Google Pixel 10: Evolutionary Refinement Over Revolutionary Redesign

I recommend the Pixel 9 to most people looking to upgrade - especially while it's $250 off

At Amazon, the 256GB Google Pixel 9 is on sale for $649, a $250 discount. This deal applies to all color options except Peony (pink). I had a chance to attend the Made by Google event back in August 2024, and after the keynote wrapped up, I was more excited to go hands-on with the baseline version of the Pixel 9 than the Pro or the Pro XL. Why? Because the Pixel 9's accessibility makes it a fascinating device, and one I recommend for a handful of reasons. Also: I changed 10 settings on my Pixel phone to significantly improve the user experience I'm spoiling this review right at the top, but it's true. Google's latest entry-level flagship, the Pixel 9, is here, with prices starting at $799. Even though its hardware is a minor improvement over the Pixel 8, it's an impressive phone overall. It offers a new design, slightly upgraded performance, slightly better cameras, a slightly bigger battery, and a host of new AI features. Google has positioned the Pixel 9 as the default Android alternative to the iPhone 16, partly because it looks like one. Google gave the entire Pixel 9 family flat sides with rounded corners, which makes it look like something from a design lab in Cupertino. The good news is that it makes these phones look and feel great. In fact, they're my favorite-looking Pixel phones yet. The Pixel 9 feels especially unique while still offering a premium feel that's blissfully cold to the touch when you pick it up. The sides are aluminum, while the front and back feature Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2. The whole thing is IP68-rated for water and dust resistance, and it's just the right size for use with one hand. Another characteristic of the Pixel is its nice display, and the Pixel 9 definitely has one. It features a 6.3-inch Actua display that is a tenth of an inch bigger than the Pixel 8. The sharp 2424x1080 resolution, OLED panel, and 120Hz dynamic refresh rate give the Pixel 9 exceptional visuals, whether you're just reading email or watching your favorite movie. This year, the screen can reach way up to 2,700 nits of brightness, making it one of the brightest Android phones you can buy. Also: I replaced my Pixel 9 Pro XL with the 9a for a month - and it was pretty dang close Also, its performance feels better. Powered by the new Tensor G4 processor, 12GB of RAM, and 128GB or 256GB of storage, the Pixel 9 is a screamer. It's one of the most responsive Android phones I've used all year, and that's just with the standard version of this phone. The cameras are also impressive. Google kept the same 50MP main camera as last year but swapped the old 12MP ultra-wide for a new 48MP 123-degree camera. Photos are simply stunning on this phone, and Google's post-processing algorithms do a great job of retaining details and contrast. Video quality is also very good, especially with the company's Video Boost technology. This phone can easily rival any device that costs $200+ more. If there's a downside to the hardware, it's the inclusion of the lower-quality 10.5MP selfie camera, whereas the Pro phones get a new 42MP camera. There's also an extra telephoto camera on the Pro model, so you won't get the same zoom quality on the regular Pixel 9. Regarding this phone's AI features, Google has jammed quite a bit into the Pixel 9. Not only does it ship with the company's Gemini chatbot out of the box, but thanks to the Tensor G4 processor, it also comes with Gemini Live, so you can have real-life conversations with it. Also: I found a physical keyboard for my Pixel 9 Pro that isn't a joke It requires a Google One AI Premium plan, but you'll get one for free if you buy a Pixel 9. I've asked it numerous questions that were similar to web queries ("What's the best place to live near New York City that's relatively affordable," "How many stars are in the sky -- wait, in the galaxy?") and it answered them all with ease -- even with speech interruptions. It's in the early stages, but it's exciting technology that could change how we use our phones. You also get features like Add Me, which allows you to take a picture of your friends, then have them take a picture of you in the same place, and merge the two so no one's left out. I've played around with it during my testing, which worked surprisingly well. There are also some nice updates to Magic Editor for framing your photos. Google also included two new AI-powered apps on the Pixel 9 series: Pixel Screenshots and Pixel Studio. With the former, you can organize your screenshots and search through them with AI prompts, allowing you to easily reference information like Wi-Fi passwords or recipes. Meanwhile, the latter lets you generate images on the fly and customize them with text, stickers, and other effects. I've enjoyed using both apps in my limited testing time, but I'll need to play with them over the long run to see whether they're worth it. Also: The best Google Pixel phones to buy in 2025 I found battery life to be quite good. There's a 4,700mAh cell inside that can last all day on a charge and then some, which means you won't need to worry about this phone's battery after a long day. Google includes 45W charging support on the Pixel 9 series, which is awesome, but you'll need to buy a separate wall adapter to take advantage of it. In addition, there's 15W wireless charging (not Qi2, notably) and 5W reverse wireless charging called "Battery Share." If your budget is $800, it's hard not to recommend Google's Pixel 9, especially while it's on sale at $250 off. Sure, the Samsung Galaxy S24 is a tough competitor, but I actually think this is the better buy. It gives you access to some useful new AI features, and you get all the perks of the Pixel experience, like excellent software, display quality, and cameras. The Pixel 9 Pro and Pixel 9 Pro XL models may be flashier, but the baseline version of Google's flagship phone should not be overlooked. This article was originally published on August 22, 2024, and was updated on June 6, 2025

The Pixel 10 rumors suggest Google is making all the wrong choices

Samsung sends out public safety alert urging Galaxy users to enable new security features The Pixel 10 is coming this year, and it may arrive sooner than you expect. Leaks and rumours are coming thick and fast, it's a clear indicator that the phone's release is right around the corner. But whether the Pixel 10 arrives in late June or October, I'm not sure it's something we should be excited for. For many years, I've argued that Pixel phones offer the best Android experience for someone who wants a phone that just works. Google's version of Android was free of the bloatware and overindulgent customization features that plague Samsung's and Motorola's phones, and you were guaranteed to get new Android features before anyone else. However, my enthusiasm was dampened somewhat by the AI-bloat of the Pixel 9. But it's become clear that this isn't just a passing phase for Google. Everything I see about the Pixel 10 makes me convinced that the Pixel 8 is still the best Pixel phone to buy. While Google is making the right decisions for themselves, they're not right for the customer. Related Here's your first good look at the Google Pixel 10 Pro With a side-by-side Pixel 9 Pro comparison Posts 14 Let's talk about the Tensor chipset Where does Google's unique chip stand in 2025? The Tensor chipset has been around since 2021's Pixel 6, and it has helped Google market its Pixel phones as the best devices you can buy to run advanced machine learning tasks like speech recognition and real-time translation. Overall, it's been a success. Google managed to finally solve the heating issue with the Pixel 9's Tensor G4, and it's managed to be enough for day-to-day tasks and light gaming. However, the constant issue throughout every generation of the Tensor chipset has been performance. I won't argue that Google should ditch the Tensor chipset and join the Snapdragon party. Each Android OEM must offer a unique experience to encourage innovation and competition. Samsung's flagship Galaxy phones have been the device of choice for top-tier performance for years, and Google doesn't need to compete in this arena to successfully market its devices. Nevertheless, for a phone that's rumored to cost $1,200, I expect top-tier performance and nothing less. If you currently want the Pixel phone with the best performance, you shouldn't buy the Pixel 9 Pro. The Pixel 9a has an identical processor, and while it's got less RAM, 8GB is more than enough as long as you don't play with AI. I'm shocked to see reports that the Tensor G5 will not offer any substantial performance improvements. Instead, we get more features we don't need. The spec sheet report for the Tensor G5 reveals that Google is making substantial changes to the Tensor design. There's a lot of jargon here, but the overall impression is that we shouldn't expect noticeable performance improvements. Instead, the redesigned chip focuses on improving AI features, camera performance, and efficiency. What? There is good news here. Perhaps the improvements to efficiency and camera performance will reduce the overheating issue during photography in direct sunlight. Perhaps the improved AI capabilities will make Gemini more reliable. But if you want the best performance from a Pixel phone, you might as well settle for the Tensor G4-powered Pixel 9. But wait, that phone offered near-identical performance to the Pixel 8! Why are we looking forward to new Pixel phones again? What meaningful upgrades will the Pixel 10 offer us? Google has to offer us something Let's take off the sceptic hat for a moment and turn that frown upside down. While I didn't personally find value in the Pixel 9, it offered a fresh design, reliable performance, and the best Pixel camera yet. Maybe I'm just being too harsh on the Pixel 10. Here's a brief roundup of all the leaks and rumours we've gathered about the Pixel 10 so far. Better AI smarts. Improved camera performance. More efficient processor. Enhanced stabilization for video recording. Reduced display flickering. An extra bottom speaker Telephoto lens My prediction for the Pixel 10 from these rumors and leaks is that this will be the most reliable Pixel phone yet. I've frequently run into performance hiccups with every Pixel I've used; I would notice it if a Pixel phone offered consistent performance across the board. Features like enhanced stabilization for video recording and improved camera performance are improvements, but everything on this list ought to be supplementary to the big changes, of which there appear to be none. It's unclear that the Pixel 10 will offer a different experience from the Pixel 9 This looks to be another Pixel phone to skip Right, sceptic hat back on. If the leaked Pixel 10 Pro images turn out to be real, then I think most people will struggle to identify which phone is which. I hate to say it, but Google looks to be following in Samsung's footsteps. Close Our first line of our Samsung Galaxy S25 review reads: "The Samsung Galaxy S25 is one of the least exciting phones I've used in some time." In short, the phone offered no meaningful upgrades over the Galaxy S24. The Pixel 10 looks to offer even less of an upgrade. If AI smarts don't compel you, then there's little point in it. Here's what Google needs to do to make the Pixel 10 an attractive choice Where are the features we've asked for? Google is going all in on AI, so it would be naive of me to expect Google to cut back on AI development to focus on other features for the Pixel 10. But a third year of imperceptible performance improvements suggests two things. Either the current demands of Android software haven't risen enough to require more powerful hardware, or Google thinks we don't need top-tier performance. I think both of these arguments are true. But if Google wants to convince me that a $1,200 phone is worth buying, I would expect it to go all out to impress me. Tensor performance is spot on for the Pixel A-series, which are the only Pixel phones I would suggest buying in 2025. But for a $1,000 flagship? Absolutely not. If Google promises software support for seven years, I need to be assured that the chipset will still perform well at the end of that period. Should the Pixel 10 match the performance of the Galaxy S25? Only if Google wants to convince us the phone is worth buying Moving on from performance, where are the features we've been asking for for years? 27W wired charging is hard to justify in 2025. Admittedly, we haven't seen any leaks about the Pixel 10's charging speeds, but I'm not hopeful. Connectivity is also substandard on Pixel phones, and reports of shoddy build quality have only increased with the launch of the Pixel 9. The camera system also needs tuning. Performance improvements aren't what the Pixel 10 needs. Google's indulgence of AI has resulted in photos that lack the natural contrast that makes a photo stand out from the usual Instagram-quality photo. Detail isn't everything, and Google needs to learn that lesson. The addition of a telephoto lens on the Pixel 10 might make our photos worse. Where do we go for an interesting phone in 2025? Apple often takes the lead on bold new decisions that Android manufacturers later copy, but it's depressing to see Google and Samsung finally copy Apple's trend of making incremental improvements year after year. But this complacency could end badly, as other manufacturers are making the decisions that Google and Samsung are too afraid to. Nothing offers phenomenal value phones with a unique design, OnePlus continues to impress with no-nonsense performance, and Oppo knocked our socks off with the world's thinnest foldable this year. The only catch is that these companies have yet to make a concerted marketing push in the US. But if things change, Google and Samsung will have to scramble to catch up. In the meantime, let's not get too excited about a Pixel phone that looks to offer nothing meaningful. Related 5 features Google needs to add to its upcoming Pixel 10 to please this fanboy It's time for Google to make a few simple tweaks Posts 7

The Pixel 10 won't be Google's iPhone X moment and I'm ok with that

The 10th generation of Google Pixel phones is set to arrive in a couple of months. However, looking at the leaks, it's far from the revolutionary device that captures headlines. We don't expect Google to pull off the iPhone X moment with a radical redesign and Face ID, and that's fine. Google isn't chasing the disruptive, all-or-nothing gamble. I'm more than okay with a measured, thoughtful evolution from the search giant's flagship offering for 2025. Related Google Pixel 10: News, leaks, rumored price, release window, and more Reportedly dropping in August Posts 1 The Pixel 10 doesn't need a major redesign The Pixel 6 was Google's major design revolution. Before it, Pixels often blended into the crowd with generic designs. The introduction of the bold, horizontal camera bar transformed the Pixel's aesthetics. Over the years, Google tweaked the design, and in 2025, it's far from outdated or falling behind competitors. In a market saturated with vertically aligned camera bumps and similar-looking slab phones, the Pixel's visor stands out. This design allows for better weight distribution, minimizes wobble when the phone is laid flat, and gives the search giant ample room to include the latest camera tech. Google can play it safe with the Pixel 10's exterior. Instead of diverting massive R&D sources to a risky new design, Google can funnel those efforts into refining its core strengths. The company doesn't face the same pressure Apple did to revolutionize its form factor. In 2017, the iPhone's design, with its large bezels and a home button, was becoming outdated. Apple had to deliver a major redesign to stay competitive. Given the hardware changes, I would love to see Google swap the aluminum frame for stainless steel or titanium material. The Pixel 9 series doesn't scream premium compared to the latest iPhone and Samsung Galaxy. Android 16 is mature Gone are the days when each new Android version brought fundamental re-imaginings of core interactions. For example, the current gesture navigation is intuitive and well-established. It's efficient and provides a full-screen, button-free experience that was once considered transformative. Android received a visual redesign with Android 12's Material You. This stylistic refresh changed the look and feel of Android from its previous Material Design iterations. Google can continue to evolve its design language through refinements, much like the progression from Material Design to Material You and now towards Material Expressive. Google is in a comfortable position. It doesn't have an outdated software design to rectify. The foundation is robust, distinctive, and modern. This allows the company to focus on stability and polish the user experience. The Pixel's strength is software and AI, and not hardware flamboyance Here is where Google differentiates itself from Chinese OEMs. The Pixel line, especially since the Tensor era (the Pixel 6 and onwards), has taken a different path. While its design is distinctive (thanks to the camera bar), it's not flamboyant. Instead, Google's competitive arena is what the phone can do, powered by its intelligent software and custom AI hardware. Google has showcased some of the remarkable AI capabilities in the Pixel 9 series, and I can't wait to see what the search giant comes up with in the 10th generation. Google's AI tweaks aren't only app-based. They are deeply integrated into the operating system. Google doesn't need to reinvent the exterior every year because the innovation happens inside. This strategy leads to a polished, reliable, and more useful device. While we don't have any leaks on the Pixel 10's new AI tricks, I wouldn't be surprised if Google introduces a few neat AI add-ons during the official announcement. Related Here's your first good look at the Google Pixel 10 Pro With a side-by-side Pixel 9 Pro comparison Posts 14 Google doesn't have a good track record with major hardware changes As much as I like Google's hardware offerings, the company is a software company. Google's track record suggests that when it pushes for radical physical changes or introduces complex hardware components, the execution isn't always flawless out of the gate. For example, the Pixel 4 was Google's first attempt at an innovative front-facing hardware system with Face Unlock and Motion Sense. The implementation was riddled with issues. Motion Sense was a niche feature with limited app support and inconsistent performance. As a result, the Pixel 4 wasn't released in major regions like India. It was more of a gimmick than a game-changer, and no one was surprised when Google ditched it in the Pixel 5. Even the radically redesigned Pixel 6 was far from perfect. The Pixel 6 series was plagued with bugs and issues, like a slow and unreliable fingerprint scanner, connectivity problems, overheating, and random restarts. Given this history, Google can't afford another buggy launch due to a major redesign. The safe play here is the smart play. The Pixel 10 will have major under-the-hood changes While the Pixel 10 series won't have the iPhone X moment, it's far from a small upgrade. I have kept a close eye on the buzz surrounding the Pixel 10, and what excites me about its upcoming launch is the anticipated jump to the Tensor G5 chip. Tensor G5 is set to be Google's first 3nm chip. It's making the leap from Samsung to TSMC for manufacturing. While the Tensor G4 isn't a slow chip, it doesn't wow you with raw power like Qualcomm and Apple's latest offerings. I expect a major performance boost, as well as better efficiency gains. Previous Tensor chips, while powerful for AI tasks, sometimes faced criticism for overheating. The Tensor G5 is expected to solve these long-standing issues with a major switch. This won't be a number bump. It will be a foundational upgrade that Pixel fans have been waiting for. 5:58 Related Pixels are good now; let Google cook Tensor doesn't need an overhaul Posts 6 The Pixel 10 will address a critical area in the camera department Source: Lucas Gouveia/Android Police | K.Decor/Shutterstock While the Pixel's computational photography for images is groundbreaking, its video camera performance has left many wanting more. For years, the Pixel's video lagged in areas like dynamic range, consistent exposure, and stabilization. However, according to a recent leak, the Pixel 10 is set to deliver gimbal-like stabilization and address this long-standing area for improvement. I don't expect it to match a physical gimbal, but if the Pixel 10's video performance can rival the iPhone, I would be more than happy to take it. I am a heavy Instagram user and love recording life's moments on the go, so this potential upgrade alone makes the Pixel 10 exciting. Comfortable in its own skin Unlike the Pixel 8 and Pixel 9, the Pixel 10 series won't be a minor spec bump. Google is expected to deliver major updates to the CPU and video capabilities. That, coupled with efficiency improvements and other incremental changes, should be sufficient for me to upgrade from my trusty Pixel 6. For a moment, I considered Pixel 9a. However, looking at Google's rumored Pixel 10 series, I'm ready to wait for it.

I've used the Google Pixel 9 as my daily driver for nearly a year: Here's what's good and what needs improvement

When it comes to buying Android smartphones, most of us look at Samsung Galaxy or Google Pixel phones. While Samsung Galaxy devices offer a rich set of features and great hardware, if you want fast Android updates and a stock-like Android experience, Google Pixel phones are usually the go-to choice. However, despite being the "Android maker," Google has had a notoriously poor track record with flagship smartphones. One year with the Pixel 8 Pro showed that Google hadn't learned from past mistakes -- our writer, Rajesh Pandey, continued to face issues long after launch, and many Pixel users continue to report recurring problems to this date. So when Google launched the Pixel 9 last year, my hopes shifted. The company adopted a new design language, and it looked like critical issues like modem problems and performance had finally been addressed. I've been using the Google Pixel 9 since its launch in August 2024, and nearly a year later, it genuinely feels like Google is finally starting to understand what it takes to make great Android smartphones. Related 5 Google Pixel 9 features you won't get on the Pixel 9a Better cameras, faster charging, and more Posts 11 The design has grown on me, but the build worries me a bit It looks great, but drops and scratches are a concern Close When the Google Pixel 9 series launched, I wasn't really a fan of the design I saw in the official renders (and even the early leaks). This was mostly because Google was moving away from the iconic Pixel design I'd loved since the Pixel 6, with its flat camera bar and unique aesthetic, toward a more iPhone-like look with rounded corners and flat frames. However, that feeling quickly changed once I picked up the Pixel 9 Pro XL, and the same applies to the Pixel 9. While I'm not a huge fan of the pink color variant, I personally prefer the white Porcelain option -- the design of the Pixel 9 has grown on me. Although I initially criticized Google for going with an iPhone-clone look, I've grown content with the Pixel 9's form factor. It's handy, feels sturdy, and yet a bit unique. Now, coming to the build, and that's another story. My Pixel 9 spent most of the year in a case, so there are no scratches or major dents on the frame. But the screen is a different story. I decided to skip applying a screen protector, considering Google touted the durability of Gorilla Glass Victus 2. But smartphone screens can only handle so much, and I learned that the hard way. About two months ago, my Pixel 9 slipped from my hand onto a wooden desk and took a noticeable scratch on the front. While the screen still works fine, I wish Google had gone with a tougher protective glass, like the Gorilla Glass Armor 2 on the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra. That might've changed the outcome. But, this was a tough reminder that phone screens are still glass, and they need to be protected like it. Related Best Google Pixel 9 cases in 2025 Your shiny new Pixel needs top-notch protection Posts 3 Pixel 9 fixed some of what Pixel 8 got wrong It feels more refined, both in performance and polish In terms of daily use, the Pixel 9 turned out to be a completely different story than I expected. Based on what I'd read and what my colleagues had told me, I was in for an experience full of bugs and poor performance. But surprisingly, that wasn't the case. Not once did the Pixel 9 leave me completely frustrated with its day-to-day performance. In daily use, my Pixel 9 has been quite reliable, handling tasks well. Yes, it overheats a bit sometimes, but that's expected from most Android phones when pushed to their limits. And yes, you still can't game heavily on this device as it struggles to sustain performance under intense workloads, with occasional overheating and frame drops, but I rarely play games on my phone, so the Pixel 9 presented no major issues for my use case. Another common complaint from past Pixel users has been cellular performance, but that turned out to be just fine for me. Google switched to the Exynos 5400 modem on the Pixel 9 series, and, to my relief, it worked just fine on my unit. I didn't face any noticeable issues with reception on my unit. What I did miss on the Pixel 9 was the software's swiftness. After using phones like the OnePlus 13 and Galaxy S24, returning to a Pixel always felt like someone dialed down the speed a bit. No, the animations aren't laggy, but everything feels like it's running at 0.75x. Most Android makers have tuned their OS to feel snappy and feature-rich at the same time, but Google's stock Android still feels slightly slower. This is something I hope improves with the next Pixel generation. AI features are everywhere, but not essential yet Google's AI flex is impressive, but overhyped A major focus, as with every Pixel phone launch, was the new AI features in the Pixel 9 series. As a smartphone launched toward the end of 2024, Google crammed in every AI feature it could think of. This was the first time Google replaced Assistant with Gemini on a smartphone, and there were plenty of other features, including Add Me, Pixel Studio for image generation, Pixel Screenshots for quickly saving and retrieving info from your screenshots, and more. However, to my surprise (or not), I didn't make the most of the AI features on my Pixel 9. Sure, they come in handy at times, but these features aren't something I deeply miss when I switch to another phone for a few days. And for the AI tools I do use, like Circle to Search and Magic Editor, they're now available on most Android smartphones anyway. Pixel 9 still has its fair share of small issues A few things just haven't been ironed out yet All of this is to say, the Pixel 9 isn't without its share of issues -- though I think no smartphone truly is. While I didn't face major problems with battery life, one widely discussed issue I also experienced is the slow charging speed. Google increased the Pixel 9's charging speed to 27W, but it still feels slow compared to other flagship Android phones. My Pixel 9 often takes over an hour, sometimes close to an hour and a half, to fully charge from 0 to 100%, which feels sluggish in 2025, especially compared to OnePlus and even Samsung Galaxy phones that charge significantly faster. It's time Google took charging speeds more seriously. There were a couple of other issues, too. The proximity sensor on my Pixel 9 occasionally stopped working, leading to accidental touches during calls until I restarted the device. As for battery life, it's not terrible -- it typically lasts a full day before I need to plug it in, but it's not something I'd fully rely on for heavy-use days. I also ran into some minor annoyances. I missed having MagSafe while recording videos, and I really felt the lack of a telephoto lens since zooming without one results in noticeable quality loss. But those were trade-offs I knew I was accepting when choosing this smartphone as my daily driver. Pixel 9 has made me very hopeful of the Pixel 10 Google is heading in the right direction, finally All things considered, my year with the Pixel 9 has definitely made me quite excited for the Pixel 10. The baseline Pixel 10 is expected to come with a telephoto sensor this time, and Google is also said to be switching to TSMC for its Tensor G5 processor, which should bring the much-needed performance and efficiency boost. It feels like Google got most things right with the Pixel 9 series, and fixing a few things here and there could really position the upcoming Pixel 10 as the best Android smartphone of 2025. Your Rating close 10 stars 9 stars 8 stars 7 stars 6 stars 5 stars 4 stars 3 stars 2 stars 1 star Rate Now 0/10 Like Follow Followed Google Pixel 9 $600 $799 Save $199 SoC Google Tensor G4 RAM 12GB Storage 128GB or 256GB Battery 4,700mAh Ports USB-C The Pixel 9 is Google's most affordable flagship smartphone, offering features like a 48MP ultra-wide camera, a 50MP main shooter, and autofocus selfie cam. While it comes with a few compromises compared to the Pro models, it still includes new Gemini AI features and a 2,700-nit Actua display, providing great value at its price point. $799 at Amazon $799 at Best Buy $600 at Google Store Expand Collapse

10 simple Google Pixel 9a camera techniques that transformed my photography

The Google Pixel 9a is a mid-range device. Despite its budget-friendly positioning, it delivers an impressive photography experience powered by Google's computational imaging. Here are Pixel 9a camera techniques that improve your photos with minimal effort and maximum effect. Read our review Google's Pixel 9a is the best $500 you can spend on a smartphone right now This is how you nail your essentials Posts 6 10 Capture low-light scenes without using flash Night Sight relies on computational photography. It automatically detects dim scenes and stacks multiple exposures to produce a sharp, low-noise image without using a flash or a tripod. To use it, open the Camera app and select Night Sight mode. It also turns on automatically in low light. Tap the shutter and hold the phone steady. A timer appears during which the sensor collects light for a few seconds. The result is a bright, colorful photo of a low-light scene. Night Sight is excellent for shooting urban scenes after sunset. It's equally effective indoors at dimly lit restaurants, parties, or events without causing harsh glare from flash photography. Night Sight automatically switches to Astrophotography mode when it detects very dark conditions and the phone is perfectly still. Because it uses long exposures, a slight shake can blur the image. For this reason, a mobile tripod or stable surface is essential. This is ideal for photographing the Milky Way in the countryside and starry skies on a camping trip without a professional setup. Related 8 Google Pixel 9a settings you should customize right away Tweak these for the best experience Posts 9 Take sharp close-ups without a macro lens Source: Google The Pixel 9a's Macro Focus lets you capture fine details that are invisible from a distance. Unlike phones with dedicated macro lenses, the Pixel 9a uses its main camera and autofocus for macro photography. Macro Focus kicks in when you move the camera close (about 3cm to 4cm) to your subject. It's perfect for creative shots that highlight small textures. Capture the patterns on an insect's wing, the fine weave of fabric threads, or a flower petal's surface details. 8 Create a depth effect and make your subject stand out Portrait Mode blurs the background behind your subject. On the Pixel 9a, this works with the rear and front cameras. Open the Camera app, select Portrait mode, then frame your subject and tap Capture. After taking the shot, adjust the blur amount. Open the photo in Google Photos, tap Edit > Tools > Blur, and move the slider to your liking. Portrait mode is great when you want to isolate the subject. Leave space between your subject and the background for the best blur effect. This helps Pixel 9a create a more pronounced depth look. 7 Add motion blur to fast-moving scenes and long exposure for the flow effects The Pixel 9a's Motion Mode adds artistic blur to your images. Choose between Action Pan and Long Exposure. To find these options, open the Camera app and select Motion mode from the mode carousel. Action Pan creates a sharp subject with a motion-blurred background, giving the impression of motion. Follow (pan) the moving subject with your camera. When the subject fills the frame, tap Capture. This is great for capturing a friend running, a passing car, or fast-paced sports moments like a soccer player sprinting down the field. Long exposure blurs moving objects to create the impression of flow. When you choose Long Exposure, keep the phone stationary on a tripod or stable surface, and tap Capture. The Pixel records a longer exposure automatically. Turn flowing water into soft streams at a waterfall, capture light trails from cars on a busy road, or blur a crowd's movement in a busy street scene. 6 Use Ultra HDR to improve contrast in tricky lighting conditions Use Ultra HDR mode on the Pixel 9a to capture scenes with bright highlights and deep shadows. HDR merges multiple exposures, allowing the camera to retain detail in the brightest and darkest parts of the image. This is something a single shot often can't achieve. For example, when photographing a landscape at sunset, HDR keeps the sky rich without darkening the land below. Indoors, it balances window lights with shadowed interiors to capture a well-lit portrait without blowing out the background. To use Ultra HDR mode, open the Camera app, go to Settings > More settings > Advanced, and turn on Ultra HDR. Ultra HDR effects don't appear the same on older screens that do not support HDR or when printed. 5 Improve color accuracy with extended color gamut Use Display P3 capture on the Pixel 9a to photograph a wider color gamut than standard sRGB, making your images appear more vibrant. To use it, open the Camera app, go to Settings > More settings > Advanced, and turn on Rich Color in Photos. P3 photos appear less vibrant on non-P3-compatible devices or older screens, so consider where you plan to share them. Not all printers reproduce the wider P3 color gamut, so consider this if you plan to print these photos. Colors may look slightly muted in physical prints. Related I'm making the Google Pixel 9a my next smartphone for these 5 reasons Ignore the hate Posts 1 4 Shoot in RAW for better control in post-processing RAW files retain more image data than compressed JPEGs. During post-processing, this gives you greater control over exposure, white balance, shadows, highlights, and color. This is for professional and enthusiast photographers who want creative freedom when editing in apps like Adobe Lightroom or Photoshop. To save photos as RAW files, open the Camera app, go to Settings > More settings > Advanced, and turn on RAW/JPEG control. RAW files are larger and take up storage. Use them selectively for key shots where you plan to fine-tune the final look. For example, if you shoot a dimly lit concert, a RAW file lets you recover shadow detail or adjust overexposed highlights later. 3 Remove unwanted objects from your photos Source: Google Magic Eraser is a Google Photos editing tool that removes distracting objects or people from your shots. Using AI, it identifies subjects like photo bombers, power lines, or trash, and naturally fills the space. To use Magic Eraser, open the photo in Google Photos, tap Edit > Tools > Magic Eraser. The Pixel automatically suggests items to remove (they are highlighted). Tap to remove those or draw a circle around any object you want gone. Carefully zoom in and trace around the object for the best results. Complex or foreground subjects may require multiple taps. Related 6 features that make the Pixel 9a a midrange game-changer It punches well above its weight Posts 1 2 Recover soft or unclear facial features in your photos Source: Google Photo Unblur in Google Photos fixes slightly blurry photos. Powered by Pixel's AI, it uses facial recognition to clarify a subject's eyes and facial details. If your shot came out smeared, open the photo, tap Edit > Photo Unblur, and let Pixel re-process it. This is perfect for saving a shot where motion softened facial details. You can rescue meaningful moments that might have otherwise been unusable. 1 Keep your shots level with visual guides Use Framing Hints on the Pixel 9a to help align your shots. Framing Hints display yellow and white guidelines that show when your phone is level. This is useful for city skylines or architectural photos where a tilted angle can throw off the composition. To use Framing Hints, open the Camera app, go to Settings > More settings, and toggle Framing Hints. Rotate the phone until the lines meet, and the angle reads zero for an aligned shot. Use your Pixel 9a as a creative photography tool The Pixel 9a's camera is a capable tool packed with exciting features. In the camera department, these features help casual users capture professional-looking images from their phone. If you want to improve your mobile photography, mastering these features is an accessible way to get there. Your Rating close 10 stars 9 stars 8 stars 7 stars 6 stars 5 stars 4 stars 3 stars 2 stars 1 star Rate Now 0/10 Like Follow Followed Google Pixel 9a 9 / 10 SoC Google Tensor G4 RAM 8GB Storage 128GB, 256GB Battery 5,100mAh Google's Pixel 9a takes everything that was great about the Pixel 8a and looks to modernize it. With an all-new Pixel 9-inspired look and no camera bump, this might be the best $500 smartphone we've seen yet. $500 at Amazon $500 at Google Store Expand Collapse

I supercharged my Google Pixel 9 Pro with these 7 lesser-known features

The Pixel 9 Pro is Google's current flagship model and indisputably the best Pixel phone yet, not least because it's available in two sizes. Those looking for a smaller display will be taken by the Pixel 9 Pro's 6.3-inch screen, while those who want a larger experience are well served by the Pixel 9 Pro XL, with its expanded 6.8-inch screen. There are minor differences between the two, which you can read about in our Google Pixel 9 Pro vs Google Pixel 9 Pro XL comparison. For me, the Pixel 9 Pro XL is king, but regardless of which model you own, Google's latest flagship boasts plenty of unique and lesser-known features that you should be taking advantage of. Below, I've detailed my seven favorites. Google keeps talking about Add Me and with good reason: it's an AI feature that actually solves a real problem. Nobody needs to change the floor to lava (which Magic Editor can do for you), but adding in that family member who's always missing from a group photo? That's genuinely useful. The camera performance on the Pixel 9 Pro is stellar; it's consistently good across all four lenses. But for those with the Pixel 9 Pro, head into the camera, and you'll see Add Me right there as an option. Tap on it, and follow these instructions: The camera will scan the area, locate everything, and invite you to take the picture. Make sure everyone fits in the frame and there's an obvious space to put yourself. Take the photo, and the phone will invite you to pass it to a new photographer. You then swap over while everyone else in the shot stays in place, and the second photographer takes the shot. Add Me merges the two images into one final image, with everyone in it. Sure, sometimes this process will result in a comical AI glitch: lining up the images carefully helps, as does making sure that no one closes their eyes (as Add Me will try to make sure everyone looks their best), but sometimes, you have to take these AI oddities and savor them. Video Boost is a feature that was added to the Pixel 8 Pro after launch, but it's slipped under the radar among Pixel users because there's a lot to think about when you use it. However, like Night Sight Video, the results from Video Boost are spectacular and far superior to the regular video, particularly in more demanding conditions. To access Video Boost, you have to open the Camera app and select video. Then open the settings in the bottom corner, and you can toggle on Video Boost. You lose access to some features, but it's worth noting that if you stick to 4K video, you can still have 60fps and HDR, which you can't at 8K. Once Video Boost is turned on, shoot your video. A temporary file is created while the data heads into the cloud for processing. This can take some time, so you won't get immediate results, but when it comes back, it sure looks fantastic. It's labeled with Video Boost in Google Photos for future reference. It's worth playing around with, because you might find that in lower light conditions you get much better results. It's a little fiddly, but it's clear that the processing tech behind Video Boost works - and at some point in the future, it will probably move from being a cloud feature to an on-device one, and videos will get dramatically better. This tool has been around for a long time, and while other phones offer it, Google's Pixel-specific version is much more seamless. Yes, you can get it through Google Assistant or Gemini, but it's a little more fiddly than it needs to be. For Now Playing on Pixel, it's right there on your lock screen, able to give you that song title in a flash. I've used this feature so many times - you might be in a club or a bar, and there's something playing and no one knows what it is. People start reaching for Shazam, but I've already got the answer. Sure, iPhone can do this too through its neat Shazam integration, but I've always enjoyed just how swiftly and accurately my Pixel can recognize songs in the background. If you don't have Now Playing turned on, head into Display and touch Lock screen > Now Playing. Here, you'll find options to turn it on and control notifications (you might want to remove sounds from this notification). You can also opt to "enhance" Now Playing by adding album art, and set your default music player, so you can play that recognized music with a tap. The Now Playing history is really interesting, so if you're using this feature, try dropping a shortcut onto your home screen so you can tap and open it up. Best of all, you'll see all the songs that your Pixel heard right there in a neat list - you don't have to trigger it on a song-by-song basis, it's just there, filling in the blanks for you. Sometimes it feels like you're getting overwhelmed by notifications. That's the downside of these super-connected devices that we all have in our pockets. Some of those notifications are genuinely useful, and some are just trash that you never need to know about - like marketing pings that some apps love to send out. If you don't know where your notifications are coming from, Notifications history is going to be your best friend, as it can really help you get back in control. To find this feature, head into Settings > Notifications > Notifications history. Here, you'll find a list of recently dismissed notifications, which is great for retrieving a mistakenly dismissed ping. That's the first useful tip. The second is that you'll see the last 24 hours of notification history, so you can see what's been bothering you. This will include a whole range of apps, and you can tap the arrow to drop down and see what that notification was. Best of all, once you're on the notification, press and hold, and you'll go through to the notification controls for that app. Here you can turn them off, set them to silent, or do whatever else you need to do. Yes, you can do this directly from the notifications themselves when they appear, but this is a great shortcut for housekeeping on your phone. The Pixel Pro stands apart from the Pixel by offering a telephoto camera. It's a 48MP lens with an f/2.8 aperture and 5x optical zoom. It then offers digital zoom out to 30x, but takes advantage of Super Res Zoom, using AI to make those images look better. And it works. It's very different from the sort of zoom enhancement you'll find on the Honor Magic 7 Pro, which uses AI to identify what's in the image and basically replace it. Xiaomi has a similar system on the Xiaomi 15, which can result in a final zoom image that doesn't look anything like the actual scene. Super Res Zoom isn't a mode you can toggle, and I've found, in parallel testing, that it often gives better results than other zoom models out at 30x. If you want that artificial look, the Pixel has another feature hidden away. It's called Zoom Enhance, and you'll find it in the Google Photos editing options. While it uses generative AI, it's no way near as destructive as those aforementioned options from Honor and Xiaomi, so if you want to clean up an image, it's worth a go. It's worth noting, however, that the HDR information gets lost when you use Zoom Enhance, so if you have a photo that's bright and vibrant, it might look a little dull once edited. I'm a journalist, and so voice recorders are my favorite thing. I've recorded hundreds of interviews and meetings, and that used to mean hours of transcribing to try to get back to that essential quote. Pixel Recorder changed all that, specifically with auto transcription. Yes, this feature launched in 2019, but it's easily overlooked, because it barely gets mentioned. At the time of its launch, no one was talking about AI, but here we are: the rest of the smartphone world is slowly catching up, touting automatic transcription as a new AI feature. There's more AI magic to Google's effort, though, with Gemini Nano on hand to summarize the transcribed content - so if you can't remember what that meeting or conversation was about, this will give you a useful hint. Pixel Recorder goes further than you might think. You can stay in the app to use it, but the best part, if you're serious about properly organizing the text, is accessing it through recorder.google.com. Pixel Recorder backs up to the cloud so you can access your transcription through any browser. Open it up on recorder.google.com and you can find the text you need, copy it, share it, and download it. You can change the speaker labels (as it recognizes different speakers), and you can change the playback speed, too. You can do all of these things on your phone, but I find Google's browser-based option much easier to use. Sure, Pixel Recorder might be niche, but if you ever find yourself in a meeting or interview that needs recording, it's a great asset to have. When you take a photo on a modern smartphone, it's laced with HDR information (assuming you have HDR turned on, which you should). The Pixel is no different, capturing HDR images by combining shots and adding in more data. When it comes to displaying this image, all this information can be used to make it look better. It's called Ultra HDR, and it really comes to life in Google Photos on the Pixel 9 Pro. You might have heard that the Pixel 9 models have a high peak brightness, and you'll get a sizeable 3,000 nits on the Pixel 9 Pro. That's not the highest peak brightness on an Android phone, but it's arguably put to the best use because of Ultra HDR. When viewing images in Google Photos, you'll see that HDR data put to good use. An image will open as in SDR (standard dynamic range) but then pop into HDR (high dynamic range) as the Ultra HDR system swings into place. It means that those piercing highlights in photos look better on the Pixel 9 Pro than they do on other phones. But it's not just the photos taken on the Pixel that look better: if it's an HDR image taken on another device that's syncing to Google Photos, when you view that on your Pixel, it will look better than on the original device. That's got me addicted to viewing images in Google Photos, but unfortunately, the rest of the world hasn't caught up with Pixel in this area. While Google Photos is really convenient, unless you're sharing photos with someone who has a Pixel, they won't see the picture in the same glorious vibrancy that you do. Best of all, you can edit this information in Google Photos too. Head into Edit > Adjust > Ultra HDR, and you can bring a little pop to a photo that looks a little dull. Interestingly, Instagram supports Ultra HDR, and if you have a Pixel, you might have noticed the pop in those images too - quite simply, they just look better on Pixel than they do on other phones.