Google Pixel 9 For Business

In case you missed it, last night Google launched the latest and greatest of the Engineered by Google range of Pixel Devices. I can’t wait to use the Pixel 9 Fold; having seen one under an NDA I am super excited to see how this can become a bridging device with such an abundance of built in capability.  

 But let’s start with a run-down of the Pixel 9 range that was officially launched. 

• Pixel 9 – The entry level device, available in four colours: Peony, a kind of pink, Wintergreen, Porcelain and Obsidian. 

• Pixel 9 Pro and Pixel 9 Pro Xl – Super powerful devices in a similar set of colours: Porcelain, Roze Quartz, Hazel and Obsidian. 

• Pixel Buds 2 – Bringing AI to your ears with the Tensor A1 chip. 

• Pixel Watch 3 – Tells you the time and a whole lot more! 

• Pixel 9 Fold – The must-have device for the mobile knowledge worker. 

Individually, they are all amazing. However, linking them together is the Android enterprise management software; a great add-on for enterprise organisations. They are all built on the most secure Android operating system and have a 7-year security and feature release promise.  

Just to put it into perspective, this means the entry level Pixel 9 at about £300 will have more capabilities and features in 7 years than it does now, for the price you purchase it at today. Admittedly, if you drop it or break it, you may have refreshed the device by then, but with Mil spec ratings from drop tests you may be pushed to break it. (Please don’t try to prove me wrong!) 

Google first came to the mobile market many years ago and spent the last 6 focusing on the Pixel development. For those who remember it, in the beginning this was about Google software. Time has moved on and now we are looking at the latest iteration of Google software on Google-engineered devices. Historically we have seen the Android OS on a multitude of devices with varying ranges of specification; the Pixel 9 range has a capability to support the dreams and aspirations of the Google software teams.  

Back in 2016, Sundar Pichai declared, “We will move from mobile-first to an AI-first world”. This was a remarkable shift in the vision and strategy of Google, which has been expanding in the mobile market with its Android operating system for over a decade. By placing AI at the core of its products and services, Google aime to deliver more personalised, intuitive, and intelligent experiences to its users across different platforms and devices. The Pixel 9 range is a testament to this vision, as it showcases the power and potential of Gemini; Google's AI assistant that can perform various tasks, answer questions, and anticipate needs based on context and user preferences.  

Gemini is what makes the Pixel 9 range truly smart and versatile, and sets it apart from other smartphones in the market. Gemini is available natively on the Pixel 9 range and it is impressively powerful. It’s an amazing enabler that is born out of Google’s 20 years of AI development, and it is present in the entire range of Pixel 9 devices.  

A few of the Pixel 9 features we can expect to see in the latest version of the phone are shown below. 

If you are lucky enough to already be an Android user and, specifically, you use a Pixel 8 device, you may have already had access to some of these features. The features that I have become dependent on are the Call Screen, Direct my Call and Hold For Me features. I’m going to run through these, because understanding how I use them may help you understand what a productivity enhancer they are and how they give you back that most important of resources: Time. 

Call Screen – Imagine that you are in a meeting and your significant other calls, usually you would send them to voicemail and deal with it later. With Call Screen, the phone and the local AI capability can answer and talk to the caller on your behalf. This is an edge capability in the Pixel phone itself. Although intended to reduce spam it has other immensely valuable use cases. But back to the example. Once the caller has identified themselves, you can then prompt them for more information or provide an answer to a possible question, and if it is important, you can answer the call. This has been amazingly useful for filtering out unwanted calls, but also helping those who actually do need to get hold of me to inform and communicate without interrupting whatever it is I am doing. 

Direct my Call – Again a feature that makes a massive difference to how I contact organisations where I have to place a call; banks, doctors, utility suppliers, government departments, in fact any organisation which fronts their customer support environments with menus or free-speech interactions. With the Direct my Call capability I can place a call and then watch on my screen a real-time transcription of the menu choices and using my finger I can select one. This also brings me onto the Hold for Me capability. Although some contact centres will offer you a call back feature, the Hold for Me feature allows your phone to manage this for you and stay on hold, without you having to listen to the tune-of-the-day hold music. Once your call is connected to a live agent, you will be reconnected and can continue with your other work until that happens. How long have spent ‘on hold’ throughout your life, cumulatively? Weeks? Months? With this feature, you may still be on hold but at least your life won’t be. 

The other features are powerful and I expect more to come, but these are the ones that are creating a day-to-day difference in how I work with the engineered by Google Pixel phone. 

Device Highlights

The Pixel 9 Fold will have a hefty price tag I am sure, but when you look at its bridging capabilities you are actually gaining immense value for money. As I stated above, I have managed to interact with an early release of the Pixel 9 Fold. I was able to use all three screens, and the multiple authentication capabilities - upgraded screen ultrasonic fingerprint reader, facial recognition and power button fingerprint reader - allow instant access to them. The device is, on paper, 50grams heavier that the Pixel 9 Pro, but in your hand this is hardly noticeable; an impressive feat when you consider how much technology is crammed into this device. 

The Pixel Buds 2 are mind-blowing when you consider the in-ear capability to remove background sound, not just on your side but from the far end. Regardless of device brand or operating system, you can pair them with Bluetooth 4.0+ devices to use this capability. 

Security First

The Google-engineered Pixel 9 devices are protected by the enhanced enterprise security from Pixel, which includes: 

• Enterprise management controls (enterprise API, work profile separation, mass-scale deployment with zero touch) 

• Protection at Google play store (Google security services) 

• Network security on Pixel (7yr security updates using OTA) 

• OS isolation and anti-exploitation (SE Linux, access control, sandboxing) 

• Pixel hardware security (Titan M2 and Tensor G3, discrete security chips) 

With Google’s laser focus on security, this impressive stack provides the most secure Android devices on the market. 

Why Android and Why Google Pixel 9 for business?

Do you have one mobile device or two? I used to have two so I could turn work off, then I moved to one because I got tired of multiple chargers and having to carry two phones.  

Then on my last vacation something happened, it was my first one with a work-provided Google Pixel 8 pro and I used the ‘Work Mode’ button. When you operate an Android device in work and personal mode, it has two distinct operating areas, memories and security keys, giving you logically two devices in one.  

The Work Mode button allows you to switch off the applications in the Work area of your phone, which allows you to also ‘switch off’. On this vacation, switching to Work Mode meant, for a week, that I had no reminders, calls or messages and I could truly relax and spend time with my family. This capability is enabled through the utilisation of the Android Enterprise management stack, which provides the ability to split the phone logically and offers a company-supplied, personally enabled device. This reduces physical device counts and makes it easier for employees to manage their work/life balance. The global average of smart phones is 2.4 per person, just think about the environmental impact of creating and eventually disposing of these devices.  

Now, when we add a potential 7-year support cycle to a single device that can act as two, you can start to understand how a Google-engineered Pixel 9 isn’t just good for you and your business, but also the planet.