago, which is exactly the situation that, like, One Plus was in last year when it released that special edition of the open, the crimson one. It's like, it's like, okay, guys, like, you're treading, water a little bit. Like, I get that these, this is not a huge market yet, but you got to keep going with the, with the, um, refinement. Like, you can't, you can't settle because someone is going to immediately pass you the minute you decide to do a minor revision to last year's hardware.

I think that, I think that's what's probably going to be a problem for fold 11 though. Like it probably strikes a bigger problem like, like, like, you have the same. you have effectively the same product a year later when you have a couple of other brands out there on a for instance here in Europe who are just saying we're going to go all out with these foldable devices is how we gain our market share

which is an interesting way to do things and then you have probably the market leader Samsung going out and making probably one of their best devices that they've ever made in terms of hardware and Google is going to sit there with I don't know it does feel like a step back it almost feels like

while the pixel 10 pro can stand on its own with other devices of the same caliber I just feel like this one I don't want to say dead on arrival but that's the only way I can describe it I feel like this one's dead on arrival a little bit

if you were looking for some if you want which most people who want foldable phones do want bleeding edge this is not bleeding edge anymore I think you you, yeah, you might get, you're going to get great software, which is part of the course with any pixel phone, you're going to get those updates day one, that's great, and I'm pleased

that that's a core selling point, and I think that's always going to be a core selling point. Just, I just think with Samsung, you just get so much more versatility with a foldable device. You have decks as well, which obviously you're already getting that desktop mode that you put, I think people want from, from Google devices now. Obviously, we're going to see that come to fruition the next year or so. I don't know. I could, depending on, depending on how it is to use, unless there's some insane software functionality that changes the game and changes my opinion totally, just from a pure

hardware perspective, it just, I just cannot see anyone really going out and getting this over the rivals in the space. And this is why I asked a little bit of leading with the colours. Is this a way that, is this the only way that Google can do this year is this is how we know you have a new device as a different colour? You have two different brighter colors to choose from. That's about it. I mean, and it's like, okay, so you offer two generations of essentially just black and white, right?

Like both the original fold and then the nine pro fold. And then it's like, okay, you've slightly splashed your colors this time around. Like, I think, you know, even if my concerns about Moonstone end up being right, I still think that's going to be a more attractive color than just like plain obsidian. And I, but at the same time, it's like, I don't. I unless they're going to walk out on stage, this would, this would have been the generation. I don't think they're going to.

I think this thing is going to be 1799. But this would have been the generation to be like, okay, sure, but you know, we didn't change much outside of like the new chip set and a slightly larger display or both display slightly larger or whatever. But like this is essentially,

you know, the pixel nine pro phold redux. Um, but now it's $1,500 instead of 18. And I think that's like a much more compelling. And we haven't really seen people do that with a phone launch. We've seen, you know, like the One Plus Open be marked down after a launch. But we haven't really seen anybody come out and be like new product, new foldable, $1,400.

And I think because, you know, the other part of this is that for as long as there are pixel 10 or pixel 9 pro folds to be purchased, like, I think, you know, they're going to be discounted. And so, like, I think a lot of people might, you know, who want to make the. jump to foldables might look at these two products and be like, you know, the tensor G4 is not a bad chip, even if G5 ends up being much more efficient. Like I still have six years of upgrades left. Let me just buy the one that's cheaper. And I'll stick with like the less flashy color. But, you know, I don't know.

I, it's always possible these surprises. But if this thing is just like a slight revision for another $1,800, I really struggled to think of this moving in any meaningful numbers. I'm not, I'm not sure the 9 Propherson. moved in meaningful numbers, but I think this one will suffer even further. You raise some really good points. My biggest kind of stumbling block with the tempera folder folder folder is, almost why are they releasing this alongside the 10?

I kind of understand they need to do it from an optics perspective, but would it have not made more sense to be like, okay, we're going to do one of these every 18 months and change the release cycle to not have everything at the same time and go back to having one. say at I.O. And then basically kind of caught people at that point of the year and have people, well, maybe they don't want people to wait. They want people to be able to buy everything day one and everybody buys their device at the same time. I like this. There's foldables in general need to convince people to buy them. Like I, we are, we are five, almost six full year, right? Like, yeah, the original's Galaxy Fold is September, October of 2019, right? And so we're coming up on, you know,

the anniversary of that. And I still think most people have not been convinced that they need these products. And I think to that point, you know, kind of meshing it with mine, Damien, it's like, if Google was like, and we're keeping the pixel 9 Pro Fold around for another generation, we're not done with foldables. We have really exciting things coming down the pike. But for now, if you want to try a foldable for the first time, great news. The Pixel 9 Pro Fold is now available.

for 1299 or something. Like, or even make it cheaper. Yeah, make it, 1299, you get a watch and a smearable

throwing in, like that would be the best way to do it, right? Right, because I think what these companies need to do, now that the hardware is starting to feel

less compromised, is that they need to convince people that these are, these are form factors they want. And the only way you're going to do that is by offering some pretty, pretty astounding deals that we have not seen

for the most part, outside of like, the one plus open had some good deals but it took it took you know a year which is similar to what i'm describing here um and and but that was a slightly less modern piece of hardware like even you know that's 12 point whatever millimeters or whatever it's this is this is a more modern device why not keep it around for another generation instead of just doing this kind of you know half as refresh and this is all abner makes really good points that like we don't know what the software is like on this thing. But I don't think we're expecting a power or performance

jump from G4 to G5 that would prevent Google from putting whatever they have planned for the 10 pro folds software onto the 9 pro fold. And in fact, we'll probably, especially if it's multitasking, I would imagine that comes backwards. So I don't know. Like I think it would have been, it would have probably been smart to do that. They're obviously not doing it because we've seen these leaks. But yeah, that's, you know, to any company making foldables, I think that would be my advice at this point, which is find a way to convince people to get these products, you know, through pricing for the most part. I guess it doesn't, the biggest, the biggest problem is just that Samsung went out first. Like, obviously, they've already, they've already done their S-25

at the start of the year. Google's eight months later or so, seven, eight months later down the line, they release their slab phones. They're also releasing their foldables at the same time. And I feel like even Samsung are doing that thing where they have split it up. And I feel like that might be the best way for Google to do it. If we're going to get the A series, I feel like, I feel like the best way to probably do it would be to have around the I.O period, maybe if they turn Android show into something yearly where they release a product, they could release the A series, they could release the

foldable and have these two kind of bookend devices, one at the lowest end, one at the highest end in terms of the price points and be like, hey, these are a bleeding edge of low end and high end, because you do have a bleeding edge of, sorry, bleeding edge of cheap phones. And I do think the A series is probably the poster child for that. Like, this is our cheap, this is probably the best, one of the best cheap phones on the market. This is also our current best of the best for holding, does everything. I don't know. It's all optics, I guess.

And hopefully, hopefully they can prove us wrong. But the jury's out. I'm not convinced this one's going to be a good. one. I was pretty underwhelmed with certain aspects of the pixel 9 profile, even though I really love the product. I just think, yeah, maybe they've let the ball, they've dropped the ball a little bit this time around. But I don't know, you're going to upgrade to this, Abner. You tell me what you think. Are you just praying that it's going to be too pessimistic, Abner? Like, like, talk us off the lunch. Again, it's just, it's, again, with the software, I, nothing from Android has indicated

that there's a big upgrade here so that's the issue and again it's it has to come down to the app level app level improvements that make yeah using a foldable phone somehow more unique into using new things that you can really do with the hardware whether it's like a tent mode or what but we're not there yet and i don't think AI alone especially AI from the slap-style pro phones would be enough to carry it over. I don't know, maybe they do something fun with Gemini and multitasking, but again, I don't think we're there just yet. Can I tell you guys the most, like, heartbreaking moment I've had with foldables,

and then maybe we can talk a little bit about the Pixel Watch 4. Last year, when I was using the Pixel 9 Pro Fold, I think I had already reviewed it and maybe had switched away and then switched back or kept using it. I can't remember. I was like, oh my God, I've,

I've, like, gotten into Bellatro. Do you know what would be, like, perfect for Bellatro is the Pixel 9 Pro Fold? Like, oh, my God, this is my Belatro machine now.

It doesn't, it just doesn't render great on that, like, no, it doesn't look good. And that's a pretty common thing with games. But I was like, certainly Bellatro built,

like, like, just the layout. I was like, sure, it's wide, but I think, I think it'll scale well. And it's,

it's playable. But it's not what I wanted it to be. And I was like, I think, am I just waiting for a trifold? I might just be waiting for a trifle. I think I was, yeah, I was thinking that this weekend. But yeah, I think the trifold is the way it's going to go because it's that form factor we're waiting for. But you alluded to something that is weird with regards to charge it in a weird form factors. We need to touch on this before we kind of shoot off.

The pixel watch four changing charging method, I don't. understand what they suppose what the heck the way the exhaustion in your voice deemian as you said so i i guess i'm a bit in the minority here because i kind of do think pin contact pin based charging is quote-unquote wireless in that you're not plugging like a plug or a port into but i don't think most people have that definition so the pixel watch for according to the latest retail leaks, it has moved the charging pins from the back of the phone, sorry, from the back of the watch to the side. It flanks the speaker port. So there are two charging pins there. So the new charger, instead of going from a puck that you press on the back, it becomes this

oval thing that effectively doubles as a stand. And I hope it's weighty enough. So you put the left edge of the pixel watch on it and you get a bedside clock though again like the screen size is too like middle of the night you're looking for the time it's not that great um the question is there is whether it's an always on charging clock uh which because like the current one if you tap the screen you'll see the time the charger your alarm all that software wise isn't new the question is whether this allows for an AOD, which again, like it's a small screen size. So maybe it's efficient enough, but, and you're always connected to power. So I hope there's no heat issues.

But the charger, it's not wireless. People wanted wireless charging because they want to charge the back of their phones or they want to use a standard charging path and whatnot. But for the third year in the low, since the Pixel Watch 2 change, we're back to, we're continuing to use pin-based charging. And personally, I'm fine with it. I think wireless charging on a watch, something that small, gets pretty warm. I feel like I noticed that with, when I use wireless charging on pixel buds,

airports, et cetera, it gets a bit warm because of the physical dimensions. And I wouldn't want a watch to get that hot. Yeah, especially if you're putting it on his skin, right? You don't want that. But I just want Google to just, can we stop changing, the charging methods every time? I have so many cables. I just want to have one universal cable.

Can we, if they're going to do anything, can we just make it USBC? Just make a hole in the side and I can put USBC in there. If that ever happens, it's going to be on the back. Like, you're going to spear it, like a magic house. Like that's what's going to end up being. I really, I really like the one plus method, right? Like I think, and Damien, you have a one plus watch three, I think.

I do, yeah. I love, I think that's such a good middle ground of like, look, like, it has to be, you know, it has to be some kind of like proprietary thing. So here's a little thing. And then, but that's all you don't need to, you don't need to build, you know, bring a special cable. It's just this little brick. And then you plug any USB C cable into it.

And so I, it just for travel, it's so much smarter. It's such a smarter. It's so much easier to not forget because it's like, it's like, okay, well, as long, or even if you pick up a second one, you can just keep it in your, you know, and it takes up no space in your backpack in the way that like even a cable takes up a little more room

or you know, you might mistake it for a different cable. I really like the one plus strategy. I also, I'm so split on this. I actually think this is a really clever design. I think it's clever that this is going to be in the box and have this.

And Abner, I think you're totally right. I think they're going to build a lot of software features around this idea of, I do think it will be an always on display and that it will have like essentially a little mini bedtime mode in the way that like an Android phone can.

I love that like the because of the placement of the crown it looks like a very tiny alarm clock like traditional alarm clock. There's something so cute about the idea of like reaching over and like slapping it with your palm to stop the alarm in the morning or something. Obviously

they'd have to like crank up the speaker or something it probably wouldn't work but like in my head I'm like that's so cute. I think really the reason that I'm like, I saw this and I like rolled my eyes is because this is the Pixel Watch 4 and it's our third new, like as you said, Davy, it's her third new charger. And I, you know, they made such a big deal last year out of like, we're not, don't worry, guys, we're not changing it from the two to the three. Sticking around.

Like I had these conversations during content capture before the launch where they were like, Yep, sticking it. Don't worry. We're keeping it around. Those, that pin-based charger around, not changing it this year.

So your chargers from last year will work this year. And that's not true again. And, you know, we, we, I hate to bring up the Apple Watch in this comparison, but it's like any Apple Watch

charger will charge any Apple Watch to my knowledge. I am pretty sure you could go buy, you go find an OG 2015 Apple Watch charger and like slap a Series 10 on it. And it's not going to be super fast, but it will power it up. And I think it's so frustrating that it's like, you know, even, even let's say someone is upgrading from the two, you know, maybe someone out there bought a pixel watch one,

didn't, didn't like how bad the battery life was. So bought a pixel watch like traded it in and got a pixel watch two, skipped the three because they were happy with their two and are like, well, now I want the four and are going to end up with like their third charger. Like none of these chargers work together. It's a bit of a mess, I think. And I really hope they stick to this one, but I remember yelling at them two years ago about this on a podcast, and I'm yelling at them now. So who knows?

I mean, I think Google are just, they're in search of elegance, right? They want an elegant design solution. Don't get me wrong. It is a very elegant design solution. Sorry, charging solution. And it's well designed. My only wish list for this is, why don't they make this? to a mini nest hub and put that and make it a tiny little nest hub at the side of my bed with all the

photos. That would be fantastic. I know it's too small, but they won't do that. I don't know. I hope they do. I hope they do something cute with it where it's like, no, like, sure, it's a very, like, it's a one inch screen or whatever, but yeah, it'll just show you some photos from your memories or something. I think that's a clever idea that I don't think as small as the display is, I don't think is like completely unreasonable as an optional toggle you can turn on. Like, I think, I wouldn't be able to see them perhaps with my glasses on. But with my glasses on, I would be able to see the photos and they would have a great time. So I don't know.

And another con here is that you would think that the goal, the end goal here is to get people to wear their watches the suite, to get the sweet pack and benefits, all that. And I guess this bet, this side charger is an explicit acknowledgement that some people just don't want to. wear it to bed, but they still want the benefits of an alarm clock, etc., etc. But yeah, it's, I don't know, it's elegant, like we said. The thing is, even with the existing charger and the existing as the default active band, it props up naturally, I would say, right? If you use a different band, it probably, like, it's easier to flop. But I think most people already have their pixel watch in this configuration

rather than weighing it flat on the side of the charger. Maybe that's the reasoning for us to do this. Maybe they were like, well scratching the side of the glass. We may as well make a solution that prevents that from happening. Maybe. I don't know. It could be a durability benefit, I guess. Yeah, it's fascinating to see the potential charging machinations of pixel 10

and Pixel Watch 4 and Pixel 10 Pro Fold. So, hey, we'll be above all areas charging in the coming weeks. Hopefully we'll see some cool accessories as well. I'll take advantage of this. I don't know how third-party accessories are going to work because if you've got a bumper on your Pixel Watch 3 currently, it's probably not going to work with the Pixel Watch 4. So there's going to be some disappointing, disappointed people out there

and some disappointed accessory makers. But I think on the whole, how do we feel about the colours and everything in that? Are we kind of happy with it or I don't know. I'm content, I guess. They match the 10, basically. And so, so I don't know, I'm okay with it. I, I, um, I always pick neutral tones for my smart watches anyway. So I guess, I guess like the, you know, including the lemon cello or the indigo is good for some people, but I don't think it's what I would wear on my wrist.

I'd want something black or gray or white. It's not notes, but what color you pick for your watch is really not noticeable. The bat is more. encompassing and they do that you pick neutral colors you works with most bands i think google keeps that very much in mind when they decide case covers uh how the band works with it so yeah yeah well we will be hopefully seeing more of uh the pixel pixel watch four pixel 10 everything in the coming weeks hey we've talked a lot about charges talked a lot about really inconsequential design decisions But yeah, thanks for joining me, guys.

Really appreciate it. Hopefully everyone out there has picked a color that they want. I don't know what I'm going to decide on yet, but we have time on our side. But thanks for joining us, and yeah, I'll speak to you guys soon. Bye. Bye.