What to expect from Google in 2024: New flagships, foldable tech and more

Google has had an exciting year in 2023. As well as launching the flagship Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro, we were treated to a brand new Pixel Tablet and, of course, the book-style Pixel Fold. But what should we expect going into 2024?

While Google’s plans are top secret, we can provide an educated guess on what to expect based on Google’s release history. That means we’ll likely see the Pixel 9 and 9 Pro, a refreshed Google Pixel 8a, a new Pixel Fold 2 and much more.

Google Pixel 9 & 9 Pro

One of the easiest products to predict from Google in 2024 is the eventual release of the Google Pixel 9 and its more premium sibling, the Pixel 9 Pro. It’s a little too early to go into specifics, as the Pixel 8 and 8 Pro have only been out for a couple of months, but we at least know when to expect next year’s flagship. 

And that’s because Google tends to favour the month of October when it comes to flagship phone releases. 

After all, the Pixel 8, Pixel 7 and Pixel 6 lines all appeared in October. In fact, apart from the Pixel 5’s September announcement, every single flagship Pixel has been announced and released in October of that year, so it’s practically a given at this point. 

Google Pixel 8a

As with the flagship line, it’s almost inevitable that we’ll see an update to the mid-range Pixel 7a in 2024, likely dubbed the Pixel 8a after the flagship Pixel 8. 

Again, specifics on the budget version of the flagship Pixel are light on the ground right now, but going by previous Pixel a releases, expect a form factor very similar to the flagship with some matching internals. 

The Pixel 7a had the same Tensor G2 as the Pixel 7, suggesting the Pixel 8a will get this year’s Tensor G3, and, likely, new photo editing tech like Best Take will also appear on the mid-ranger. As for what else to expect, that’s unknown for now.

What we do know, however, is that Google tends to favour a mid-year release for its ‘a’ series phones, with the Pixel 7a appearing in May 2023, while the Pixel 6a had a July 2022 debut. That said, we’re expecting the Pixel 8a to appear sometime around May-July in 2024. 

Google Pixel Fold 2

Google finally entered the foldable market in 2023 with its Pixel Fold debut. It was a solid first attempt at a foldable that tries to do something different from the competition, with a shorter, squatter design than the comparably tall and thin Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5. 

It was far from perfect however; battery life was hit-and-miss, the crease on the inner display was extremely prominent and Google, rather ironically, had issues loading Android apps on the inner display due to its use of a different aspect ratio to other foldables. 

That said, we’re expecting Google to take another stab at the foldable form factor with the Pixel Fold 2 sometime in 2024 – likely around June if we’re going by the release of this year’s Pixel Fold.

While details are exceedingly light on the ground, display analyst Ross Young claims that the Pixel Fold 2’s display will be larger than the first-gen foldable. However, he didn’t specify whether he was referring to the 5.8-inch cover screen, 7.6-inch inner display or both.  

Android 15

Stepping away from the hardware for a second, it’s almost certain that Google, the creators of the Android operating system, will reveal Android 15. 

The Android OS, like iOS, has a yearly update schedule, with Google revealing the update in all its glory at Google I/O, usually in May, before hitting smartphones later in the year. Pixels are usually the first to get the upgrade, but third-party manufacturers are getting faster about rolling out the updates too. 

Google Pixel Watch 3

After somewhat faltering with the original Pixel Watch, Google launched the new Pixel Watch 2 earlier this year, suggesting that Google is settling into a yearly launch schedule for its wearable.

If that’s indeed true, it’d indicate that Google is planning on launching the Pixel Watch 3 in 2024, likely alongside the flagship Pixel 9 and 9 Pro in late 2024 – the Watch 2 launched alongside the Pixel 8 and 8 Pro, after all.

Not a lot is known about the wearable at this stage, but considering Google and Qualcomm recently announced a partnership in which the companies would develop a “custom Wear OS platform using the RISC-V ISA”, it’s safe to assume that it’ll run a Snapdragon chipset. 

Google Pixel Tablet 2

The Google Pixel Tablet launched in 2023, but does that mean we will see a Pixel Tablet 2 in 2024? Unlike other products we’ve mentioned here, we can’t say for sure.

And that’s down to the fact that not every manufacturer updates their tablet offering every year. Tablet behemoth Apple has a slightly longer lifecycle for its iPad collection, with some models going for 18 months or even two years before getting an upgrade. 

It’s not set in stone however; Android competitors like Samsung opt for a yearly upgrade for its Galaxy Tab S range, so it’s possible that Google could follow suit.  

So, it’s entirely possible that we could see the Pixel Tablet 2 appear sometime in 2024, but a release in 2025 could be just as likely.