Google’s earlier-than-expected Pixel hardware event is just around the corner — it’s scheduled for Tuesday, August 13th. Thanks to the relentless flow of leaks that have emerged over the past few weeks, we have a pretty good idea of what to expect.
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What to expect from Google’s Pixel 9 event
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Google has already confirmed that it’s launching the Pixel 9 and the Pixel 9 Pro Fold, but the company may have some other surprises in store, including the Buds Pro 2 and maybe even the Pixel Watch 3.
Here’s a roundup of everything we know so far.
Google Pixel 9 lineup adds a smaller Pro option
Alongside the Pixel 9, Google is expected to release the Pixel Pro in two sizes: a larger 6.8-inch model and a smaller 6.3-inch variant. It’ll be the first time the Pro features are available in two different sizes, with the telephoto camera previously being reserved only for the larger phone model.
As shown in the image shared by Google itself (and many, many leaks), the Pixel 9 and 9 Pro will also come with some design changes. Both the Pro and standard models are getting flatter edges and a rounded camera module that protrudes from the back of the device.
A leaked spec sheet from OnLeaks suggests that the Pixel 9 Pro models will come with an upgraded G4 Tensor chip and 16GB of RAM. The base Pixel 9, on the other hand, is expected to have the same chip with a 6.3-inch display and 12GB of RAM.
The cameras on both devices will likely get some upgrades as well, with the leaked spec sheet showing the Pixel 9 with a 10.5MP selfie camera, a 50-megapixel main camera, and a 48MP ultrawide lens. Meanwhile, the leak indicates that the Pixel 9 Pro will have a 42MP selfie camera and three cameras on the rear, including a 50MP main camera, 48MP ultrawide lens, and 48MP telephoto camera.
Another report from Android Authority suggests Google may add an ultrasonic fingerprint sensor to the Pixel 9 lineup, which could hopefully improve some of the issues users have been having with the existing optical under-display sensor. The Pixel 9 is expected to come in obsidian, porcelain, rose, and green, while the Pro model is rumored to come in charcoal, porcelain, rose, and hazel.
The Pixel 9 Pro Fold gets taller and slimmer
Those three phones aren’t the only ones Google is planning to release this summer. It’s also getting ready to release its next-gen foldable, now called the Pixel 9 Pro Fold.
When compared to last year’s device, the Pixel 9 Pro Fold appears to be taller and slimmer. That design change is also reflected in the squircle-shaped camera housing on the rear of the device, which now comes with two sets of cameras.
In terms of specs, the Pixel 9 Pro Fold is rumored to come with a 6.3-inch cover display and an 8-inch inner screen. That’s larger than the original Pixel Fold’s 5.8-inch outer display and 7.6-inch inner display. The leaked specs sheet indicates that the Pixel 9 Pro Fold will come with the same G4 Tensor chip as the other devices in the lineup, as well as 16GB of RAM.
It may also have a 10MP front-facing camera, with a 48MP main camera, a 10.5MP ultrawide lens, and a 10.8MP telephoto sensor on the back of the phone.
Google brings more AI to the Pixel
With Samsung and now Apple making an effort to bring AI to their phones, it’s no surprise to see Google doing the same. A set of leaked marketing materials from OnLeaks hints, among other features, at a new Pixel Screenshots feature that “helps you save info that you want to remember later — like events, places and more.”
That tracks with a previous leak from Android Police, which suggests that the feature can “save and process helpful details” from your screenshots, letting you search through them. It sounds a bit like Microsoft’s controversial Recall feature but appears to only work on the screenshots you take manually, rather than scanning your entire device. The marketing materials also show an integration with Google’s AI chatbot Gemini, along with Circle to Search.
A leaked Pixel 9 ad posted by Android Headlines (it has since been taken down) gave us a glimpse at a feature called “Add Me,” which appears to use AI to put someone in a photo when they weren’t originally there. It looks like Google is planning to update its Magic Editor tool, too, allowing you to replace the background of an image based on a prompt.
The Pixel Buds Pro 2 brings back the wing tip
It’s already been two years since the launch of the original Pixel Buds Pro 2, and now it looks like Google is planning to give them a refresh. Leaked images from OnLeaks show the Pixel Buds Pro 2 with a small wing tip that sticks out from the side of each bud — sort of like a smaller version of the “stabilizer arc” on the original Pixel Buds.
Other small changes include larger grills that match the colors of the bud, as well as a charging case that appears to come with a small speaker (maybe to emit a noise when using Google’s Find My feature?). The Pixel Buds Pro 2 are expected to come in gray, white, green, and pink.
We may have a good idea of what the Pixel Buds Pro 2 will look like, but we don’t know much about the specs. A regulatory listing spotted earlier this year suggests the case may come with a larger 650mAh battery. Other than that, we can likely expect the Pixel Buds Pro 2 to feature the same active noise cancellation and multipoint features as their predecessor.
A Pixel Watch 3 with two sizes and bigger screens
So far, we’ve only seen renders of the Pixel Watch 3 that show a device with a slightly chunkier design. Unlike its predecessor, the Pixel Watch 3 is expected to come in two sizes: 41mm and 45mm. The 41mm version is rumored to come with a 10 percent larger screen than its similarly sized predecessor, thanks to thinner bezels.
Recent leaks also suggest both Pixel Watch 3 models will get a brighter 2,000-nit display and an ultra wideband chip that could make location tracking more accurate. The 41mm watch is also rumored to come with a slightly bigger 310mAh battery and 20 percent faster charging than the Pixel Watch 2.
Both sizes could offer up to 24 hours of battery life with always-on display enabled or up to 36 hours with a new Battery Saver mode, according to leaked marketing materials shared by Android Headlines. The materials also hint at support for offline Google Maps, new camera controls when connecting to a Pixel phone, and the ability to view your Nest Cam and Nest Doorbell’s live feeds from your watch.
Unfortunately, you may not be able to use your current Pixel Watch 2 bands with the larger 45mm device. A report suggests that the 45mm version has an “altered” band connection that could make it incompatible with smaller bands. The 45mm Pixel Watch 3 may not get as many band options as the 41mm version, either, according to Android Headlines.
Anything else?
It may seem like we already know all we know about Google’s upcoming hardware event, but the company may still surprise us. For one, there’s a possibility that we may get a look at the new “Google TV Streamer,” which 9to5Google published leaked images of in July. It looks way different than the Chromecast, but we still don’t have any details on specs.
That’s all we know for now, but there’s still time between now and Google’s August 13th event, which means there’s still a chance for more leaks.
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Microsoft may once again be struggling to keep up with its own climate goals, according to its 2026 sustainability report. As reported by GeekWire, the report states that Microsoft’s carbon emissions increased 25 percent in 2025, totalling 34 million metric tons “without select interventions.” Microsoft says this was “driven primarily by the expansion of our datacenter infrastructure,” as well as the company’s decision last February to stop purchasing “non-additional, unbundled renewable energy certificates.”
Several years ago, Microsoft set itself a goal to be carbon negative by 2030, meaning it will need to remove more carbon emissions than it produces. This isn’t the first time Microsoft has faced setbacks toward accomplishing that goal, as its 2024 sustainability report showed a similar rise in climate pollution. This year’s report admits that, “While AI infrastructure is driving demand for energy, water, land, and materials, sustainability solutions are not scaling fast enough to meet demand.”
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That old phone sitting in your drawer may have more life left in it than you think. You may look at it and see a dead battery, an outdated camera or a screen that no longer feels worth using. Google and researchers at the University of California San Diego see something else: a tiny computer that may still have useful processing power.
Their idea is called phone cluster computing. Instead of treating retired smartphones as electronic waste, researchers remove the motherboard and redeploy it as part of a low-carbon computing system.
Google says UC San Diego plans to launch a data center built from 2,000 Pixel smartphones in fall 2026. The goal is to provide low-cost cloud computing for students and researchers while reducing the need for newly manufactured server hardware.
That means the next chapter for an old phone may not be a junk drawer. It may be a server rack.
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Researchers plan to launch a 2,000-phone data center at UC San Diego in fall 2026 to support students and research workloads. (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)
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What is phone cluster computing?
Phone cluster computing takes retired smartphones and turns their core hardware into a computing platform. The process starts by stripping each phone down to the motherboard. That board holds the processor, memory and storage. The display, battery, cameras, chassis and other phone-specific parts are removed.
That step is important because a full phone does not belong in a data center. Batteries can create safety issues. Screens and cameras waste space. The motherboard is the part that still offers computing value.
Once the board is removed, researchers load a general-purpose Linux system onto it. Android already runs on Linux at its core, but Android is built for mobile apps and personal devices. A data center needs something more flexible for cloud workloads. After that, the phone boards can be grouped into clusters. Many small boards then work together like a collection of tiny servers.
Why Google wants old Pixel phones for cloud computing
The AI boom has created a huge appetite for computing power. Data centers need more chips, more electricity and more cooling. At the same time, billions of phones fall out of use around the world.
This Google-backed project takes that conversation in a different direction by asking whether some useful computing can come from hardware we already made.
The project focuses on embodied carbon. That means the emissions created before a device ever turns on. Mining, manufacturing and shipping all add to that carbon footprint.
If a phone motherboard already exists, reusing it can avoid some of the environmental cost tied to manufacturing new hardware. Google says the motherboard accounts for about half of a phone’s embodied carbon, which makes it the most valuable part to recover.
How retired smartphones become low-carbon servers
You cannot plug a pile of old phones into a rack and call it a data center. The process requires careful teardown, new software and a way to manage many boards at once. Google says the project uses containerized applications managed by Kubernetes. That helps coordinate the work across many devices.
The phones are organized into self-managing clusters of about 25 to 50 boards. Each board works as a small Linux machine. Together, they can handle tasks that would otherwise run on traditional cloud servers. That does not make one phone equal to one server. A server has many more processor cores, more memory and data center-grade hardware. A phone board has fewer resources and tighter limits. Still, some jobs do not need a giant machine. They need enough compute to run efficiently without wasting resources.
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Google and UC San Diego are testing a cloud computing system built from retired Pixel phone motherboards, giving old smartphones a possible second life. (Google)
Can old phone processors handle cloud workloads?
The technical case is stronger than you may expect. Google says the single-threaded performance of modern smartphone performance cores can match or beat the per-core performance of some modern multicore servers. In one comparison, a 2023 Pixel Fold was tested against an ASUS RS720A-E11 server using SPEC benchmarks. The Pixel Fold’s performance cores beat the baseline data center server core on many of the tests. That sounds impressive, but there is an important catch.
A smartphone board has a smaller memory limit and fewer cores. It also lacks the management tools and hardware durability that servers are built around. So the project needs the right workloads.
UC San Diego is starting with educational and research computing. That makes sense because many classroom tasks can run on small cloud instances. Google says early experiments showed that a 20-phone cluster could support peak submission rates for a class of more than 75 students. The grading latency also came in below the default AWS backend used in the comparison.
Why UC San Diego is testing a 2,000 Pixel phone data center
UC San Diego plans to use the 2,000-phone cluster to support computer science classes and research workloads. Google says the deployment could support about 100 classes at once. It also describes the system as providing about 50 server-equivalents worth of compute at a fraction of the usual cost.
For a university, that could be a major advantage. Cloud computing costs can rise quickly, especially when many students submit assignments at the same time. If a reused phone cluster can handle some of that load, schools may save money while reducing demand for newly manufactured servers.
This also gives researchers a chance to test phone-based computing at scale. A small lab demo can look promising. A 2,000-board deployment will show much more about reliability, maintenance and day-to-day performance.
Phone cluster computing still has big limits
Phone cluster computing sounds promising, but it still has a lot to prove. Your smartphone was made for daily use in your hand, not nonstop work inside a data center. Data center servers are built to run for years with steady cooling, fast repairs and constant monitoring. Phone motherboards come from devices made for pockets, backpacks and kitchen counters. That alone raises some big questions.
The boards could fail faster than expected. Cooling may also become a challenge once thousands of tiny processors run side by side. Then there is the labor problem, because someone has to safely remove batteries, screens and other parts before the boards can be reused. Cost will be the deciding factor. If teardown, maintenance and replacement work get too expensive, this idea may stay in the research lab.
Phone clusters also will not replace the massive GPU systems that power advanced AI training. They make more sense for smaller cloud jobs, classroom tools and research tasks that fit within smartphone hardware limits. That still leaves plenty of useful work. After all, not every cloud task needs the newest chip.
Why old smartphones could help cut e-waste
The world’s e-waste problem is growing fast. The Global E-waste Monitor projects that electronic waste could climb to 82 million tonnes by 2030, while formal collection and recycling rates are expected to fall to 20%. Old phones are a big part of that problem because many never make it to a proper recycling program. They sit in drawers, land in closets or get tossed out with valuable parts still inside. Even when a phone no longer feels useful to you, its processor, memory and storage may still have work left to do.
CyberGuy has covered related second-life ideas before, including old smartphones being turned into tiny data centers and repurposed EV batteries helping power AI data centers. The common theme is hard to ignore. Some of the hardware already in circulation may still have useful work left to do.
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Google says reusing smartphone motherboards could cut hardware waste and reduce the carbon cost of building new data center servers. (Yawar Nazir/Getty Images)
How to safely recycle or reuse your old phone
This research does not mean you should toss your old phone into a random donation bin tomorrow. Before you recycle, donate, trade in or sell an old phone, you need to protect your data. Back up anything you want to keep. Then sign out of your accounts and securely wipe the device.
CyberGuy has a helpful guide on how to securely get rid of your old cell phone. Privacy comes first whenever you part with a device.
You can also consider trade-in programs, certified refurbishers or reputable electronics recycling programs. If the phone still works, buying refurbished can also keep devices in use longer. CyberGuy has covered what to know before buying refurbished electronics, which is helpful if you want to save money without taking a gamble. The key is to avoid letting old devices sit forgotten forever. A phone in a drawer helps no one.
What this means to you
That old phone in your drawer may not be as useless as it looks. Even if the battery is tired or the camera feels outdated, the processor inside may still have real value.
Now, you probably will not be mailing your old phone to a Google data center anytime soon. Still, this project points to a bigger shift in how we think about retired tech. Instead of sending every old device straight to recycling or letting it collect dust, companies, schools and researchers may find smarter ways to reuse the parts that still work.
There is also a money lesson here. If your current phone still runs well, you may not need to rush into an upgrade just because a newer model comes out. A battery replacement, trade-in or refurbished option could save you money while keeping perfectly good hardware in use longer. To me, that is the real takeaway. The phone you forgot about could possibly still have a job to do.
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Kurt’s key takeaways
Google and UC San Diego are testing how to turn retired Pixel phone motherboards into a low-carbon cloud computing platform. The project could give old smartphones a second life while reducing the need for newly manufactured servers. That is important as AI data centers keep demanding more computing power and more electricity. The first major test is expected in fall 2026 with a 2,000-phone data center at UC San Diego. If it works, the cluster could support students and researchers at a lower cost than traditional cloud infrastructure. However, this idea still has to prove it can handle the grind of daily use. Reliability, cooling, teardown labor and maintenance will determine whether phone cluster computing can grow beyond just research. To me, the most relatable part is sitting in your junk drawer. That old phone may seem useless, but its processor could still be powerful enough to help run cloud jobs. Maybe the future of computing starts with hardware we already forgot we owned.
Would you feel good knowing your old phone could help power cloud computing? Let us know by writing to us at CyberGuy.com.
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If you’re looking for a relatively affordable way to cut down on cooling costs, Google’s Nest Thermostat can help. It’s packed with smart controls and energy-saving features, and right now it’s on sale in white for $79 ($50 off), which is its best price of the year, at Amazon.
The smart thermostat is quick to install and makes it easy to adjust your home’s temperature whether you’re relaxing in bed or on your way home thanks to the Google Home app. You can also create schedules and control it with your voice using Google Assistant, Alexa, or another Matter-compatible voice assistant.
Once it’s set up, the Nest Thermostat can automatically turn the temperature down when you’re away to help reduce unnecessary energy use, while Google’s Savings Finder feature suggests additional ways to save over time. It also monitors your HVAC system and can alert you if something doesn’t seem right, making it easier to stay on top of maintenance before small issues become bigger, more expensive ones. If you’re eligible, Nest Renew can also automatically shift some of your heating and cooling to times when electricity is cleaner or cheaper.
That said, this is Google’s entry-level model from 2020, so you do miss out on some of the premium features found on the latest Nest Learning Thermostat. Unlike the flagship version, it won’t learn your schedule automatically over time, for example, and lacks support for Nest Temperature Sensors that let you prioritize the temperature in a specific room. Even so, if all you want is an easy way to adjust your home’s temperature remotely and potentially lower your energy bills, the Nest Thermostat is still a solid investment at this price.
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