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Google Pixel 9 Pro pre-orders are live: Where to get the best deals on the just-announced Android smartphone
Just announced today, the new Google Pixel 9 smartphones are the most advanced Android devices yet. They rely on a powerful new processor, a beautiful touchscreen display, an advanced camera system and all of Google’s latest AI tools and features.
There are now three versions of the standard Google Pixel 9 series phone available — the Pixel 9, Pixel 9 Pro and the Pixel 9 Pro XL. A folding version of the phone, the Pixel 9 Pro Fold, was also announced.
Starting today, you can preorder any of the new Google Pixel 9 smartphones. They begin shipping on August 22 and September 4, depending on the model and configuration you choose. Each model comes in a variety of colors and configurations.
If you’ve been thinking about switching from iPhone to Android or want a smartphone with the latest AI functions, now is the time to get your hands on one of the new Google Pixel 9 phones. Here’s what you need to know about the new Google Pixel 9 smartphones, including how to take advantage of the enticing pre-order deals that are available right now.
The new Google Pixel 9 series smartphones
The new Google Pixel 9 series phones represent on large step forward in smartphone technology and a giant lap for mobile artificial intelligence. Here’s an overview of the latest Pixel 9 smartphones you can pre-order right now.
Google Pixel 9 Pro: Advanced functionality with integrated AI and better cameras
Display size: 6.3 inches | Display type: Super Actua OLED touchscreen | Display resolution: 1,280 x 2,856 pixels | Display brightness: Up to 3,000 nits | Processor: Google Tensor G4, Titan M2 security coprocessor | Available colors: Porcelain, rose quartz, hazel obsidian | Dimensions: 6 x 2.8 x 0.3 inches | Weight: 7 ounces | Battery life: Up to 24 hours | Storage options: 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, 1TB | Rear cameras: 50MP (wide), 48MP (ultra-wide), 48MP (telephoto) | Front camera: 42MP | Operating system: Android 14 | Port: USB Type-C 3.2 | Wireless connectivity: Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.3
The Google Pixel 9 Pro model offers a beautiful 6.3-inch Super Actua OLED touchscreen display with a 120Hz refresh rate and an improved camera system. It’s waterproof and more durable than previous Pixel smartphones. And it comes in several new colors.
The camera system offers three rear-facing cameras, with the main, wide camera offering 50MP resolution. But it’s the AI-driven photo enhancement and editing tools that set the Pixel 9 far ahead of most Android smartphones and all Apple iPhones. These include the new “Add Me” feature, a tool that lets the picture taker add themselves to the group photograph they’re taking.
The Pixel 9 Pro does everything last year’s Pixel 8 Pro can do, but it now runs using the Tensor G4 processor, has a longer battery life and more powerful AI tools, including the Gemini Assistant feature. Another of the many new features added to this phone is the Thermometer app that allows you to take someone’s body temperature using a quick forehead swipe. And if there’s an emergency and you’re caught in the middle of nowhere with no cellular signal, the Satellite SOS feature allows you to send a text message via a satellite system.
Google has pledged seven years’ worth of OS and security updates for the phone.
The Google Pixel 9 Pro comes in four colors. At the time of purchase, you can choose between 128GB ($999), 256GB ($1,099), 512GB ($1,219) or 1TB ($1,449) of internal storage.
Between now and August 21, if you pre-order the Google Pixel 9 Pro from Best Buy, you’ll get a $200 Best Buy gift card as a bonus, along with a three month Google One subscription. Trade-in deals are also available.
Amazon has the Google Pixel 9 Pro available as well, with a $200 Amazon gift card bonus offer when you pre-order by Aug. 28, 2024.
Google Pixel 9 Pro XL: Same Pixel 9 Pro, but with a larger display
Display size: 6.8 inches | Display type: Super Actua touchscreen | Display resolution: 1,344 x 2,992 pixels | Display brightness: Up to 3,000 nits | Processor: Google Tensor G4, Titan M2 security co-processor | Available colors: Porcelain, rose quartz, hazel, obsidian | Dimensions: 6.4 x 3 x 0.3 inches | Weight: 7.8 ounces | Battery life: Up to 24 hours | Storage options: 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, 1TB | Rear cameras: 50MP (wide), 48MP (ultra-wide), 48MP (telephoto) | Front camera: 42MP | Operating system: Android 14 | Port: USB Type-C 3.2 | Wireless connectivity: Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.3
The Google Pixel 9 Pro XL offers everything built into the new 6.8-inch Google Pixel 9 Pro, but also offers a larger, 6.8-inch display with 1,344 x 2,992-pixel resolution and a 120Hz refresh rate. The display’s maximum brightness is 3,000 nits, which makes this the brightest Pixel phone yet.
Choose between four colors — porcelain, rose quartz, hazel or obsidian. You also get four internal storage options including 128GB ($1,099), 256GB ($1,199), 512GB ($1,319) or 1TB ($1,549). The phone measures 6.4 x 3 x 0.3 inches and weighs 7.8 ounces.
When you pre-order the Google Pixel 9 Pro XL from Best Buy, you’ll get a $200 Best Buy gift card as a bonus, along with a three-month subscription to Google One. You can finance the phone starting at $45.80 per month for 24 months.
Pre-order the Google Pixel 9 Pro XL from Amazon, starting at $1,099, and get a $200 Amazon gift card as a bonus.
Google Pixel 9: The perfect Android phone for average users
Display size: 6.3 inches | Display type: Actua (OLED) | Display resolution: 1,080 x 2,424 | Display brightness: Up to 2,700 nits | Processor: Google Tensor G4, Titan M2 security co-processor | Available colors: Peony, wintergreen, porcelain, obsidian | Dimensions: 6 x 2.8 x 0.3 inches | Weight: 7 ounces | Battery life: Up to 24 hours | Storage options: 128GB, 256GB | Rear cameras: 50MP (wide), 48MP (ultra-wide) | Front camera: 10.5MP | Operating system: Android 14 | Port: USB Type-C 3.2 | Wireless connectivity: Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.3
Enjoy an enhanced camera system with AI photo editing, access to Gemini Assistant, integrated Google AI features, and a slew of upgraded hardware features including a brighter display, faster processor, and longer battery life.
You also get a handful of safety and security features, including the ability to send crisis alerts, crash detection, enhanced call screening and tools that’ll automatically help keep you and your data safe when surfing the internet. Under normal use, the phone’s battery now lasts up to 24 hours, but in extreme battery saver mode, this can be boosted up to 100 hours.
Pricing for the Google Pixel 9 is $799 for the 128GB version or $899 for the 256GB version. If you pre-order the phone at Best Buy, you’ll receive a $100 Best Buy gift card and a three-month subscription to Google One. Generous trade-in credit is also being offered for eligible devices. Head over to Amazon and purchase the Google Pixel 9 starting at $799 and get a $100 Amazon gift card as a bonus.
New features all Google Pixel 9 phones have in common
According to Google, Android smartphones have entered “the Gemini AI era.” This means that moving forward, all new Android phones will integrate the latest Google Gemini AI tools and features, including the Gemini Assistant (which has replaced Google Assistant). While older Android phones will gain some AI capabilities with an Android OS update, only the newer phones will offer all of the latest AI functionality.
All of the Google Pixel 9 smartphones have Gemini Assistant built-in. Using advanced AI, it understands not just the words you say or type, but the user’s intent. It’s also able to access, work with and share information between your Gmail inbox, files and data stored on your smartphone, files and data stored within your Google Drive account, as well as the Calendar, Google Photos, Google Keep, Google Tasks and Google Maps apps. And if you subscribe to Gemini Advanced, you’ll gain access to a new feature called Gemini Live. It allows you to converse with Gemini Assistant through normal conversation. And Gemini Assistant can be assigned your favorite of 10 voice options.
In addition, all of the Google Pixel 9 smartphones have these 12 (and many other) new features in common:
- Up to 20% longer battery life compared to previous Pixel phones.
- Most Pixel 9 phone configurations come with one year of Gemini Advanced service.
- Access to the new Satellite SOS feature that allows text messages to be sent via satellite in an emergency when the phone does not have cellular access.
- The redesigned Pixel Weather app is customizable and more accurate.
- Pixel Call Assist offers a wide range of enhanced and new calling features, including Call Notes. This feature allows you to record phone calls and receive both a full, text-based transcript and a call summary almost immediately after a call ends.
- Pixel Screenshots allows you to capture a screenshot of anything displayed on the phone’s screen, store it for future reference and have the content within the screenshot be searchable and made interactive using Gemini Assistant. It’s designed to help users remember things visually.
- Pixel Studio provides a more powerful text-to-image generator that includes a handful of style options. After creating an image, in can be further customized by applying a specialized style.
- The redesigned Panoramic photo mode now supports night sight and the ability to capture up to 50MP images.
- Group Photos makes capturing group images faster and easier. There’s also the new Add Me feature for incorporating yourself into a group photo if you’re the one taking the picture.
- Guided Frame uses advanced AI to help you frame the best possible shots when taking pictures or shooting video.
- There are enhanced Magic Editor photo editing features, including a new Auto Frame tool.
- Video Boost enhances 4K resolution video up to near 8K resolution.
This is all in addition to the AI-driven features already available in the Google Pixel 8 series phones and some other Android smartphones.
For more help choosing a new smartphone, we’ve got you covered with our comprehensive coverage of the best cell phones of 2024, the best smartphones with AI, the best folding smartphones in 2024, and the best smartphones under $500. In fact, all of our smartphone coverage is continuously being updated as new models and operating system updates are released.
Hakeem Jeffries could make history if Democrats retake majority
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York could make history as the first Black speaker if Democrats win the majority.
It wouldn’t be the first time he’s made history. Jeffries became the first Black lawmaker to lead a party in Congress when he was elected minority leader in January 2023, succeeding former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi as the top Democrat in the lower chamber. His election also made him the first House Democratic leader to be born after the end of World War II.
Jeffries was first elected to Congress in 2012.
House GOP leadership to hold elections on Nov. 13
House Republicans will hold leadership elections on Nov. 13 after Congress returns from recess. It’s a quick turnaround because sluggish returns from California and races that are too close to call or are contested could blur the picture of which party has the majority on Nov. 13.
If Republicans lose control of the House, there could be a shakeup in GOP leadership. It’s unclear if House Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana would run for minority leader or if anyone would challenge him.
House Democrats haven’t said when they’ll hold their leadership elections.
— Scott McFarlane and Caitlin Yilek
GOP infighting a staple of the 118th Congress
Republicans took back control of the House in the 2022 midterm elections after four years of Democratic rule. But GOP infighting has made it difficult to govern with a razor-thin majority amid early retirements and the expulsion of Rep. George Santos, whose seat was later picked up by a Democrat.
In January 2023, former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy of California finally won the speaker’s gavel after 15 ballots amid a prolonged — and public — fight with conservatives who demanded concessions, foreshadowing the limits of his power over a fractured party.
His deal with far-right Republicans to allow a single member to trigger a no-confidence vote to remove the speaker came back to haunt him nine months later after he relied on the votes of House Democrats to temporarily avert a government shutdown. Eight Republicans voted with all Democrats to remove McCarthy, making it the first time in U.S. history a House speaker was ousted by such a motion.
Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana succeeded McCarthy after three weeks of chaos caused by the GOP’s inability to coalesce around a candidate. Though Johnson has faced similar issues as McCarthy and has had to rely on Democratic votes to pass legislation, he has survived in the role longer than his predecessor. Democrats stepped in to rescue Johnson from an ouster attempt in May.
House control last flipped during presidential election cycle in 1952
The last time control of the House flipped in a presidential election year was 1952. Republicans won the House and Dwight D. Eisenhower was elected to his first term in the White House.
Battle for control of the House
Of the 435 House seats on the ballot, about 40 are seen as competitive, according to the Cook Political Report, a nonpartisan election analysis site that considers 22 of those races toss-ups. Of those 22 seats, 10 are held by Democrats and 12 by Republicans. Of the other 21 competitive seats, 13 are lean Democrat and eight are lean Republican.
Republicans currently have 220 seats. Democrats have 212. There are three vacancies due to the deaths of Rep. Sheila Jackson, a Texas Democrat, and Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr., a New Jersey Democrat, and the early retirement of Rep. Mike Gallagher, a Wisconsin Republican.
For Democrats to take control of the chamber they’d have to hold on to their 212 seats and the two vacancies from deaths, as well as pick up four seats.
It’s unlikely to be that easy, however. Redrawn congressional maps in North Carolina mean three seats held by Democrats are poised to be easily won by Republicans.
But the swing toward Republicans is blunted in part by redrawn congressional districts in Louisiana and Alabama that are likely to be won by Democrats under the new lines.
— Caitlin Yilek, Hunter Woodall and Alexandria Johnson
CBS News
Donald Trump Media posts earnings as DJT stock halts on Election Day. Here are the details.
Donald Trump’s Trump Media & Technology Group had an eventful Election Day 2024, with its DJT stock halted three times after the shares suddenly plunged. At the end of the trading day, the Truth Social owner released its third-quarter earnings, showing a continued decline in revenue.
The company’s third-quarter results, disclosed in a U.S. Securities & Exchange filing, shows that the fledgling social media business continues to lose money, while its revenue slipped 5.6% compared with a year earlier. Still, that marks an improvement from the prior quarter, when Trump Media’s sales tumbled 30%.
Donald Trump’s stake in DJT
DJT stock has been on a rollercoaster since going public in March, with the shares surging or falling in line with news about Trump, its largest shareholder, with about 57% of the company’s shares. The erratic fluctuations of the shares have prompted comparisons with so-called meme stocks, which trade on social media buzz rather than the fundamentals that investors prefer, such as revenue and profitability growth.
“This has been an extraordinary quarter for the company, for Truth Social users, and for our legion of retail investors who support our mission to serve as a beachhead for free speech on the internet,” Trump Media CEO Devin Nunes said in a statement.
The company said it lost $19.2 million in the quarter ended September 30, compared with a loss of $26 million in the year-earlier period. Sales fell 5.6% to $1.01 million.
How DJT stock performed on Election Day
DJT stock initially surged almost 19% on Election Day before giving up those gains and closing down 1%. Trading in the stock was also halted three times on Tuesday by the New York Stock Exchange due to sudden drops in its price.
The shares have been on a wild ride since going public in March, initially surging and giving former president’s 57% stake a value of $5.2 billion. But the shares tumbled after Vice President Kamala Harris entered the presidential race, eventually hitting a low of $11.75 per share in September and shaving Trump’s stake to $1.4 billion.
But after hitting that low, the shares more than quadrupled after Trump was predicted to win the presidential race by betting markets like Polymarket.
Yet in recent days, DJT stock has lost much of those gains, shedding 34% of its value since its most recent high of $51.51 per share on October 29.
Senate elections live balance of power for 2024
There are 34 Senate seats up for election in 2024, and Democrats are facing strong headwinds as they seek to defend their narrow 51-49 majority. Heading into Election Day, Republicans appeared to have an edge in several races that could determine control of the Senate.
Senate elections live results map for 2024
Democrats are facing a particularly difficult map this cycle, fighting to hold seats in two states Trump won in 2020. In another six states, Democratic incumbents are in tight races, while only two Republican-held seats are considered possible pickup opportunities for Democrats.