4/5
Google recently unveiled its Pixel 9 series which includes four phones – Google Pixel 9, google pixel 9 Pro, Google Pixel 9 Pro XL and Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold. This year the 2024 Pixel lineup features an advanced processor – Google’s own Tensor G4 chip – along with integrated with loads of AI features.
The Pixel series has long been celebrated for its photography capabilities. The Pixel 9 series is no exception, with Google introducing AI-powered features like Add Me to the phone. The standard Google Pixel 9 comes with a starting price of Rs 79,999 and is already available. The Google Pixel 9 this year continues Google’s tradition of blending distinctive design with performance and AI-powered innovations, delivering a smartphone experience that is both intuitive and powerful. With the latest Tensor G4 chip, an improved 6.3-inch OLED display, and standout features like Gemini AI and Live Transcription, the Pixel 9 is designed to make everyday tasks smarter and smoother. But does it live up to the expectations of its predecessors?
In this review, we’ll look at its performance, display, camera capabilities, and unique features and see if it’s worth the upgrade. We’ve been using the Pixel 9 phone as our primary phone for about a month and here’s what we think about it
Google Pixel 9 design
At first, the Pixel 9 looks no different from its predecessor, the Pixel 8. A closer look reveals that the pill-shaped camera module now has rounded corners, a departure from the sharp edge-to-edge design previously. Aesthetics have been taken care of in the phone’s body, with curved edges unlike the Pixel 8. Despite the raised camera module, the phone doesn’t wobble when placed on a flat surface. Then there’s a flat, aluminum-glass back, which gives that iPhone-like feel. Despite the glass-finish, the smartphone offers strong hand-grip thanks to the matte-finish edges. Even though it looks absolutely fancy and glass-like, it is not a fingerprint magnet.
Now let’s talk about buttons. The power button and volume buttons are placed on the right side. The left bank is clear. The microphone is at the top of the phone, the SIM card tray and charging port are placed at the bottom along with the microphone. It is important to mention here that if not paying enough attention, you may confuse the microphone at the bottom with the SIM card tray. Caution is advised as you may damage your phone’s microphone.
At Rs 198 per gram, the Pixel 9 phone does not seem heavy. Also, it can easily fit in your pocket. Overall, this is a premium looking phone with an exceptional camera module.
google pixel 9 display
On the front, the Google Pixel 9 sports a 6.3-inch FHD+ OLED display, which offers a bright and clear view. The screen of the phone is adequately bright with a peak brightness of 2700 nits. We did not face any problem in using the phone outside. The phone’s brightness automatically adjusts to your surroundings, ensuring optimal visibility whether you’re stepping indoors or out in the sunshine. It seamlessly adapts to your lighting conditions for a comfortable viewing experience.
Touch responsive. With a 120Hz refresh rate, scrolling through social media feels incredibly smooth, and transitions between apps are fluid. The phone features an adaptive refresh rate from 60Hz to 120Hz, meaning the Pixel 9 intelligently switches between 60Hz and 120Hz depending on what you’re doing, optimizing battery life without compromising performance.
The display quality is premium with balanced contrast, color production and deep blacks. Compared to its predecessor, the bezels have become thinner by 15% which means a larger display. Despite this, the bezels on the Google Pixel 9 are noticeable. Both the front and rear of the phone are protected by Corning Glass Victus 2.
Google Pixel 9 AI Features
Let’s cut to the chase and get straight to the AI features of the phone. This smartphone running on Android 14 comes with many AI features. Whether you’re taking a photo or editing it after clicking it or answering a call or drafting an email, AI is there to help. Gemini AI has become more advanced than before. To wake up Gemini AI you can simply long press the power button. The Assistant is used to make hands-free calls or send messages.
We tried asking it to draft an email for us and it did a great job. We particularly like the Pixel 9’s Live Transcription capability. The phone efficiently converts speech to text instantly, making it easy to follow conversations, lectures or meetings. It clearly identifies individual speakers, which is really impressive. Plus, transcription happens in real time, so you can see the words as they appear on the screen, ensuring you don’t miss important details.
You will get a lot of AI during calls too. One quirky feature is audio emojis that play different sound effects and can brighten up conversations. We especially liked the call notes feature. Powered by Gemini Nanano, it generates a brief summary of the call. This can be enabled from the call UI during a call. Once enabled, the caller on the other end will be notified. Once disconnected, the call summary appears automatically. This feature comes in handy when you schedule a meeting or doctor’s appointment.
AI has also made its way into the Pixel Weather app. The app now gives AI-generated weather reports for your saved locations. Then there’s Pixel Studio – an AI-powered image generator that lets you create images with simple gestures. If you’re unhappy with the results, you can edit the image mid-stream. Additionally, you can add stickers and captions to your images as per your wish. Next up is Pixel Screenshot which basically helps you organize your screen grabs in a more convenient and easier-to-find way. Using AI, it can even remember the webpage from which you took the screenshot.
All these AI features on your phone come into play and make the smartphone experience better. Having said that, AI is in the early stages of development and still has a long way to go.
The smartphone boasts of several AI features especially for the camera. Like magic eraser, add me and more. We will talk about these in the camera review.
Google Pixel 9 performance
Now, onto the Pixel 9’s performance. This is a typical Google phone, which runs on Android 14. Google has been delivering seven major OS upgrades over the past few years. The Pixel 9 offers a clean, bloat-free version of Android, free of unnecessary apps or custom skins. This means you get an intuitive, well-organized user interface that is easy to navigate and feels fast. It is the closest representation of Google’s vision for Android.
The Pixel 9 adopts the Material U design language, which allows for extensive customization. You can personalize the look of your phone with dynamic themes, where system colors change to match your wallpaper, giving a more personalized appearance to the UI. The lock screen looks clean, but as mentioned above, it’s customizable and you can add more shortcuts to the lockscreen. You can also change the layout of the clock on the lockscreen. You can customize the notification shade, add or remove shortcuts as you wish.
The Google Pixel 9 is powered by the company’s own Tensor G4 chipset that powers the entire Pixel 9 lineup. The chipset is engineered with a focus on AI and machine learning functions, making the Pixel 9 smarter and more efficient in daily use. From faster voice recognition to better real-time translation and better photo processing, the processor accelerates AI-powered features, allowing seamless integration into apps and services.
The smartphone handles everyday tasks – browsing, streaming, calling and more – with ease. The device manages to efficiently handle the AI-related tasks that we talked about above
You will not face any lag while playing regular games on the Pixel 9 phone. However, it is not one of the best options for heavy gaming. The Google Tensor G4 processor also features improved heat management, which ensures that performance remains stable without overheating during extended gaming sessions.
google pixel 9 camera
Camera has always been a strong point for Pixel phones. This time too the Google Pixel 9 performs admirably in this department. Let’s tackle the on-paper specifications first. The smartphone sports a 50MP main camera with f/1.68 aperture, dual-pixel PDAF, laser AF, and OIS. It is paired with a 48MP ultrawide secondary camera with f/1.7 aperture. For selfies, there is a 10.5MP camera on the front with f/2.2 aperture size and dual-pixel PDAF.
Talking about AI camera features, we will start with the most popular Add Me feature. Have you ever felt bad when the person taking the group photo was left out? Not anymore. Along with the Add Me button, you can tap the photographer in the frame! How? You start by clicking the first photo, which can have as many people as you want. If you have a frame in mind, pose accordingly, leaving space for the photographer. Then, one person in the group handles the camera while the photographer fills in the remaining area. What Pixel does next is that it uses AI to stitch these two photos together and ta-da! You have a photo without losing the photographer.
The main camera on the Google Pixel 9, which is a 50MP wide camera, captures photos rich in detail. Colors are balanced without any unnecessary saturation and contrast spikes. The images captured look close to reality with impressive depth and detail. It offers super res zoom up to 8x and optical zoom quality at 0.5x, 1x and 2x. Even for zoomed shots, clarity and color consistency remains good.
For low-light conditions, there’s a Night Sight mode. The Google Pixel 9 does a good job at capturing photos at night. Although it adds light to photos to brighten them up, it can sometimes be a bit much. The 48MP ultrawide camera also does a great job. Ultrawide shots are sharp and solid. It has a dedicated portrait mode that captures great portraits with minimal background blur.
The selfies clicked with the Google Pixel 9 are excellent. Skin tones are accurate and photos look good. The rear of the smartphone can record video up to 4K at 24fps. Optical image stabilization (OIS) works well. There are three stabilization pre-sets – Standard, Active and Locked. However, 8k recording is missing from the phone.
Editing tools on the handset include Unblur, Magic Editor and Magic Erase. All three are powered by AI. Magic Erase feature allows you to remove unwanted objects/faces from photos. The unblur tool is easy to use and useful for blurry photos. We should mention that these are some of the best AI camera features available on smartphones right now.
Google Pixel 9 battery
The Pixel 9 is a powerhouse in terms of battery performance. Equipped with a 4,700mAh battery, the handset can easily last for a day or more. The smartphone comes with a USB Type-C cable. With the 25W Samsung adapter, it takes about an hour and 30 minutes to reach 100%. Whereas in 45W adapter the charging time gets reduced to around 50 minutes.
decision
At Rs 79,999, the Google Pixel 9 emerges as a solid flagship smartphone, offering a superior design, excellent camera capabilities, and cutting-edge AI features. Powered by the Tensor G4 chip and equipped with innovative features as well as a stunning OLED display and advanced camera capabilities it is a top choice for photography enthusiasts and media consumers. The Google Pixel 9 is also known for its clean Android experience which many Android flagships fail to offer. The integration of AI into various tasks, from call management to photo editing, adds significant value to the user experience. While the strength of the phone lies in its premium camera, the AI features that come with the phone make it an attractive option for Android users. If you’re looking for a device that prioritizes functionality with a clean user experience, the Pixel 9 is definitely worth considering.
