Google Pixel 9 Review: Is It Finally There?

I can’t quite possibly remember the number of times I’ve thought about getting a Pixel, only to back down at the thought of facing network connectivity and battery issues. The newly launched Pixel 9 supposedly fixes those problems on paper. But, does it actually, or is it just all bark and no bite? I’ve been using the Pixel 9 as my daily driver for a little over a week now, and I think I have the answers. So, let me take you through this in-depth review, as we uncover whether the Pixel 9 is finally worth getting!

Pixel 9: Specs at a Glance

Pixel 9: Box Contents

While I don’t expect anything out of a Pixel phone’s box contents, that Quick Switch adapter is something that’s always much welcome. This year, Google got rid of that too. Even the Pixel 8a (review) arrived with one. So, that’s one thing less, and you’re left with:

• Google Pixel 9
• USB Type-C to Type-C cable
• SIM ejector
• Some paperwork

As for the phone itself, I have with me the Porcelain color option’s top 12GB/256GB variant.

Pixel 9: Design and Build

The Pixel 9 is undoubtedly curvier than its predecessor, at least around the edges. The frame is polished aluminium, and the lack of any texture of some sort makes it very slippery. I can’t recall the number of times I have thudded it against the desk by simply trying to lift it off my fingers.

It’s also noticeably heavier and bulkier than the Pixel 8, which I’m not fond of. For your reference, the Pixel 8 weighed around 187 grams, and the Pixel 9 weighs in at 197 grams. The volume rocker and power button placement could have been better. But, they’re well spaced out, although located on the right side of the frame.

It’s also nowhere near as handy as the Pixel 8. Unlike the Pixel 8’s rear panel which curved into the frame, the Pixel 9 is completely flat there. So, it’s not as comfortable during one-hand usage. Being as slippery as it is, that doesn’t make it any easier.

However, you don’t have to worry about dropping it, since it’s got you covered with Gorilla Glass Victus 2 protection on both sides.

Then comes that redesigned pill-shaped camera module that, as my co-worker Anshuman pointed out, resembles the Google Search bar. That’s a very accurate observation, and I wonder if it was intentional, hmmm.

Either way, I prefer it over the older module, and it certainly looks way better up close than in images. It doesn’t melt into the frame like the previous generations and ends around the corners instead. The module keeps the phone super steady on a desk, and there’s no wobbling or rattling.

The Pixel 9 also borrows the IP68 rating from its predecessors, so a little water here or dust there won’t hurt. If you ask me, it’s certainly a better-looking Pixel, overall.

Pixel 9: Display

The Pixel 9 offers a slightly bigger display this time around, at 6.3 inches but the bezels haven’t slimmed down. Besides, while the display is 120Hz OLED, has got HDR, and all of that going for it, the absence of LTPO bothers me big time. I didn’t get it when Pixel 8 launched, and I don’t get it now. You see LTPO panels in phones that are significantly cheaper, like the Realme GT 6T (review).

Keeping that aside, the display is certainly brighter this time around, at 2,700 nits. That’s 700 nits more than the Pixel 8. The Luxmeter we have at the Beebom office recorded it hitting around 2,500 nits, so that’s great.

While visibility is top-notch indoors, it’s not as good outdoors. The reason behind it is that the device gets real warm, real fast, and it doesn’t take long for it to reduce the maximum brightness levels. On days that it’s not as humid, the visibility is pretty good as those brightness levels stay intact. But, this is a reflective display, which gets in the way during super sunny days or when there are light sources reflecting directly off of it.

Viewing content on the Pixel 9 is also pretty satisfying. You can see rich colors throughout with deep blacks. Now, while regular 1080p videos are awesome to watch, HDR content is not as good. When watching 3 Body Problem on Netflix, I noticed that I had to squint a bit in the slightly darker scenes as brightness takes a hit when playing HDR content.

Pixel 9: Speaker Output

The dual-stereo speakers are very loud though, so I didn’t have to put on earbuds in the comfort of my room. However, it’s not the richest audio output, and you can hear the mids go off, with dialogues and voices often sounding slightly muddy.

Besides, while the bass is decent, the sub-bass is not good enough. Upper mid-range and high-range are nicely tuned, and those percussive beats are distinctly audible.

But, there’s some crackling at max volumes, if you listen closely. The audio separation is also biased towards the bottom firing speakers. This is very evident when viewing content in landscape mode.

Pixel 9: Software Experience

Pixels are basically synonymous with AI at this point. The Pixel 9 is no exception and Google introduced a slew of AI features that really did blow me away this time. From the quality-of-life Pixel Screenshots feature to the yay-I-won’t-be-left-out-anymore Add Me feature, I’ve tried it all. We’ve already made a list of all of the Pixel 9’s AI features ranked from worst to best, so you can check that out for more details.

There’s the Magic Editor Reimagine, which had me more scared than anything else. And, the Pixel Studio, which is a glorified meme generator. These are undoubtedly super cool AI features, but the very backbone of Pixel UI still feels incomplete. After using Android skins like One UI, ColorOS, or OxygenOS, getting back to a Pixel phone made me realize that the UI is not feature-rich.

There are no such horrifying bugs or lags in the UI, which is always a relief. The haptic feedback is also very satisfying and premium. Additionally, app opening and closing animations are clean and stutter-free.

But, RAM management requires work. When using the Pixel 8a, I noticed how exiting CoD Mobile for a while to drop a text on WhatsApp and getting back into it reloads the game. Well, it happens on the Pixel 9 as well. Not all the time, but it still does. However, 7 out of 10 apps resume from where I leave them, so it’s not that bad.

I also noticed that the phone comes preloaded with two weather apps, of which only the newer one actually works. While I get the option to uninstall the older app, it shouldn’t even be there in the first place. So, Google, if you’re reading this, please just stick with the new Weather app.

Pixel 9: Performance

The Pixel 9 is powered by the Tensor G4 chipset, which is based on a 4nm fabrication process. This processor is paired up with 12GB of LPDDR5X RAM. As for storage, you get up to 256GB of UFS 3.1 storage. It’s really disappointing to see the Pixel 9 come with outdated storage tech in 2024. Either way, here’s a look at the benchmarks, my daily experience with it, and some gaming:

Benchmarks

While I didn’t have a lot of expectations from the Tensor G4 in terms of benchmarks, I sure did expect it to score higher than the Pixel 8’s Tensor G3. That’s not the case and there’s barely any improvement. If you haven’t checked our full Tensor G4 Benchmarks overview, here’s a quick rundown of the results:

Day-To-Day Usage

In terms of daily usage, the Pixel 9 posed none of those major problems that I’ve faced with the Pixel 8a or even 8 during my review. Most importantly, the phone doesn’t run as hot anymore in the Noida humidity outdoors, which is the biggest relief. The RAM management has also improved quite a bit, going from bad to good. Although, as I previously pointed out, it does require some work.

On a normal day, with around 10 to 15 apps running in the background, the Pixel 9 lets me shift in between those seamlessly. Out of those 10 apps, 7 would resume from right where I had left them, which is good enough. Overall, this is a pretty good Pixel experience and gets you through your daily chores in a breeze.

Gaming

As for gaming, I tried a bunch of popular titles like CoD Mobile, Warzone, Genshin Impact, etc. Here’s a look at the kind of graphics settings and FPS you can get out of the Tensor G4:

The funniest thing is that although the phone does support higher FPS in games like a flagship should, it has a very unoptimized touch sampling rate. This issue makes it very hard to control your aim or movement accurately in games, as there’s a very visible delay.

At first, I thought that it may be a sensitivity issue, but that’s not the case. It doesn’t kick in for games like Asphalt 9 or other one-touch or swipe games. Apart from that, the phone doesn’t go beyond 42 degrees in an AC environment, which after around 2 hours of gaming is commendable.

Pixel 9: Cameras

The Pixel 9 features a dual rear camera setup with a 50MP Octa PD wide sensor at the helm. The secondary sensor is a 48MP Quad PD ultra-wide. At the front, there’s a 10.5MP selfie shooter. I took each of those sensors out for a spin, and here’s a look at how they fare:

Daytime

During the day, the Pixel 9 captures good details through both the primary and ultra-wide sensors. However, the primary sensor can be highly inconsistent, often smudging the shadows and highlights. As a result, the dynamic range takes a bit of a hit and what could have been better, just ends up looking okayish.

Other times, the primary sensor performs very well and manages that dynamic range pretty well. There are also inconsistencies with detail retention. While the primary sensor captures details all too well some times, other times it just blurs them out. The colors are also slightly boosted.

The ultra-wide performs well consistently and is probably the best thing about this setup. From a solid dynamic range, to good details and accurate colors, it’s got all the good stuff going for it. Also, there’s a very slight color disparity between the two sensors. But, nothing that’s disturbing.

Night

At night, the Pixel 9 manages to capture those details, shadows, and highlights well. However, again, there are some inconsistencies. While it handles light sources well for the most part, sometimes it just blows them out.

Also, there’s an awkward lens flare which is not pleasant at all. Outdoors, I often mistook it for the moon. Sometimes, there’s also a little too much noise in night shots. Again, other times, there’s barely any.

Selfies

The Pixel 9 is not good at selfies, period. This front shooter needs a serious upgrade, for it’s the same sensor that the Pixel 8 uses. However, the Pixel 8’s sensor was certainly more optimized. As you can see below, there’s obviously quite a bit of skin tone boosting at play. On top of that, it doesn’t capture details that will blow you away and also tries to compensate by over-sharpening the shots, producing hideous results at times.

Videos

The Pixel 9 can shoot at up to 4K 60FPS through the primary, ultra-wide, and selfie sensors. Besides, I also noticed that it can shift between the sensors in between shooting, which is always welcome.

There’s OIS, and that does produce some stable footage. However, it’s not as stable at times, and you can see those jitters. Other times, that doesn’t really happen. Thankfully, there are no focus-hunting problems.

The Pixel 9 basically badly needs a very camera-focused update to fix all these issues.

Pixel 9: Battery and Charging

The Pixel 9 has a bigger 4,700mAh battery, up from its predecessor’s 4000mAh unit. So, the battery backup is certainly better. With a constant Wi-Fi connection, capturing a lot of photos and videos, browsing through Instagram, and throwing in a bit of Monopoly Go and CoD Mobile into the mix, I was able to get anywhere in between 5 to 6 hours or sometimes even a bit more.

I noticed a big problem though. When I turned off my Wi-Fi and relied solely on mobile data, this SoT was cut down to almost half, delivering between 3 to 3.5 hours. So, if you’re traveling and your only hope is mobile data, it will understandably be a problem.

Besides, it has seen no upgrade on the fast charging front, still being capped at 27W. Topping off the battery from 10% to 100% takes around 1.5 hours.

Pixel 9: Connectivity

My biggest gripe with Pixels has always been the terrible connectivity issues. However, the Pixel 9 somewhat changes that. For example, my room hates 5G and whenever I’ve brought over a Pixel with me, they mostly shift to LTE. The Pixel 9 didn’t, at least during my review period.

There were some instances where it did during peak traffic congestion hours in the area, like in the evening. But, that’s about it. Moreover, 5G speeds are pretty decent, and I didn’t face any call drops like I did with the previous generation of Pixels.

Although I’m yet to test it out in more areas to see how it fares against other flagships, it didn’t cause any major issues like the other Pixels did for me.

Is the Pixel 9 Worth It?

The Pixel 9 is honestly one of the best Pixels I’ve used in recent years. It somewhat brings that joy and satisfaction of using a Pixel phone all over again. The improved design, nice display, better connectivity and clean software experience devoid of any stutters just make this a great addition to the series. But, that also explains how low my bar of expectations is from the Pixels.

When you compare it to the competition, the big misses become all too evident. The lack of LTPO, an unoptimized set of cameras, or a minor improvement in performance just doesn’t make it an easy recommendation.

Especially, when you have phones like the Galaxy S24 or even the much cheaper OnePlus 12 and iQOO 12 that just shine brighter in the segment. Not to mention that a significantly cheaper phone like the Realme GT 6T offers an LTPO panel as well.

Most importantly, while the phone is still backed by 7 years of software updates, it’s hard to believe that the Tensor G4 will be able to keep up. Not to mention that there’s also that outdated UFS 3.1 storage configuration, which is a big bummer.

Besides, even though there has been an improvement in 5G connectivity, it’s not quite there yet. In comparison to the competition, most of the time, the Pixel 9’s connectivity fails to keep up. All things considered, while it’s a good Pixel phone, it’s not the best phone to deserve your $799.