I was prepared to be a little disappointed when I switched out from the Google Pixel 9 Pro XL. I loved that device, although it has its own little idiosyncrasies, which you can read more about here!
I wasn’t sure I would love using the more compact flagship, which also has a 2-camera primary setup, given that the full-fledged setup on the 9 Pro XL gave me some stunning shots and portraits. But, hazards of the job, I had to switch and here’s how that journey went!
Design
Despite my preference for bigger displays, the Google Pixel 9 somehow felt just right in hand. With its 6.3-inch Actua display, the device has been redesigned to make it less slippery, which is a blessing because I’ve lost count of the number of times my Pixel 8 has fallen off perfectly flat surfaces. The polished glass back and the matte finish metal frame look elegant, although I’ve got the plain vanilla Porcelain version. There are two interesting colours — Peony and Wintergreen — which I would choose any day over the Porcelain and Obsidian version.
Cameras
The Pixel 9 sports two cameras in the primary setup — a 50 MP wide camera and a 48 MP ultrawide camera. Surprisingly, even with the telephoto lens, the photography experience on this device was brilliant. The photos are true to what you’d expect of a just-launched Pixel smartphone. In daylight, the colours are crisp, the overall tones and hues are true-to-scene, and the images are full of detail. Even in low light, the smartphone manages to deliver some fairly well-lit images and minimises noise to a large extent. The portrait mode continues to be a delight to use, the cinematic mode videos somehow seem nicer when shot on the 9 Pro XL. Not to say that the ones on the Pixel 9 are disappointing, they’re just not as holistic as the ones on its slightly more powerful sibling.
The 10.5 MP selfie camera is the same as last year’s Pixel 8. An upgrade would have been nice here too, although for snaps in daylight and even video calls, I wouldn’t mind using this at all! Only in limited light, the selfie camera delivers some mixed results, otherwise in daylight you’ll get some really pleasant selfies.
All the AI features I wrote about when I reviewed the Pixel 9 Pro XL, also find a home in the Pixel 9, which is great news! There’s Add Me, where you can “insert yourself into a photo where you originally weren’t there. There’s Gemini built-in, to make interactions with your phone more personalised and engaging. Quick AI-fuelled features such as web page summaries, auto-drafted emails, messages, changing the tones of your writing and mails, auto-transcription as well as auto-note taking contribute to offering fairly meaningful experiences on the smartphone.
Tech Specs
The Google Pixel 9 runs on the latest Google Tensor G4 chipset and offers a single 12 GB RAM and 256 GB storage variant. The Google Pixel 9 will be getting a whopping seven years of OS upgrades and security patches. With a 4,700 mAh battery, the smartphone kept me company for most of my workday. I mostly used it to take photos, listen to Spotify, respond to emails, the occasional video call and there would be about 10 per cent left by 10 PM when I’d have to plug it back in again. When in a hurry, I could charge it for 30 minutes to have it back to the halfway mark from zero.
Verdict
The Google Pixel 9 brings in flagship experiences across the board — be it the super sharp bright display, excellent audio quality (not that we are streaming music on the device’s speakers any longer!), excellent dual-camera setup supported by new-age AI post-processing tweaks, as well as the AI-features that have inextricably found their way across apps to helps you write, create, speak, remember and learn better, with less effort. I would have loved to see an upgrade on the selfie camera. It would’ve also been nice to not see it get a bit warm while shooting photos and videos on sunny afternoons. However, despite these drawbacks, the Google Pixel 9 remains one of the best Android experience you could have, encased in a body that feels sturdier than ever.
