The Morning After: Our verdict on the Pixel 9 Pro and XL

Google is selling its ultra-premium Pixel 9 Pro in two sizes, but it’s not the size that counts here. Instead, it’s the suite of AI features Google hopes will revolutionize how you use your phone. The Morning After’s Mat Smith has spent plenty of time with both handsets to work out if they’re good enough to justify your cash.
He explores headline features, like Gemini Advanced, as well as the smart new AI-enabled photo tweaks. One of my favorites is Add Me, which puts you in the background of a group shot you were holding the phone for. Or Zoom Enhance, which offers a CSI-like level of clarity enhancement for the furthest point in a photo.
I won’t spoil the review beyond saying Mat thinks the Pixel 9 Pro, sorry Pixels 9 Pro, are well worth the cash. But you’ll have to read it all to work out why.
— Daniel Cooper
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Rotten Tomatoes further dilutes its utility with Verified Hot badge
Nothing matters anymore!
Rotten Tomatoes has become a perpetual battleground in the internet’s perpetual culture war. But it’s trying to placate its user base by launching a Certified Hot label that reflects rapturous viewer reviews alongside those of critics. Viewers will need to prove they’ve seen a film but can only do so if they bought tickets via Fandango. Will that be enough to end the culture of review-bombing the site is suffering from? Who knows.
You can pre-order the all-digital Xbox Series X starting today
Shipping begins October 15.
Microsoft’s strategy of pushing cloud gaming with one hand and a dedicated console business with the other hasn’t necessarily been a winner. But the company isn’t deterred and has now opened pre-orders for the disc-free version of its Xbox Series X. The console is $50 cheaper than the disc-enabled version and, uh, the list of benefits with this new model stops there. But you can pre-order today, with shipping due to begin October 15.
The JBL Tour Pro 3 earbuds come with a case that can transmit audio wirelessly
Plug it into a USB or analog source and listen along.
JBL reaches for the useful side of quirky with its Tour Pro earbuds, and the third-generation model is no exception. The true wireless earbuds already have a screen in the charging case and can now transmit audio wirelessly. Plug the case into a USB or analog source and you can listen along, ideal for plane trips or when you need to listen to an old-timey record player.
Ford’s electric three-row SUV is dead
It’s pulling back from its EV push to save cash.
Ford has canceled plans to build a three-row electric SUV as part of a broader pull back from the EV market. It has also delayed the launch of its next-generation electric truck that would have followed the F-150 Lightning. Losses on current EV models are mounting up, which could total as much as $5 billion by the end of the year, and that’s too rich even for Ford’s blood.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-morning-after-our-verdict-on-the-pixel-9-pro-and-xl-111535947.html?src=rss
Google is selling its ultra-premium Pixel 9 Pro in two sizes, but it’s not the size that counts here. Instead, it’s the suite of AI features Google hopes will revolutionize how you use your phone. The Morning After’s Mat Smith has spent plenty of time with both handsets to work…
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