Pixel 9 buyers will have to wait for Android 15

Google has confirmed the new Pixel 9 series of smartphones will not arrive with Android 15 out of the box.

In a move that breaks with recent tradition and seems to be a direct result of Google choosing to launch the phones almost two months earlier than usual, the Pixel 9, Pixel 9 Pro, Pixel 9 Pro XL and Pixel 9 Pro Fold will all arrive with 2023’s Android 14 operating system.

The news comes via the spec sheets (below) for the phones published by Google following the device reveal at the Made by Google 2024 keynote on August 13.

The Pixel phones are usually the first to debut the year’s new operating system, with other Pixel devices also receiving day-one updates.

Last year Google released the Pixel 8 range on October 12 featuring Android 14 out of the box. This year, all of four Pixel 9 phones will go on sale on August 22 with pre-orders already available, still with Android 14.

That suggests a 6-7 week period with Android 14 before the Android 15 update arrives. Given we’d been led to believe some new Gemini AI features announced at Google I/O in May (for specific Google apps) are tied to the Android 15 update, it might be a long few weeks.

However, plenty of Gemini features will launch with the Pixel 9 range, independently of Android 15. Gemini Live, Gemini Overlay and the new Pixel Studio image generation app, will all be available at launch, for example. Camera features like Zoom Enhance, Add Me and Reimagine With will also be available.

Trusted Reviews has contacted Google about whether Android 15 will count as one of the seven promised Android OS updates Pixel owners are now guaranteed when they buy the phone.

Android 15 is pretty much cooked, Google recently revealed, when it released beta 4 as the last scheduled update in mid-July. Hopefully, that means it can arrive before October, if not in time for the Pixel 9 release date.