When I think of the Google Pixel, images of stout smartphones, with silky textures on the back, cross my mind. I have never used a Pixel phone, but I have been around Pixel loyalists who wax lyrical about the merits of this phone. Since I have never used one, I leaped at the prospect of trying a Pixel smartphone for the first time, and fortunately, my first tryst was with the recently launched Pixel 9, which I have been using for the past two weeks.
After spending considerable time with the Pixel 9, I will attempt to offer a nuanced take on the device’s strengths and weaknesses. It needs to be noted that I have been a fervent iPhone user. I would, however, refrain from comparing the two. The new Pixel 9 comes with an array of improvements over the Pixel 8 series. The new line of Google’s flagship phone offers a mixed bag of upgrades – some inventive, others reasonably compelling.
First impressions
For the review, I got the Pixel 9 in the Porcelain shade. The packaging of the device is bathed in a muted cream colour, perfectly in sync with the Pixel’s colour scheme. I found the shiny glass texture on the back far more appealing in real life. It feels premium to use and incredibly good on my hands.
The Pixel 9 is clearly a handsome smartphone. (Image: Bijin Jose/The Indian Express)
Its protruding oval camera bump, at first glance, felt like it would make the device wobbly, but when I placed it on a flat surface, the device was surprisingly still. Unlike the Pixel 8, the oval camera bump on the Pixel 9 does not extend to the frame. This to me felt like a smart design move, as the phone looks radically distinct grabbing eyeballs wherever you took it. Ever since its launch, I could not resist telling the world how much the camera bump reminded me of Bender from Futurama.
The new Pixel phone comes with a flat back held together by an aluminium chassis. As someone who detests large phones, I found comfort in the compact form of this device. You may be pressed to compare it with the iPhones, but that should be strictly limited to the aluminium frame. I would give full marks to the colour scheme; the aesthetics here are simply eye-pleasing. Google has done a good job of combining shades without bordering on the tacky zone. This subtlety speaks volumes and adds to the overall plush factor. In short, the build and design, which many may not find to be revolutionary, indeed makes it a handsome-looking smartphone.
Display and performance
To me, one of the most standout features of the Pixel 9 is its 6.3-inch Actua display. The OLED screen offers a 1080p resolution and Gorilla Glass Victus 2 protection. It is sturdy and offers super crisp visuals with vibrant colours and brightness on point.
Pixel 9 comes with a peak brightness of 2700 nits and outshines just about any smartphone on a bright sunny day. During my use, I noticed how effortlessly the phone toggles between 60 Hz and 120 Hz adding a breezy feel while using the phone. It comes with HDR support enhancing the streaming experience by a few notches.
Story continues below this ad
Pixel 9 has one of the brightest displays in a smartphone. (Image: Bijin Jose/The Indian Express)
When it comes to performance, the Pixel 9 is powered by Google’s in-house Tensor G4 chip. I am aware of the issues that some users ran into with the Tensor chips in the past, with some claiming it to lag behind top-of-the-line Snapdragon chipsets. In the real-world performance, I did not face any hiccups. Be it ushering Gemini, or calls, browsing through the internet, scrolling on social media, or gaming, I found it super smooth.
This time, Google is promising seven years of complete software support for Pixel 9, showing its commitment to the longevity of its devices. The extended support and availability of spare parts make Pixel 9 a great investment for anyone looking for a smartphone for the long haul.
The smartphone packs a 4,700 mAh battery resulting in a significant improvement in battery life when compared to the Pixel 8. It is to be noted that there is no charger included in the box. Charging speed is at 27W, and it takes nearly 1 hour 25 minutes to fully charge, slow compared to modern flagship phones. It also supports wireless charging and reverse wireless charging.
Photography on Pixel 9
The Pixel 9 has got some noticeable updates to its camera setup. While it retains the 50 MP main camera, the ultra-wide has been upgraded to 48 MP and comes with autofocus. The selfie camera also comes with autofocus capabilities for self-portraits. The pictures clicked using the main camera are excellent and come with high contrast, balanced highlights, and darker shadows.
Story continues below this ad
Out in the daylight, Pixel 9 snaps pictures with plenty of details and natural-looking output. Portrait shots offer well-rendered skin tones, while some images may look saturated. However, the saturation part is purely negligible. The new ultra-wide camera offers some sharp images with dynamic range. The Pixel 9’s autofocus makes extreme-closeups look good, while the dedicated macro mode adds a touch of versatility in the photography department.
Pixel 9 sample Image. (Image: Bijin Jose/The Indian Express)
A portrait shot of a colleague via Pixel 9. (Image: Bijin Jose/The Indian Express)
Pixel 9 sample Image. (Image: Bijin Jose/The Indian Express)
The interior of one of Delhi’s oldest restaurants. (Image: Bijin Jose/The Indian Express)
A riot of colours. (Image: Bijin Jose/The Indian Express)
Pixel 9 sample Image. (Image: Bijin Jose/The Indian Express)
The colour tone of gooseberries here are much true to life. (Image: Bijin Jose/The Indian Express)
Pixel 9 sample Image. (Image: Bijin Jose/The Indian Express)
Low-light performance is decent across cameras. While the main camera offers great details and balanced exposures, if you are in dimly lit spaces, the ultra-wide camera may surprise you as it maintains decent sharpness and some pleasant colours.
On the video front, the Pixel 9 can pull off 4K video at 60 fps from all its cameras. The video output, in my opinion, is softer than expected for a flagship smartphone. Not all is lost, the Pixel 9 packs incredible stabilisation, evening out shakes and pans. One can vlog through their adventures with the Pixel 9.
Story continues below this ad
AI integration
The device runs on Android 14 and the software is packed with AI features such as call, text, and email summarisation, Gemini AI assistant, and creative tools like Pixel Studio to let you generate AI images and designs. Magic Editor in Google Photos ups your editing capabilities, and the most talked about ‘Add Me feature’ allows creative photo compositions.
Circle to Search and Pixel Studio on Pixel 9. (Image: Bijin Jose/The Indian Express)
Coming from the iPhone 13 Pro, which as of now, has zilch AI features, I must say I have been impressed with how intuitive they are on Pixel 9. AI integration on Pixel 9 is top notch and features like Pixel screenshots that use on-device AI to organise and analyse screenshots are a great way to archive things you find on the Internet.
When I used Gemini on Pixel 9 to ask what was the latest Tamil movie release. (Image: Bijin Jose/The Indian Express)
To me, using Gemini AI simply by long-pressing the power button to ask almost anything has been the highlight. I found myself using it the most. Although some features may seem gimmicky at first, you may find them useful eventually. Circle to Search, spam call detection, and Pixel Studio added value to my overall experience.
Should you buy the Pixel 9?
Let’s accept the truth. No smartphone has achieved the pinnacle of perfection, and the Pixel 9, with its few shortcomings, is no different. The video recording is not up to the flagship level. My main gripe is the slow charging speeds, which honestly are far behind many notable industry peers.
Story continues below this ad
Regardless, I strongly believe that Pixel 9 is a splendid phone, something that would be well-loved by Android purists and mobile shutterbugs. No other phone integrates AI with such ease as the Pixel 9, making it a worthy contender. For anyone planning to invest in an iPhone 15 or a Samsung Galaxy 24, the Pixel 9 deserves serious consideration. The seven-year promise of software support is the icing on the cake.
| Google Pixel 9 | |
| Pros | Cons |
| High-quality 6.3-inch OLED Actua display with 120 Hz refresh rate | |
| Excellent AI integration, including Gemini AI assistant |
Video recording softer than expected for a flagship smartphone |
| 7 years of software support and availability of spare parts |
No charger included in the box |
|
Solid camera performance with the upgraded 48 MP ultra-wide |
|
|
Improved battery life with 4,700 mAh |
