Google Pixel 9 Falls Short Of Greatness With This One Missed Feature

With the Google Pixel 6 launch in 2021, Google signaled that it was taking its self-built phones a little more seriously. The Pixel 6 represented an all-new design and was the first Pixel phone to feature Google’s self-designed processor, the original Google Tensor. Since then, Google Pixel phones have been solid devices, but they’ve struggled to live up to the build and performance of devices like the Galaxy series and iPhone. With the Google Pixel 9, that’s starting to change.

The Pixel 9 offers a slightly revamped design and a processor bump, and at first glance, you might assume that not much has changed for the Pixel—but that assumption is incorrect. The Pixel 9 supercharges all the best things about Pixel phones before it and proves that Google really can compete with the big players. Just how good is it? I’ve been using the Pixel 9 since it was first announced. Here are my thoughts.

Best for:

• Its sleek and unique design and stunning build-quality
• Having among the best AI features in any phone right now
• Offering a high-end camera with helpful editing tools

Skip if:

• You want Qi2 wireless charging
• You want a phone with a telephoto camera

Google Pixel 9: Design

Competing With The Best

When I first saw photos of the Pixel 9, I assumed that the design changes were relatively minor, and at first glance, they are. But the new design of the device comes with a new build quality, and that build quality is far superior to any Pixel phone before it.

The Pixel 9 keeps the pronounced camera bar on the back of the phone, but makes it even more pronounced by not blending it into the frame of the phone. I don’t mind the look of this at all; the change helps keep the design of the phone fresh. Not only that, but it also makes the phone look better in a case, though I didn’t use it in a case for longer than a few minutes during testing.

Much of the rest of the design of the phone is lifted straight from Apple, and in this case, that’s a very good thing. The frame of the phone has a slight curve to help it feel more comfortable in the hand. That frame houses a power button and volume rocker on the right edge, along with a USB-C port on the bottom. Indeed, the phone feels extremely premium overall, and, frankly, its build quality is as good as the iPhone 15 series. It has an aluminum frame around the edges, along with Gorilla Glass Victus 2 on the front and back for a strong overall build.

Previous generation Pixel phones didn’t feel low quality, but to be clear, the Pixel 9 is a step above, competing in overall build and feel with the highest-end and most premium phones out there today.

On the front of the phone, you’ll find a 6.3-inch OLED display with a 1080p resolution. The display on the Pixel 9 isn’t as high-end as that on the Pixel 9 Pro, but it still looks and feels smooth. It has a refresh rate that can vary from 60Hz to 120Hz, depending on how you’re using it, and while the resolution isn’t quite as high as more premium phones, text and images still look crisp and detailed. With its peak brightness of 2,700 nits, and I found that it was more than bright enough to see the screen in outdoor environments and in direct sunlight. Under that display, there’s an ultrasonic fingerprint sensor, which I found to be quick and accurate.

Google Pixel 9: Performance

Good-Enough Base Performance And Helpful AI Features

The Google Pixel 9 features Google’s new Tensor G4 processor, which continues the tradition of not quite offering the best performance out there, but easily being fast enough for the vast majority of situations right now. Technically, the Pixel 9 doesn’t perform as quickly as phones equipped with Apple’s latest chip or the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, the latter which can be found on the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra, and the Galaxy Z Flip 6. But I never felt that it couldn’t handle things like multitasking and mobile gaming.

I’m a heavy user, too. I multitask a lot and bounce between large apps, including Google Chrome and the new AI apps built into the phone, including Google Gemini (more on that in a second). Not only that, but I gamed a lot on the device over the period of testing it, mostly through Call of Duty Mobile. I found that it was able to handle everything I needed it to without issue, and while perhaps games didn’t load quite as quickly as on a device like the iPhone 15 Pro, I didn’t miss those extra few milliseconds.

More important than base performance for Google, however, is AI performance. Google says that the Tensor G4 was built to run its most advanced AI models. Indeed, the Pixel 9 series gets more AI features than any Pixel phone before it.

That starts with Gemini. The Pixel 9 runs Google’s Gemini Nano with multi-modality, meaning you can use it with audio, video and images instead of just text. What you won’t get by default, however, is access to the new Gemini Live chat feature, which is reserved for Gemini Advanced subscribers, or users of a Pixel 9 Pro device, who get a year of Gemini Advanced for free with the phone purchase. It’s ludicrous that Google didn’t just offer the feature to all Pixel 9 customers, considering the subscription will set you back $20 per month.

There are other AI-based features built into the Pixel 9, though. For example, there’s the new Pixel Screenshots app, which is designed to help you find screenshots of things you want to remember later. The idea is that you take a screenshot of an event invitation, for example, and can find it later using natural language in the app. I wish Google had built this into Google Photos instead of creating a new app—it feels like a niche app rather than an integration. The feature works well, but I obviously didn’t build up a massive library of screenshots in the week or so that I used the phone.

Then there’s the new Pixel Studio, an AI image generation app that allows users to create images using natural language. Pixel Studio can create photorealistic images—unlike Apple’s new Image Playground app. It can also be used to create things like posters, invitations and so on. Basically, Pixel Studio can replace your Canva account. I found that it also worked quite well, and while the results weren’t always ultra impressive, with a little tweaking and patience, I could usually more or less get what I was looking to create in less time than it would take to create something similar in Photoshop.

I’ve reviewed every major phone release in 2024, and that has involved testing out dozens of new AI features from the likes of Samsung, Google and more. Over all of them, the trend that I’ve found is that you kind of have to force yourself to use these new features. Google’s implementations generally work well, but like any other AI feature, you’ll have to remember that it exists and actually build it into your workflow and form habits around using it. If you don’t do so, the quality of the AI features is irrelevant, and you won’t find that you use them all that often.

Google Pixel 9: Camera

Among The Best Dual Cameras

The Pixel series has long emphasized the camera experience, and that remains true with the Pixel 9. In recent years, Google has been slowly moving from simply offering among the best smartphone cameras to offering AI features that supercharge what the camera can do.

First, the basics. The base Google Pixel 9 offers a dual camera setup that includes one 50MP wide camera with an f/1.7 aperture, alongside one 48MP ultra-wide camera with a 123-degree field of view. Unlike the higher-end Pixel 9 Pro devices, there’s no telephoto camera here. On the front of the device, you get a 10.5MP selfie cam.

In general use, the camera is excellent. The phone was able to take detailed shots with vibrant colors, including in low-light situations. While there’s no telephoto camera, I found that the phone still captured decent digitally zoomed shots through Google’s Super Res Zoom technology. The phone offers up to 8x zoom, and at maximum zoom, images lacked a little detail. But at 2x or 3x zoom, they looked as good as unzoomed shots, at least on a screen as small as the Pixel 9’s—though if you really pixel-peep on a larger screen, you’ll notice the difference.

Then there are the AI features. The phone retains all the AI features from previous years, like Best Take, but it also adds a few new ones, the most talked about of which is called Add Me. Add Me essentially allows you to digitally insert yourself into a group photo if you’re the one taking the shot. Simply take the photo, swap photographers and use Add Me to combine the two. This feature worked well, though it sometimes struggled with things like shadows. Generally, though, images looked more or less like you had asked someone else to take the photo for you.

Of course, you’ll have to decide whether or not you like these kinds of AI features that really change the concept of what it means to take a photo. Google seems to suggest that it’s in the business of capturing a memory rather than an actual image of a moment in time. Personally, I don’t love this idea and find the use of AI to create a moment that never actually happened a little creepy and strange, but to each their own, and I certainly understand the desire to take group photos without having to awkwardly ask strangers to help out.

That said, generally, the Pixel 9’s camera is great. It’s not as impressive as the Pixel 9 Pro, which has a telephoto camera for a more versatile camera system overall. But Super Res Zoom certainly softens the blow of not having a telephoto camera. And the front-facing camera is solid too—also able to capture detailed, colorful shots.

Google Pixel 9: Battery Life

Easily Get Through A Full Day Of Used

The Pixel 9 has a 4,700mAh battery, and while the battery life isn’t as impressive as a much larger device like the Galaxy S24 Ultra, it was easily enough to get me through a full day of even heavier use. At the end of each day, I still had between 20% and 40% of the battery remaining. I suspect most people will end the day at the higher end of that range, considering the fact that I was putting the device through its paces during testing. Again, it’s not going to get you through two days of use, but you generally won’t have to worry about needing to charge up your Pixel 9 before the end of the day.

Speaking of charging, it’s versatile enough. The device supports 27W wired charging that can get the phone to 50% in a little under 30 minutes. It’s not as fast as many other phones out there, but it’s also not slow.

The phone also supports 15W wireless charging. However, to hit 15W, you’ll have to use the device with the official Google Pixel Stand (2nd Gen). That’s very unfortunate. I really hoped that 2024 would be the year we see Android phones adopt the Qi2 wireless charging standard en masse. The Pixel 9 doesn’t support Qi2 at all, so you won’t get the magnetic charging standard in this generation of Pixel phones. Lastly, the device supports 5W reverse wireless charging for things like earbuds, which is nice to see.

Google Pixel 9: Verdict

The Pixel Is Growing Up

The Google Pixel 9 is the best base Pixel model ever released. To some extent, that’s no surprise—every new generation of phones has better performance and better cameras. But I think it’s also the best Pixel for its time, too. That largely comes down to the fact that it offers a far superior build quality compared to previous Pixel phones, feels very premium in your hand, with details like haptics only further improving the experience.

As you would expect in 2024, AI is the big focus, and you’ll have to decide for yourself if features like Add Me are important to you. I suspect most won’t end up using them all that much. But even if the AI features weren’t there, the Pixel 9 would still represent a solid-performing phone with an excellent camera and good battery life, along with that Google-forward Android experience that Pixel users have always loved. The Pixel 9 marks the generation of Pixel phones that finally proves that Google has what it takes to compete with the best.

How I Tested The Google Pixel 9

I’ve been using the Google Pixel 9 ever since the day it was first announced. I tested it by integrating it into my daily life for over two weeks. I gamed on it for hours, playing AAA titles like Call of Duty Mobile, communicated with it, took plenty photos and so on. I used the phone like anyone would use a phone, though admittedly more intensely than most users. I checked hardware like its battery to see how long it lasted on a single charge as well as its software integrations, with focus on Google Gemini.

Towards the end of testing the Pixel 9, I also got my hands on the Pixel 9 Pro and was able to compare features like the camera quality with the higher-end device. I also compared things like the performance and camera on the Pixel 9 with devices like the Samsung Galaxy S24 and Galaxy S24 Ultra, as well as the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro Max.

My Expertise

I’m a consumer technology expert who has been reviewing gadgets for over 12 years, but I’ve been reviewing phones longer than anything else. I got my start writing for small Android blogs and have had a passion for smartphone technology throughout my entire career, reviewing all kinds of devices along the way. I’ve covered major mobile launches for both hardware and software, including Samsung Unpacked this past July and Apple WWDC in May 2024.

Because I’ve reviewed so many phones, including all of the biggest releases in 2024, I have a deep understanding of what makes a great smartphone, along with the ability to compare any new device with the stable of phones that I have in my office. I’ve followed the Pixel 9 launch from the beginning, having attended 2024’s Made by Google event in Mountain View, California.

When I’m not writing about the latest mobile devices, I’m testing a library of audio products, including the best wireless headphones, the best waterproof headphones, the best gaming headsets and plenty more.