Google Pixel phones and watches are de facto “official” Android devices, offering the first taste of what’s to come to Android, along with a slew of exclusive features you won’t find anywhere else.Add How-To Geek on Google Add as Preferred Source Follow on Google Discover The issue is that spending your hard-earned cash on a Pixel phone or watch doesn’t get you access to all the features Google has been promoting.In some cases, you get a free trial before being asked to shell out for a subscription, while a few features are flat-out unavailable unless you’re ready to pay.
Unlimited Google Photos backup People are buying used Pixel 1 phones for this feature The story of Google Photos backup perks for Pixel owners is the best example of how Google slowly degraded a fantastic, free Pixel-exclusive feature into a handy but much less valuable one, then gated it behind a subscription.Back in the days of the original Pixel, buying the phone would give you free, lifetime unlimited Google Photos backup in original quality.The feature was so good that, a decade later, people are still buying used Pixel 1 phones just to get their hands on the perk.
With the Pixel 2, released a year later, Google started to impair the feature, offering owners unlimited backup in original file quality, but only for about three years, after which they’d get unlimited High (read: compressed) quality backup instead.Google Photos backup was further gimped with the release of the Pixel 3a and Pixel 4, when Google said “best I can do is High quality photo backup,” meaning your photos would be compressed before being backed up to the cloud.Finally, the feature was removed with the release of the Pixel 6.
Instead of unlimited backup, even if in reduced quality, people who bought the Pixel 6 (and Pixel 5a, which was released before it) had their photo backups count towards the free 15GB of storage every person with a Google account gets.Nowadays, you either have to settle for 15GB of storage or pay Google to get more storage for your photo backups.At least you still get to back up your photos in their original quality, even if you’re a free user.
For now.Gemini Omni While Google promoted it as a Pixel 11 Pro feature, you can’t use it without a subscription Creating videos with Gemini Omni, Google’s advanced AI model capable of video generation and editing, was one of the highlights of Google’s I/O conference in May 2026.A few months later, the company pitched video creation with Gemini as a Pixel 11 Pro feature, but it didn’t make it clear you’d need a subscription to use it.
Well, you need one.Pixel 11 Pro owners and Pixel 10 Pro owners who still have their Google AI Pro trial can technically create videos with Gemini Omni for free, but if you aren’t subscribed to one of Google’s AI plans, you’re out of luck.Worse still, you can create 15-second videos only with the Google AI Ultra plan, with lower-tier plans limited to videos lasting between 3 and 10 seconds.
The Google AI Pro access is free, but only for a limited time A year on Pixel 9 Pro and 10 Pro devices, but only six months on Pixel 11 Pros The Google AI Pro trial available to all owners of newer Pixel Pro phones is the most cunning way Google lures you into a subscription.The company gives you a taste of a wide range of advanced AI features that are heavily promoted on Pixels, only to take them away after a year — or six months if you own a Pixel 11 Pro—and the only way to get them back is to subscribe to one of Google’s AI plans.To add insult to injury, to get the full range of features that used to be free on your phone, you need to get the AI Pro plan, since the more affordable AI Plus plan lacks some of the features available in the Pro plan, such as access to Gemini’s Pro models, scheduled actions, Google Health Premium, Tasks in Gemini, Chrome auto browse, and more.
Satellite SOS is also free, at least for the time being Google recently gave Pixel 9 owners another free year, but the feature might get paywalled after that Like Apple, which offers a similar service on newer iPhones, Google offers a Satellite SOS service on newer Pixel phones, starting with the Pixel 9 (except the Pixel 9a), as well as LTE versions of the Pixel Watch 4 and newer.The feature allows you to text emergency services if you end up in a pickle in an area without a mobile signal, with the service also including sharing your location and info with your emergency contacts.Apart from living in a supported country, the main requirement is using Google Messages, but the feature itself is free.
Back when it launched, Google promised two years of free usage on the Pixel 9 phones, but it recently extended the offer by another year.Considering that Google has never said what happens after the free period ends, it’s fair to assume that, at some point, Satellite SOS will either require a one-time payment or, more likely, get locked behind a subscription.Since the first phones to get it just got another free year, we won’t know for sure until at least next August, when the free period should end for Pixel 9 owners.
Step-by-step workouts on the Pixel Watch need a Google Health Premium subscription You already have access to Google Health Premium if you're paying for Google AI Pro or Google AI Ultra Google recently launched a cool new feature for the Pixel Watch 3 and newer that allows you to use step-by-step workouts designed by the AI-powered Google Health Coach, or ask it to create one just for you.You can also create a workout on your own from the exercises available in the Google Health library.The catch is that the feature requires a Google Health Premium subscription, which costs $9.99 a month or $99.99 a year.
The good news is that Google Health Premium is included with the Google AI Pro and Ultra plans, so you can use step-by-step workouts for free, at least while your AI Pro trial is active.On the flip side, Safety Signal, a free feature that lets LTE versions of the Pixel Watch 2 and Pixel Watch 3 call emergency services without a cell plan (for example, if the watch detects you’ve fallen), is going away on December 12.You’ll still be able to call for help, but only with a cell plan when the watch isn’t connected to your phone or Wi-Fi.
Many core Pixel features are still free, but some are only available on newer Pixel phones Rambler, Recorder, Magic Cue, Pixel Screenshots, AI calling features, and so on Close For what it’s worth, most Pixel features don’t cost a thing and should stay that way.Things like the advanced voice typing in the form of Rambler, all those cool camera features such as Add Me, Pro Zoom, or Camera Coach, super useful AI calling features, Pixel Screenshots, Now Playing, and many others don’t require shelling out a dime.The downside is that a good chunk of them are only available on newer Pixel phones.
Despite Google offering seven years of major software updates for Pixel phones, stuff like Gemini Intelligence and Rambler are only available on Pixel 10 and newer phones, while Camera Looks can only be found on the Pixel 11 family.In other words, if you plan on getting a Pixel phone for its long-term support, don’t expect every software feature to find its way to your phone.This is a shame because, after a few years, there’s a good chance you won’t get most of the fancy new features made for newer Pixels, with monthly updates only worth installing for security patches.
Related Google promised seven years of Pixel updates, but the Pixel 6 shows the reality We're seeing what Google's long term support looks like, and it's not great.Posts 4 By Joe Fedewa To get some of the best Pixel features, you need both the newest hardware and a subscription The Pixel ecosystem is a double-edged sword.Sure, the phones are known for their long-term support, but the fact of the matter is that the latest and greatest features are often reserved for the newest generation or two of Pixel phones and watches.
On top of that, a growing number of Pixel features, such as all those advanced AI goodies, are either free for a limited time, after which you need to keep paying at least $20 a month to access them, or require a subscription right out of the gate.While most Pixel exclusives are free, you should factor the cost of Google AI Pro into the price of the Pixel phone you’re eyeing if you plan to use the full breadth of AI features available.Even with the six-month trial on the Pixel 11 Pro models, that’s another year and a half of payments if you keep your phone for two years, and let’s be honest, most of us hang on to our phones much longer than that.
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