Google Pixel 9 Series: A Game-Changer in the Smartphone Market

I tested the cheapest Google Pixel 9, and it's one of my favorite smartphones of 2024

The hardware improvements over last year's model are relatively small,. I had a chance to attend the Made by Google event earlier this month, 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. I'm spoiling this review right at the top, but it's true. Google's new entry-level flagship, the Pixel 9, starts at $799 ($100 more than last year's version) and 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 15 (soon to be 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. Also: I replaced my Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra with the Pixel 9 Pro XL for two weeks - and can't go back 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 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: This Pixel 9 Pro XL vs. iPhone 15 Pro camera shootout has a clear winner - and one big surprise 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 Pros, 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: Android 15's Gemini overlay feature can answer questions about anything on your screen 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 Pixel phone camera was already the best, but these new features make it even better 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. 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's Pro and Pro XL versions might be flashier, but the baseline version of Google's flagship phone should not be overlooked.

I replaced my Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra with the Pixel 9 Pro XL for two weeks - and can't go back

I just wish the base storage (128GB) was at least double and the AI features were more reliable. Holding the Google Pixel 9 Pro series for the first time reminded me of when I held the iPhone 12 Pro for the first time. The shift from the previous year's curved design to flatter edges made all the difference in its feel and perception of value. The Pixel 9 Pro and Pro XL exude premium, and Google knows it. That's why the company is charging you more for its new Pixel phones this year, with the standard model starting at $799, the Pro at $999, and the Pro XL at $1,099. In this economy, it's a bold move. But in the big picture, Google has only matched what competitors like Samsung and Apple have been pricing their flagship handsets. Also: This Pixel 9 Pro XL vs. iPhone 15 Pro camera shootout has a clear winner - and one big surprise Fortunately, you have plenty to gain by paying Google more. From my week of testing the Pro XL model -- with short stints using the smaller Pro -- I've greatly benefitted from upgrades such as the brighter (up to 3,000 nits) display, AI features like Call Notes and Pixel Screenshots, the faster 45W charging, and Tensor G4 chip that has kept the phone running smoothly. The new ultrasonic fingerprint sensor is also crazy fast. With the Pixel 9 Pro series, the design -- as unexpected as it is -- is the standout feature for me. The flat edges rest smoothly against my hand, giving me a confident grip when swiping and typing, a treatment of Gorilla Glass Victus 2 makes the model twice as durable as last year's, and whether you prefer a smaller or larger form factor, you've got options. By comparison, the Pixel 8 Pro feels like a toy. Also: 5 reasons why Pixel 9 stopped me from ditching Google phones for Nothing My two gripes with the Pixel 9 Pro design are the camera bump and frosted back glass. The former is a longstanding issue with the Google Pixel's protruding camera bar design, which collects dust and debris around the edges and fingerprint smudges on the visor. With the back glass, I've noticed several micro-scratches already that chipped away the Obsidian-colored coating. My advice: Get any color but Obsidian and you should be fine. A new Tensor G4 chip paired with 16GB of RAM means the Pixel 9 Pro is faster and more powerful than last year's model when it comes to multi-tab browsing, loading videos on a social feed, editing photos, and playing games. It also benefits on-device AI tasks, which I'll get to later. Also: These three AI features sold me on the Google Pixel 9 Pro - and they're very clever On my Uber ride to the airport last week, I was able to swiftly upload clips from the Made by Google event while downloading movies to watch on the flight. Oh, and location tracking was running in the background, too. The result was mild overheating and about a 3% dip in battery life throughout the 20-minute ride, which is admirable. That's to say, the 5,060mAh battery on the Pixel 9 Pro XL has been serving me well, ending most of my days with around 25-30%. It's a two-day phone when used lightly, but you won't be mad if you need to charge it sooner because the Pixel now supports 45W charging. The faster speed won't revolutionize your morning routine, but it's a notable bump-up from the sluggish 30W rating on previous models. The key improvements to the Pixel 9 Pro's camera system mainly revolve around AI and how its imaging engine interprets and enhances output. For example, the image above, while sharp in detail and beautiful in contrast, was originally captured with a slight tilt, making the runway appear slanted. So, I used the new Auto frame tool in Magic Editor to straighten it while expanding the sides with AI. For fun, I added a rainbow and a plane that clearly didn't hear the Air Traffic Control tower's order to remain grounded like the rest of us. Such AI tools are creative and whimsical, but they're also inconsistent, unreliable (see the left-side airplane), and require a lot of patience -- both with waiting for the image generations and possibly more waiting after that if the results don't meet your creative vision. Also: I went hands-on with Google's $1,800 Pixel 9 Pro Fold, and I'm ready to leave Samsung I'm a bigger fan of the new Add Me and Video Boost features. The former pieces together two photos, one that you've captured of other people in the frame and another that includes you in the same frame, so no one gets left out. It's a clever AI/AR tool that solves a real-world problem, but there is one slight issue: Don't expect a seamless edit if you're posing in between subjects. Oftentimes, parts of your body won't be properly cropped out. So, for the best results, leave space! With Video Boost, I'm happy to report that the improved HDR+ and rendering fixes one of the biggest problems with the Pixel camera: the jarring cuts when switching to the 5x optical zoom camera during recording. While I'm still testing every new Pixel 9 AI feature, of which there are plenty, here are my initial ratings for the most popular ones: It's still too early to call the Google Pixel 9 Pro XL the best Android phone this year, but it's certainly up there for consideration -- even with its AI blunders. While the new model is Google's most expensive non-foldable phone yet, the price bump is justified by improvements in aspects that traditionally held the Pixel line back, such as charging speed, performance, and build quality. With the reintroduction of an XL model this year, the smaller Pixel 9 Pro should appeal to users who want a more comfortable device without compromising on specs and camera hardware. And if both phones are out of your budget, but you want the core features, consider the cheaper Pixel 9.

The Pixel 9 Pro XL is big, expensive, and damn near perfect

The Pixel 9 Pro XL is the least interesting of Google's four phones this year. It's a big, expensive flagship with a slightly improved design, moderate hardware improvements, a grab-bag of AI features, and a $100 price increase. Such a tepid introduction belies, however, a remarkable feat that Google, now in its ninth generation of homegrown handsets, has pulled off: the Pixel 9 Pro XL may be the best Android phone I've ever used. Editor's choice Google Pixel 9 Pro XL 9/ 10 AI may be all over the place, but it's the mature, reliable, delightful core experience that makes the Pixel 9 Pro XL such a remarkably good smartphone.Yes, it's big, and yes, it's $100 more expensive than last year. Yes, it comes with only 128GB of storage out of the box, but those may be my only criticisms of it. ProsFast, smooth performanceExcellent, all-day battery lifeClass-leading camera features and qualitySome AI features are pretty usefulBeautiful new design and stunning display ConsLaunches with Android 14 (lose a year of platform updates)$100 more expensive than last year128GB default storage is not great at this price $1099 at Google Store$1099 at Best Buy$1099 at Amazon A prodigious amount of ink has been spilled over the years about Google's challenges in the smartphone space. After discontinuing the Nexus program in 2015 and launching the Pixel lineup the following year, every generation seemingly had to contend with some near-fatal flaw that left reviewers frustrated and prospective buyers weary. The company got pretty close to a clean dismount with the Pixel 8 series, but that too had its share of software problems, which took a few months to resolve. Only now, a year into its seven-year lifespan, the Pixel Pro XL feels like a mature product I'd be happy to recommend. So, a week into using the Pixel 9 Pro XL, I am lingering on whether I can unreservedly recommend Google's new non-folding flagship on day one and, if so, whether it justifies a $100 price increase over its predecessor. The short answer is: so far, yes. Absolutely yes. Price & Availability $100 more for the same storage? Come on, Google The Pixel 9 Pro XL is available starting August 22nd for $1099 USD, which gets you a 128GB version (boo!). Here is the cost breakdown per size: 128GB: $1099 256GB: $1199 512GB: $1319 1TB: $1549 You can save quite a bit of money by trading in your old phone, and Google is being more generous with trade-in values this year than in previous years, so take advantage if you can. The phone is available in the following regions: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, United Kingdom, United States. It comes in four colors: Porcelain (white) Rose Quartz (pink) Hazel (dark green) Obsidian (black) I prefer the Hazel, but you can't go wrong with any of the colors this year. Specifications SoC Google Tensor G4 with Titan M2 security coprocessor Display type Super Actua (LTPO OLED) with 3,000-nit peak brightness Display dimensions 6.8 inches Display resolution 1344 x 2992 (486 PPI) RAM 16GB Storage 128GB / 256GB / 512 GB / 1TB Battery 5,060mAh Charge speed 37W wired, 23W wireless Charge options USB-C, fast Qi wireless charging, Battery Share Ports USB-C SIM support Dual SIM (single nano SIM and eSIM) Operating System Ships with Android 14 Front camera 42MP (dual PD binning), ƒ/2.2 aperture, 103° field of view, autofocus Rear camera 50MP wide-angle (octa PD binning), ƒ/1.68 aperture, 82° field of view, 1/1.31" image sensor | 48MP ultra-wide (quad PD binning), ƒ/1.7 aperture, 123° field of view, 1/2.55" image sensor | 48MP telephoto (quad PD binning), ƒ/2.8 aperture, 22° field of view, 1/2.55" image sensor, 5x optical zoom Cellular connectivity GSM/EDGE: Quad-band (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz) | UMTS/HSPA+/HSDPA: Bands 1,2,4,5,6,8,19 | LTE: Bands B1/2/3/4/5/7/8/12/13/14/17/18/1 9/20/25/26/28/29/30/38/40/41/48/66/71 | 5G Sub-6: Bands n1/2/3/5/7/8/12/14/20/25/26/2 8/29/30/38/40/41/48/66/70/71/77/78 | 5G mmWave: Bands n258/260/261 Wi-Fi connectivity Wi-Fi 7 (802.11be) with 2.4GHz+5GHz+6GHz, 2x2+2x2 MIMO (Wi-Fi 6 in India) Connectivity Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.3, NFC, Google Cast, ultra-wideband (UWB), dual band GPS, 5G mmWave + Sub 6GHz Bluetooth 5.3 Dimensions 6.4" x 3.0" x 0.3" Weight 221g IP Rating IP68 Colors Obsidian, Porcelain, Hazel, Rose Quartz Price $1,099 Expand Hardware & Design Subtle, smart, meaningful evolution Close I liked the Pixel 8 Pro 's design, though I did feel that, in its third generation, its "friendly" and nature-inspired roundness was becoming a bit flat, if you'll excuse the expression. With the Pixel 9 Pro XL -- and remember, the 9 Pro XL is the successor in both size, weight, and price to the Pixel 8 Pro; the Pixel 9 Pro is a new smaller entry into the lineup this year -- Google has revisited straight lines, angles, and edges, while isolating the now-iconic camera visor to the phone's rear. It's very much a design maturation I prefer over any of the previous three Pro models, but in doing so, it also diminishes one of the more identifiable aspects of the Pixel series. Read our review Google Pixel 8 Pro review: Living up to its name If you want to see the future of Google, the Pixel 8 Pro is the phone to buy While it is marginally thinner than the Pixel 8 Pro, it doesn't look or feel it; Google cleverly incorporated curves to its phones' perimeters in previous models that have now been elongated and formalized into serious lines. Google is implying that this is a serious phone with a pedigree, an object of desire as much as utility. It's a strategy successfully employed by both Apple and Samsung over the last half-decade, and by removing the last vestiges of whimsy from its most expensive phones, Google is drawing a line between its past and future. The phone is a mere nine grams heavier than the Pixel 8 Pro, but its newfound solidity and stoicism make it look and feel far denser. Similar refinements can be found on the phone's front, too: the 6.8-inch display is ever-so-larger and brighter than before, and it's gorgeous. Now featuring smaller (and symmetrical) bezels, the panel is super-bright: it's rated for 2,000 nits for HDR content, and 3,000 nits at its peak, which puts it among the most eye-searing panels on the market, but my primary test is whether I can use it outdoors, in direct summer sun, without straining, and it easily passes. Elsewhere on the hardware side, I've been pleasantly surprised by the meaty, full sound of the dual speakers, while the microphone quality continues to be superb. Charging has been slightly sped up from the previous generation, from 30W to 37W. While that only cuts a few minutes from the total top-up time, it does mean that when your phone is dead -- or close to it -- your initial top-ups will be far more sizeable. Google claims that you'll get 70% charge in 30 minutes using a 45W PPS charger now, up from 50% last year. It's a small but meaningful improvement since Pixels have always been among the slowest Android phones to refill (though it wasn't too many years ago Pixels topped out at 18W. So, this is a pretty big step in the right direction). Google has already received some flack for not integrating Qi2 wireless charging into the Pixel 9 series this year. I'll echo that, though it's easily rectified with a magnetic case, such as the dbrand Grip I've used on the phone for a few days. As lovely as the hardware is, I'd recommend grabbing a case for your Pixel 9 Pro XL: this thing is slippery, particularly in the sweaty summer. Some miscellany worth highlighting: The phone's haptics are still among the best on Android, and I particularly like how Google's implementation of Android utilizes them subtly across the system. The phone still has a temperature sensor, for what it's worth. It's not particularly useful, and honestly, I'm surprised it's still here, but the app received a nice overhaul to coincide with the Pixel 9 launch -- I suppose that's something. The ultrasonic fingerprint sensor is more accurate and faster than before, but the good news is that I rarely have to use it. The Pixel's front-facing camera supports level 3 face unlock. I use it to unlock not only my phone but also the secure apps like 1Password and TD Bank that I rely on every day. Win, win. Performance & Battery life Better & better It's a bit too early to say how meaningful the speed and efficiency improvements of the Tensor G4 will be to the long-term usability and enjoyment of the Pixel 9 series. However, in my few days with the phone so far, the device has run flawlessly. Google readily admits it does not build the Tensor series to rival Apple and Qualcomm in raw throughput. You can (and perhaps should) be critical of that decision, particularly on a phone that just received a $100 price increase. But the more important question you should be asking, if buying a 9 Pro XL is a real consideration, is whether it matters. In my day-to-day usage, the phone runs cool and long, affably handling any tasks I throw at it, from browsing to media consumption to gaming. Google has designed the phone to do all of these things admirably well, but it's no gaming phone. Qualcomm has the market cornered there on the Android side, and the upcoming Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 may add substantial distance to its gaming lead, based on what we've seen so far. Related The Pixel 9's Tensor G4 might be the least interesting thing about Google's new phones The new Tensor may not pack any major upgrades 3 Still, I am practical and use a phone for straightforward things. Other reviewers will focus on gaming performance or raw benchmarks and come away ambivalent or unimpressed. That's not how I use my phone. I open Slack, then a Chrome webview, then YouTube, then Kindle, then the camera, then Google Photos, then Libby, and then back to Slack and maybe a little Holedown if time permits. I take photos, and then I edit them; I make to-do lists, and check them off. I subscribe to too many news apps and then get upset by the number of notifications they send. You know, normal stuff. In my daily usage, the phone runs cool and long, affably handling any task I throw at it, from browsing to media consumption to gaming. I've always enjoyed using Pixel phones more than any other Android phone for these quotidian delights. Despite a surfeit of software bugs and design inconsistencies, that feeling has not diminished. The Tensor G4, with its Geekbench results equivalent to a three-year-old Snapdragon 8 Gen 1, is perfectly capable of enabling the multivarious things I expect my phone to do well and quickly, and that's good enough for me. Moreover, the phone runs noticeably cooler, particularly under heavy load, than the Tensor G3 in the Pixel 8 series, and I'm seeing marginally better battery life as well. You're probably not going to end the day at 40-50% remaining as you would with a Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra , but it's also not likely to die before you put it on the charger, either, unless you're partying into the early hours capturing photos and videos all the while. Photography (and AI) My favorite phone to shoot with To talk about a Pixel phone's cameras these days is to talk about two things simultaneously: its hardware, which hasn't changed much in a few years; and its growing retinue of AI features, which has definitely changed a lot in the past few years. First, let's focus on the hardware. The main and telephoto sensors are identical to the last couple of generations, which isn't a bad thing. The 50MP Samsung sensor isn't top-tier anymore, but Google's always been able to extract outsized value from re-used equipment. To wit, the first five generations of Pixel phones used variations of the same 12MP Sony sensor, and it retained industry-leading photos right up until the end. Pixel 9 Pro XL 1x sample With the Pixel 9, the hardware may be unchanged from previous years, but Google says it has overhauled the HDR pipeline from start to finish, and you can see it in the final shots. These are the crispest, cleanest photos a Pixel phone has ever produced, maintaining the contrast-heavy look that the series is known for. The Pixel's primary camera has always been my favorite "pick-up-and-shoot" smartphone experience, and I appreciate even more this year's subtle changes, like how much more quickly the camera app opens or how much less it lags (or how it no longer drops frames in the viewfinder). These are the crispest, cleanest photos a Pixel phone has ever produced. Close Similarly, the 5x telephoto lens utilizes the same hardware as last year's phone, but that's fine. Outside of China-only devices like the OPPO Find X7 Ultra or the Xiaomi 14 Ultra, this is the best telephoto experience you can buy on a smartphone. Its f/2.8 lens works with the 113mm-equivalent focal distance to punch in on subjects and provide real, usable bokeh. Close It's one of my favorite lenses on any phone, and I was genuinely shocked at how well it combined with the improved Super Res Zoom feature to provide usable photos at 30x (though I'm using the term "usable" loosely here). Google Pixel 9 Pro XL macro sample New this year is the ultrawide camera, which has a much larger sensor along with a wider f/1.7 aperture. I'm not typically a fan of ultrawide photos unless I'm documenting sweeping vistas, but the Pixel's superb macro mode, which is enabled by the ultrawide, more than justifies the changes. Finally, the selfie camera has a larger 42MP sensor to go with its already great autofocus. While I enjoyed the slightly higher resolved detail in my photos, I am more interested in the wider field of view, the 103-degree field of view. The wider, the better, in my opinion. Close As for AI, here's what I think about the features added this year: Magic Editor is an interesting but silly novelty that has only been made more distinctive with the addition of "Reimagine," which offers a text prompt to augment the visual manipulations you could already achieve. I will never use this, and as others have pointed out, it's far too easy to add problematic, and potentially dangerous, elements to photos. Zoom Enhance is neat, but only in the way that CSI always looked impressive when "enhancing" grainy security camera footage. I appreciate that it exists, but like most things that rely on generative AI, I feel like it's going to harm more photos than it helps. Add Me is wonderful; more of this please, Google. I don't care what anyone says about how it creates a moment that never happened. It's lovely that you can create an artificial memory based on the experience of being together with people you love and want to be in photos with. Whether the actual photo actually happened is irrelevant; it's a byproduct of the act of taking two photos together, stitched to look like one, and that's a remarkable, practical way AI can help. Video Boost. Wow. Google's video performance has improved a lot over the years. Without any cloud-based boosting it looks great -- maybe a bit juddery compared to the iPhone and Galaxy equivalents, but perfectly usable for non-professional purposes -- but Video Boost is this achievement in both cloud processing and AI that melds the kinds of things Google is good at in a really creative and genuinely useful way. Pixel Studio is nightmare fuel that shouldn't be pre-installed on these phones. There are plenty of web apps that make it super simple to create an AI image of Pikachu in a Nazi uniform, but I don't necessarily need it installed as a system app, but it's not deletable. This isn't just a Google problem, either: Samsung has its own version of this, called "sketch to image," and Apple will pre-install its Image Playground app on supported phones running iOS 18 and above. Pixel 9 Pro XL panorama sample This isn't AI-enhanced at all, but the updated camera app also comes with a completely redesigned panorama mode. While I doubt it'll make me an ultra-ultrawide aficionado overnight, it's one of Google's best year-over-year workflow improvements ever. Software (and AI) Still the Pixel experience you know and love Many have noted that Google didn't even introduce its new hardware products until around 20 minutes into its keynote presentation, choosing to highlight the many, many ways that Gemini can improve your life. It's no accident that it's taken me this long to even mention the word, and I'm no AI Luddite. I've been using the technology in some form almost every day for a couple of years now, and I genuinely try to find ways to extract value from its multimodal forms. I've also become quite taken with Gemini as a product, though its proliferation across Google's various products threatens to undermine some of what has made Android traditionally so useful. It's impossible to ignore Gemini now; it's replaced Assistant as the default on-device helper, and you'll find it encroaching on your messaging experience, too. As I've already mentioned, Google Photos has been overrun with AI, and it won't be long before Gemini's desktop integrations with Workspace and Chrome arrive on mobile. The good news is that you can deactivate all of this stuff if you don't want it; the bad news is that, as with other Google services in the past, you'll likely soon lose access to more than just AI if you insist on disabling Gemini. Gemini is also quite good. Even the straight-up Assistant replacement version is faster and more accurate than Assistant ever became in its eight years of existence. Talking with Gemini Live, which isn't exclusive to Pixel but to Gemini Advanced subscribers (of which you get a free year with a Pixel 9 purchase), is uncanny and a bit intimidating. I actually look forward to using it, which isn't something I've said about a voice assistant (or chatbot, or whatever I want to call this thing) in a long time. I've already spoken about my appreciation for, if not the app itself, then the idea of Pixel Screenshots. Right now, the app is underbaked, but it could become something truly excellent and useful if Google decides to stop isolating it from the rest of the OS. Eventual integration directly into Drive and Photos will also make a big difference. Not launching its new phones with Android 15 is both unprecedented and absolutely the right move. But the software experience -- the Pixel Experience -- isn't just about AI. In fact, it's barely about AI if you don't want it to be. This is the best Android has ever been, in part because Google decided not to launch its new phones with a new OS. This is unprecedented, for sure. While an easy excuse is that the Pixel 9s launched two months earlier than they normally do, the reality is that Google released its new phones with a bunch of new software features on top of a stable and dependable platform that's had 10 months of stability improvements and bug fixes. The last thing Google needed was another news cycle where early adopters found issue after issue, undermining the genuine advantages of using a Pixel in the process. The reality is that this is the most stable and performant a Pixel has been for me out of the box in years, and that's partially owing to relatively minor, though impactful, changes on both the hardware and software side. Competition What competition? What phones actually compete with the Pixel lineup? I mean, really? Rick Osterloh, the SVP of Devices & Services at Google -- the guy now in charge of Pixel and Android -- recently told Ben Thompson's Stratechery that "very few" Pixel users are migrating from Samsung devices. At first glance, that doesn't make a lot of sense. Samsung has the largest market share in the Android space -- nearly 50%, according to the latest data -- so why wouldn't unhappy Galaxy users be migrating to the next most recognizable brand, particularly in markets where Google has a strong brand and marketing presence? Likely because Samsung has spent the last decade building an ecosystem of not just loyal smartphone users, but mobile technology users, and has done so through the traditional carrier system that lets folks buy heavily subsidized devices. The next likely candidate is Apple, which Google took more than a small amount of inspiration from with the Pixel 9 series' design. And that's not a criticism: these are not only Google's most well-built phones ever, but arguably their cleanest and most mature-looking. They may lack the whimsy of previous generations, but I'd rather have certainty in the product itself. The Galaxy S25 Ultra (or Note ?) is still a few months away, while the iPhone 16 Pro Max will be unveiled in a couple of weeks, so if you're not burning a hole in your pocket, you may want to wait to see what those companies unveil. Still, I believe the Pixel provides such a singular experience that it's hard to recommend either of those products over the Pixel 9 Pro XL. Certainly, there are other niche players in the smartphone space giving the Pixel some real competition. OnePlus, for instance, has been on a roll recently and should be out in January. We don't know much about it right now, but it's bound to perform well, have a fantastic camera, and, perhaps most importantly, feel like a Pixel in many ways. The biggest competitors to this phone are the other devices in the Pixel 9 series. James reviewed and loved the $799 Pixel 9, and Will is equally enamored with the $999 Pixel 9 Pro. Now we just have to see how the Pixel 9 Pro Fold fares, and it could be 4/4 for Google this time around. Should you buy the Pixel 9 Pro XL? Despite the mouthful of a name, the new big Pixel is really a small but meaningful upgrade over the 8 Pro. It's a culmination of many years of iteration and optimization, uncomfortably permeated by a miasma of AI hype. My take? Ignore the AI if you want, and just buy the darn thing. If you want a big phone, get the Pixel 9 Pro XL. If you want a medium-sized phone and can afford the Pro, get the 9 Pro. If you want the the best phone for most people, get the Pixel 9. And if you're the sicko who wants something to fold, the 9 Pro Fold will almost certainly be the foldable to beat when it debuts early next month. Despite being overshadowed by Google's AI ventures, the Pixel 9 Pro XL's success simply as a superb smartphone cannot be overstated. That it costs $100 more this year isn't a great look, particularly because Google is trying to hint that the Pro series hasn't received a price bump by comparing the Pixel 8 Pro to the smaller Pixel 9 Pro. Still, this huge phone is a huge win for Google, and it's almost guaranteed a place in my pocket for the foreseeable future. Editor's choice Google Pixel 9 Pro XL 9/ 10 The Pixel 9 Pro XL has a new name but fills the same slot as 2023's Pixel 8 Pro, having similar specs with roughly the same footprint. The non-XL Pixel 9 Pro is new to the lineup as a smaller premium flagship offering. However, with the 9 Pro XL, you get Google's fastest charging, a bigger screen and battery, and all the camera and Gemini AI smarts you'd get in the smaller 9 Pro. $1099 at Google Store$1099 at Best Buy$1099 at Amazon Related Best Android phones in 2024 Premium smartphones with unique features

Google Pixel 9 review: better than ever | Digital Trends

Digital Trends may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site. Why trust us? Google Pixel 9 MSRP $799.00 Score Details "The Google Pixel 9 is one of the best Pixel phones Google has ever made, and it has nothing to do with AI." Pros Excellent design and build quality Super camera Tactile haptics Fast and reliable security Improved efficiency and battery life Long software update commitment Cons Screen isn't always bright enough Slow charging More expensive than last year Google made a mistake with the Pixel 9 during its launch event. It said barely anything at all about the hardware, yet when you finally get hold of the phone, you instantly find it borders on the exquisite. So, by only talking about AI for an hour, Google did us all a disservice. Contents Google Pixel 9: designGoogle Pixel 9: screenGoogle Pixel 9: software and performanceGoogle Pixel 9: AI and GeminiGoogle Pixel 9: cameraGoogle Pixel 9: battery life and chargingGoogle Pixel 9: price and availabilityGoogle Pixel 9: verdictShow 3 more items But was all the AI talk justified, and does it elevate the Pixel 9 above and beyond models that have come before it or that challenge it today? I've found out by using the Pixel 9 everyday. Google Pixel 9: design Not only is the Google Pixel 9 the most attractive and well-presented standard Pixel phone yet, but it's also one of the best-looking smartphones you can buy today. It's glorious in a way Pixel phones haven't always been before, as it gets both the aesthetics and ergonomics right, which oddly seems to be quite a challenge for other manufacturers. I don't think photos do it justice either, as they can't convey how excellent the phone feels in your hand or how polished and high-quality the hardware itself is. The satin-finish metal chassis has precisely the right amount of curve to blend in with the flat Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2 rear panel, making it a joy to hold. The size, for me, is spot-on as I can use it with one hand without feeling like I'm going to fumble it, and it can slip mostly unnoticed into my pocket. It's as durable as you'd hope, with an IP68 dust and water resistance rating and Gorilla Glass Victus 2 over the screen. The Pixel 9 isn't slippery, though, and it has plenty of grip from the metal frame. The fit and finish is fantastic, which, although it should be a given, isn't always the case with Pixel phones. The Pixel 9 is beautifully made without any hint of misalignment, unwanted ridges, or less than perfect fit. Its stylish, simple design gets its character from the camera module, which has morphed from a visor into a substantial flat-top island mountain on the back of the 9. The stadium shapes used help lessen its visual impact, but there's no denying its considerable height. At 198 grams, the Pixel 9 is suitably weighty, but never heavy, so I haven't found it fatiguing to hold for any length of time. There are several colors available: Porcelain (which I have been using), Obsidian, Peony, and Wintergreen. If I'm forced to pick one thing I don't like about the Pixel 9's design, it's not to do with the phone, but with the official case. It's very pretty, and I love the soft inner layer, but the outside collects all the dust and lint from your pocket or bag. I'd choose another Pixel 9 case or just enjoy the Pixel 9's fantastic ergonomics without one. Google Pixel 9: screen The Pixel 9 has a 6.3-inch Actua screen with a 1080 x 2424 pixel resolution and a maximum 120Hz refresh rate. Google does set the refresh rate at 60Hz by default, though, so make sure you change this in the settings. Compared to the Pixel 9 Pro and Pixel 9 Pro XL, which feature higher resolutions and a dynamic 1Hz to 120Hz refresh rate, the base Pixel 9 has the lesser screen. The Pro phones are also brighter, and this is one of the small issues I've had with the Pixel 9. The official figures claim 1,800 nits maximum brightness and 2,700 nits peak brightness, but I've found it doesn't get quite as bright as I'd like under normal outside use. Whether it's the ambient light sensor that needs tweaking or a poor average brightness for everyday situations, I've found myself maxing the brightness setting out quite often, yet it's still not as vibrant and visible as required for the conditions. Screen brightness is one of the small issues I've had with the Pixel 9. This is really the only negative, though. There's a very fast and accurate new ultrasonic fingerprint sensor set sensibly high up on the screen, and that's joined by an instant face unlock feature. It's the simplest, fastest, and most reliable Pixel phone security system I've used, and I've found it far more pleasant to use than those on other phones, including the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6 and the HMD Skyline. Google has also engineered a superb haptic feedback system that is used throughout the software. It's delightfully soft and tactile, yet noticeable and useful too. Apart from cranking the brightness up on the Pixel 9's screen, I've enjoyed watching video on the phone, but more than that, I like the informative and customizable always-on screen and the sheer speed of response. It sounds basic, but until you use a phone like the Pixel 9, it's easy to accept slower, more ponderous versions of Android as the norm. Audio comes from stereo speakers, and they sound good at anything up to about three-quarters of the volume, after which they distort quite badly. If you own a set of Pixel Buds Pro or Pixel Buds Pro 2 earbuds, you can listen to spatial audio through some online video streaming services. The audio and visual experience on the Pixel 9 is excellent and representative of the phone's price. Google Pixel 9: software and performance I've been reviewing the Pixel 9 with Android 14 installed, and it has received a few software updates since I started using it. Google will keep it updated with major OS versions, security updates, and Feature Drops over the next seven years, starting August 22, 2024. This means that Google will use one of these major updates to receive Android 15 later this year, which may frustrate some. However, before you get upset, ask yourself if you expect to still use the Pixel 9 in 2030. The Pixel 9 has the Google Tensor G4 chip at its heart with 12GB of RAM and either 128GB or 256GB of storage space. The Tensor chips have had their fair share of problems over the past few years, but none seem to be evident in this latest version. It has not generated any unexpected heat, it has run all my apps without any reliability issues, and Android 14 performs without stutters or flaws. It's the most fluid, smoothest, and most enjoyable Pixel experience yet. There are a couple of new preinstalled apps: Pixel Studio and Screenshots. Screenshots works like a fancy version of the screenshots folder in Google Photos. It's searchable using AI, and your screenshots can be organized into collections. You can also take photos in the app itself, allowing you to add essential information to them. It has some usefulness, and its simple interface will encourage you to use it. But why it's an app and not an enhancement to Google Photos, where it could be used on different devices, I have no idea. I also have no idea why anyone would want to use Pixel Studio. It uses AI to generate images based on your descriptions, and it's vaguely fun for a few tries. There does seem to be a way to upload your own photos for the AI treatment. Still, all my photos were flagged as inappropriate (I wouldn't mind, but none of the photos were inappropriate), so I couldn't try it. Other tests have produced some very questionable images. It's an app that's good for showing AI's "imagination," and I'm sure it'll be fun for social media posts. However, aside from that use case, it's forgettable fluff. I'd rather use the Rabbit R1's generative AI camera feature. Google Pixel 9: AI and Gemini All this talk about Screenshots and Pixel Studio brings us neatly to the Pixel 9's AI, which is what Google spent most of the launch event talking about. I've been using basic Gemini AI, but not Gemini Advanced, as the Pixel 9 does not come with a free year of its use, unlike the Pixel 9 Pro range. It has taken over from Assistant, but does defer to Assistant for things it can't do, like set alarms. You can talk much more conversationally with it, and Gemini understands and replies in a similar fashion. In fact, Gemini loves the sound of its own voice, so make sure you tell it to summarize in a few sentences, as otherwise, it will chat away for ages. For all the talk about its ability, Gemini can be frustratingly sparse in its functionality if you don't pay for Gemini Live and the Gemini Advanced package. It can't translate webpages or videos, it can't answer system-based questions like "How do you change your voice," and when you feed it a link, it doesn't seem to know what to do with it. It is good at answering questions based on summarization and information gathering. I asked it to explain the Porsche 911 range between 1997 and 2004, which it did, and it recommended the model I should buy and gave me some general tips on purchasing, too. I didn't feel it had saved me that much effort or time, but it was a decent jumping-off point for more research. Previous Next 1 of 3 I asked it to help create driving routes to various locations while always avoiding narrow roads, but Gemini's Google Maps query never worked for me. Without using Google Maps, it returned text suggestions, but I'd have to look for the route in Maps anyway. It didn't understand my question about changing its voice, and I can't find a way to alter its male voice either. It's all rather disappointing. I know some people find AI's organization and summarization tools helpful. Still, Gemini has repeatedly failed to make me think it has given me superior results cqmpared to spending a few minutes searching or saved me masses of time by using its services. I'm not an AI skeptic, but I do think we're being sold a bit of a underbaked product here, at least at this early stage. It's not just Google, as Samsung is just as guilty of pushing middling AI onto our phones. But at least Galaxy AI is presented in a way that I can see how it may help me out in certain circumstances. For example, rather than directing me to the Translate app, Gemini tried translating a conversation for me, which was a long-winded disaster. Galaxy AI clearly defines what tool you should use, and it doesn't try to push you into using Bixby (shudder). The AI-enhanced weather app is another great example of "who cares." Yes, it is pretty to look at, but it tells me the weather just like dozens of other apps. No matter how much Google wants to think it is, Gemini is not a reason to buy or use the Pixel 9. Don't forget it's not unique to the Pixel 9 either, as Gemini works on many other of the best Android phones, so you're not "missing out" if you want Gemini, but not a Pixel. But then it's whether you're missing out at all. While it's obvious there is potential, and it can do much more than Assistant, Gemini is not life-changing yet -- and certainly not in its standard subscription-free form. It would be very unfair to call Gemini and its tricks gimmicks, but many of its features have yet to go beyond novelty status, and those that are more polished may not get used all that often. Google Pixel 9: camera The Pixel 9 has two cameras on the back: a 50-megapixel main camera and a 48MP wide-angle camera that also enables a macro mode. The camera is supported by laser autofocus, a spectral sensor for color accuracy, and optical and electronic image stabilization. There's no optical zoom or telephoto camera, but the camera app has a 2x shortcut, and there's Google's 8x Super Res Zoom mode, too. The 10.5MP selfie camera also has autofocus. I've taken more than 160 photos with the Pixel 9 and haven't been disappointed with one of them, by which I mean there aren't any situations where the photo has come out poorly because of something the camera has done. The main and wide-angle cameras shoot sharp, colorful images that can have a slightly processed look, but for me, this means they are never dull or underwhelming. It all ensures I have confidence in the camera and can look for more creative opportunities to use it. Previous Next 1 of 22 Even the 2x zoom is decent, and you have to crop the image down to see evidence of its digital manipulation. Although I didn't expect the 8x Super Res Zoom to be very good, it's not awful. Considering the price increase, I think Google should have put a telephoto camera into the new camera module. I've had some fun with the Action Pan mode, which adds motion blur to moving objects, and with the new Reimagine feature in Magic Editor, which allows you to change scenes based on your imagination. I haven't found a time or situation to use Add Me, Google's AI-assisted group photo mode, and that pretty much sums it up nicely. I've taken more than 160 photos with the Pixel 9 and haven't been disappointed with one of them. If you have a Google Pixel 8, don't expect to see much difference between the main cameras, but the wide-angle camera is new, so how does it perform? There's less noise, slightly more accurate colors, and more natural white balance, making it a genuine upgrade. On this subject, the Pixel 9 Pro is another $200 more, and aside from the telephoto camera, it is otherwise very similar to the Pixel 9. Before making a decision between the two, ask yourself whether you really need it, as the cheaper Pixel 9 is a brilliant camera phone. Google Pixel 9: battery life and charging What a happy surprise the Pixel 9's battery life is. Previous models have all suffered from average-at-best battery life, but the Pixel 9 goes beyond this. While it's not stellar, it's more than acceptable for general use. The 4,700mAh capacity cell may sound small, but on days when I don't play games but do use GPS, the camera, media, and apps for a total of four hours of screen time, it's ending the day with around 30% remaining. No, I don't think it'll last for two full days unless you're using it very lightly, but there's more than enough battery life for a full day of use, including gaming. Behind this is an obvious efficiency improvement. A 45-minute YouTube video at 1440p resolution barely uses 5% of the battery, and a 30-minute session of Asphalt Legends Unite uses about the same. That's excellent performance, and even during its early getting-to-know-me phase, the Pixel 9's battery has never fallen to just a single day. The Pixel 9 does not come with a wall charger in the box. It supports 45-watt chargers but maxes out at 27W, plus there's Qi wireless charging. Google has not adopted Qi2 wireless charging for the Pixel 9 series. Google quotes 55% battery charge as being reached in 30 minutes using a compatible charger. In my tests using an Anker Prime wall charger and its USB C cable, the battery reached 53% in 30 minutes and was fully charged in 92 minutes. Google Pixel 9: price and availability The Google Pixel 9 was released on August 22 and costs $799 for the 128GB version or $899 for the 256GB version, although some offers may alter this price depending on when you order. This is $100 more expensive than the Pixel 8, but for once, you can see where Google has improved the phone, as it's evident everywhere -- from the design and materials to the performance and battery life. The increase in price brings the Pixel 9 into line with the Samsung Galaxy S24 and the OnePlus 12, two of its main Android rivals, and with the iPhone 15, too. For this price, the OnePlus 12 has more RAM and storage and faster charging, while the Galaxy S24 has a telephoto camera. For a little less money, you should look at the OnePlus 12R, the Nothing Phone 2, or the Samsung Galaxy S23 FE -- all of which are great buys. Then there's the question of the Pixel 9 Pro and Pixel 9 Pro XL, plus the cheaper Pixel 8a, which remains current in the range. While the processor and software do not change on the Pixel 9, the cameras, screens, and battery capacity all do, so think carefully about what you want from your Pixel phone over the coming years. The Pixel 9's new price has pushed it into new territory, and it has plenty more tempting competitors because of it, but it's still going to be the pick of the Pixel bunch for anyone not besotted with the camera. Google Pixel 9: verdict Much to Google's chagrin, I'm sure the Pixel 9's appeal is the same as it always has been. The software is the best interpretation of Android, the camera is excellent, and for the first time ever, the hardware meets and even exceeds the competition. Gemini AI is not a reason to buy or upgrade any phone yet, as its functionality often only caters to quite specific situations or is frivolous in nature -- and therefore won't be used all the time either. Gemini isn't listed as a pro or a con in our review, and that sums up the way I feel about it in general. It's not great, and it's not terrible. It's just there. The Pixel 9's appeal as a phone is higher than ever then, but unfortunately, so is its price. Alongside the OnePlus 12 and Galaxy S24, it struggles to compete on charging and camera functionality, and if you chose one of those over the Pixel 9, I don't think it would be a poor decision. I've enjoyed the Pixel 9 a great deal. Equally, it wouldn't be a poor decision to buy the Pixel 9, as it really is better than ever. I've enjoyed the phone a great deal, and it's refreshing to see that Google has addressed some of the negatives that the Pixel series has endured for a while. If I didn't have to swap my SIM out of the Pixel 9, I'd be perfectly happy with it, and I think that's a very high recommendation.

9 best Google Pixel 9 Pro features that will make you want to upgrade

We see countless smartphone launches every year, but the recent Made by Google event was special. The Google Pixel 8 Pro amazed us with its AI features and outstanding camera, earning it a place as one of the best camera phones. The Pixel 9 Pro continues this legacy with even more upgrades, especially in the camera department. Here's a closer look at the exciting new tricks the Pixel 9 Pro brings to the table. Related The Pixel 9 Pros are the phones I've always wanted from Google Finally, a real deal small Android flagship 9 1 Pixel 9 Pro camera setup What's different under the hood this time? The Pixel 9 Pro stays true to its lineage with a reliable triple camera system. This setup includes the familiar main and ultrawide cameras from the entry model with a 48MP telephoto lens featuring a ƒ/2.8 aperture, a 22-degree field of view (FoV), and a 1/2.55-inch sensor. Another notable upgrade to the Pixel 9 Pro is its front-facing camera. The Pixel 9 Pro packs a punch with a 42MP sensor. This front camera offers a ƒ/2.2 aperture and a 103-degree ultrawide FoV, resulting in sharper and brighter selfies, especially in low light. It is one of the best front cameras in the Pixel lineup. Related Why I'll never buy another phone without a telephoto camera Ultrawide is nice, but optical zoom is hard to beat 10 2 A display engineered for vivid visuals Bright, detailed, and battery-friendly Close The Pixel 9 Pro's display is something to appreciate. Whether you choose the Pro or Pro XL model, you'll get a stunning OLED screen protected by Corning® Gorilla® Glass Victus® 2. The Pro features a 6.3-inch display, while the Pro XL offers a larger 6.8-inch screen. Both are equipped with LTPO Super Actua technology for excellent visual performance. This screen reaches an impressive peak brightness of 3,000 nits, ensuring that colors stay vivid even under direct sunlight. The LTPO tech allows the screen to adjust its refresh rate from 1Hz to 120Hz smoothly. 3 Pixel 9 Pro's 16GB RAM Powering today, ready for tomorrow The Pixel 9 Pro is equipped with 16GB of RAM. We believe part of this memory is dedicated to Gemini and ensuring tasks such as sound and image processing run smoothly. As AI becomes central to everyday smartphones, the extra RAM setup helps the Pro lineup remain relevant and future-proofed with Google's promise of seven years of updates. Related How virtual memory works on Android The concept of virtual memory was introduced in 1959 4 Super Res Zoom Videos Reaching further, capturing sharper The Google Pixel series delivers impressive camera phones. While top-tier hardware is part of the equation, the real magic lies in Google's algorithm and computational photography. One of the Pixel 9 Pro's most impressive feats is its ability to record sharp, clear video from afar, made possible by Super Res Zoom. This feature combines the Tensor G4's brain power and the Pixel 9 Pro's 48-megapixel telephoto camera data with an AI-driven upscale, pushing the limits of what's possible. As Sebastian Rodriguez, senior product marketing manager for Google Pixel Camera, says, "bends the rules of physics." If you prefer to capture close-ups in your videos, the Pixel 9 Pro's Super Res Zoom Video brings you 20x closer to the heart of the moment. It combines the best of your device with the power of AI to bend the rules of physics. 5 New Pixel Pro colors What's in, what's out? Close This year's Pixel Pro lineup is available in four colors: Obsidian, Porcelain, Hazel, and Rose Quartz. While Obsidian and Porcelain are common colors in this year's Pixel lineup, Hazel and Rose Quartz are exclusive to the Pro models. We also lost last year's Bay (blue) color, which we will miss. 6 8K video at 30FPS The Pixel 9 Pro delivers, but there's a caveat This year marks the first time the Pixel series introduced 8K video recording at up to 30 frames per second. However, there is a caveat. The device does not entirely handle the Pixel 9 Pro's 8K video support. Instead, it is an extension of Google's Video Boost feature. The raw footage you capture is not fully processed on your phone. Instead, the video is uploaded to Google's cloud servers. Only after this cloud-based processing is complete will you be able to access and use the video. This means you need a reliable internet connection and might experience a delay before your final video is ready. 7 Pixel remembers, so you don't have to Overwhelmed to organized, all in one app Close Pixel Screenshots is the answer to the overwhelming number of screenshots you likely have on your phone. Knowing that your phone is filled with screenshots of everything, this app keeps track of them for you, so you don't have to. The app uses a local AI filter, driven by Google's on-device large language model, to comb through your screenshots. This AI extracts relevant information, such as text, dates, and other details that deserve your attention. When identified, these findings are sorted into customizable collections for you to manage. 8 Apple Intelligence, you are in trouble Gemini is here to make your life easier Gemini is your all-in-one assistant, effortlessly handling large and small tasks while syncing with the Google apps and tools you love. If you're planning a birthday party, ask Gemini to find the cake recipe you saved with Pixel Screenshots and add the ingredients to your Google Keep shopping list. If you're reuniting with college friends, tell Gemini to "create a late '90s playlist," and it curates the perfect mix on YouTube music. The Pixel 9 Pro package includes a year-long Gemini Advance subscription. This gives you exclusive early access to Gemini Live, the next level of voice interaction. This feature allows you to have free-flowing conversations with Gemini on your phone, perfect for brainstorming, rehearsing, or chatting. It's like having a pocket-sized expert, always ready to assist when creativity or curiosity sparks. 9 Magic Editor has some new tricks New additions to Google's AI editing arsenal Magic Editor is designed to help everyone, from photography pros to casual users, bring out the best in their photos. It's even more powerful this year, adding new features to its already impressive toolkit. Reimagine You snap a photo of your living room, but something feels off. The coffee table looks too plain. Enter Magic Editor. Tap the magic wand, select the table, and type "add a cozy throw and a few books" to transform the space into a warm, inviting nook instantly. Perhaps your neutral outfit could use a splash of color? Highlight your outfit and type "light blue scarf and matching shoes" for a better style. Reimagine, the newest feature in Magic Editor, does just that. A few small edits and you create a big visual impact. The more you describe, the better Reimagine performs. It's particularly effective on backgrounds and objects, so use it where it works best. Add Me What if capturing group photos didn't involve awkwardly balancing a camera on a timer, struggling to fit everyone in the frame, or missing out on candid moments because someone had to play photographer? Thanks to Add Me, everyone makes it into the frame. The mode begins by asking you to scan your surroundings to get a sense of the scene. After capturing the first image, you switch places with the other person, and the app overlays a ghosted image of the previous shot in the camera preview. This overlay guides you in aligning the second shot perfectly. After taking both photos, the app merges them, creating a final image that looks like everyone was together in the same shot from the start. Close Pixel 9 Pro's price premium: is it justified? At $1,000, the Google Pixel 9 Pro might not seem worth the extra $200 over the base Pixel 9, which is $800. Still, it's worth the extra money if you're into photography and crave the telephoto lens, upgraded selfie camera, 8K video, and a one-year Google One plan as a cherry on top. Most of the AI features that excite us will be available on the base Pixel 9. The main difference might lie in reliability due to the Pro's additional RAM, but this remains to be confirmed by official benchmarks, as both models share the same Tensor G4 chipset. Google Pixel 9 Pro The Pixel 9 Pro is a new addition to Google's lineup, slotting in as a smaller premium flagship to pair with the Pixel 9 Pro XL. The latter is the direct successor to 2023's Pixel 8 Pro despite its new XL moniker, whereas the Pixel 9 Pro brings a new form-factor to Google's high-end offerings, sporting the same dimensions as the standard Pixel 9 model while packing all the AI and camera prowess we've grown accustomed to from Google's Pro lineup.

The Google Pixel 9 Pro and 9 Pro XL are the best Pixel phones yet | CNN Underscored

As I type this review, I have the Pixel 9 Pro XL sitting next to my keyboard, and all I want to do is keep picking it up and playing around with it. This phone, Google's highest-end flagship for 2024, is the most beautiful Pixel phone to date. It's also the fastest and has the best screen, the best cameras and the most interesting AI features yet, thanks to Gemini. Compared to other flagships like the Galaxy S24 Ultra and OnePlus 12, the Pixel 9 Pro XL stands out as one of the best smartphones you can buy. Period. It has its shortcomings, and it's a bummer that the price went up this year for the same size phone. But this is genuinely the first time in forever that I've thought about ditching my iPhone and switching to the Pixel full time. It's just that good. Let's talk about it, shall we? Google Pixel 9 Pro Google With its upgraded design, stellar cameras and compelling AI upgrades, the Pixel 9 Pro delivers and is one of Google's best smartphones to date. From $999 at Best Buy From $999 at Amazon Google Pixel 9 Pro XL Best Buy The Pixel 9 Pro XL has one of the most beautiful screens on any smartphone. Coupled with great cameras, a gorgeous design and fun AI features, it's Google's best flagship yet. From $1,099 at Best Buy From $1,099 at Amazon What I liked about them The best Pixel design to date, now in two sizes Max Buondonno/CNN Underscored There's no doubt about it: Google nailed the design of the Pixel 9 Pro series. Both the smaller version and the bigger one have flat edges, similar to the iPhone and recent Galaxy devices, as well as flat displays. The side aluminum rails have a polished finish for extra sheen, while the back glass offers a matte finish to reduce fingerprints. This thing looks sexy no matter how you hold it. I got the Porcelain version of the 9 Pro XL and the Hazel version of the 9 Pro. They aren't as exciting as the Wintergreen or Peony colors, but they're sharp nonetheless. Google threw in an IP68 rating for dust and water resistance, and you won't have to worry about scratching or cracking your screen (or at least worry less) thanks to Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2 on the front and back. I love the fact that Google decided to ship the Pixel 9 Pro series in two different sizes. For fans of smaller phones, there's a 6.3-inch model, while those who need the most screen possible can choose the 6.8-inch version. I've spent most of my time with the 9 Pro XL, and the extra size is definitely worth it for getting work done, but the smaller variant is equally as nice since you can use it with one hand. Max Buondonno/CNN Underscored While it's clear that the Pixels this year are more similar to the competition than ever, they're still Pixels at heart. That's evident by the huge camera bump on the back, which is now centered on the upper portion of the devices and doesn't stretch all the way to the edges. I'm a fan of this look, although it still tends to collect a lot of lint. Flip it around and you'll see two gorgeous Super Actua displays. Google uses AMOLED panels with sharp resolutions to make everything look crystal-clear, colorful and vibrant. For the first time ever on a Pixel phone (and a rarity among smartphones in general), both phones come with 3,000 nits of peak brightness, which makes them insanely bright even in direct sunlight. I've never had an issue viewing either of these screens in the sunshine, and they surpass the best that Apple and Samsung have come up with, since their phones ship with 2,000 nits and 2,600 nits, respectively. If you want the brightest display, go with the Pixel. Incredible cameras with useful tricks Max Buondonno/CNN Underscored If you were wondering if these are the best Pixel cameras to date, I'm happy to report that they indeed are and they'll give Apple's iPhone 16 Pro some stiff competition when it hits the market. Google includes the same 50-megapixel camera as it did last year with the Pixel 8, as well as the same 48-megapixel periscope telephoto lens that gives you sweet 5x optical zoom. This year, there's an updated 48-megapixel ultrawide camera that has a slightly narrower lens but still captures amazing landscapes. There isn't one lighting situation that the Pixel would underperform in. It's too easy for Google at this point; the company has aced the post-processing magic that goes into each photo, features like Night Sight and astrophotography make them some of the best low-light cameras on the market, and all the versatility of the hardware and pro controls in the camera app give you tons of flexibility to get the shot you want. Max Buondonno/CNN Underscored Max Buondonno/CNN Underscored Max Buondonno/CNN Underscored Max Buondonno/CNN Underscored Google Pixel 9 Pro XL camera samples Prev Next The video quality is also amazing. For an Android phone, I've never seen 4K clips look this good. They're virtually on par with the iPhone, something I've never been able to say. And that goes for all three cameras. Compared to phones like the Galaxy S24 Ultra and iPhone 15 Pro, the Pixel 9 Pro has no issue keeping up and oftentimes surpasses them from a quality standpoint. Sure, you'll get more natural-looking photos with the iPhone and much farther zoom with Samsung, but the Pixel offers a well-rounded package that you can rely on to capture life's everyday moments. On the other hand, if you want to remember moments in a way that's different from how you experienced them, Google will let you do that with AI. On the Pixel 9 Pro, you can use Magic Editor to reimagine the background of a photo in your gallery, or reframe a certain photo so that your subject is properly centered. I liked toying around with these features, and they can be fun if you don't take them too seriously. What's perhaps the most interesting camera update this year is Add Me. Take a picture of your group of friends, then have one of them take a picture of you in the same frame and watch the two images merge together so that everyone's included. It works surprisingly well, or at least well enough that you won't see any visual impurities from afar. Zoom in and you can see the stitching at play, so you might want to save shots like this for Instagram. Max Buondonno/CNN Underscored While it can be a gimmick at times (just look at the photos above of me at Peter Dillons in Manhattan), Add Me can definitely be useful if you're somewhere special and want to make sure everyone's in the group shot. The AI stuff is really cool Of course, AI isn't just in the camera. The big story around the Pixel 9 series is artificial intelligence, with Google integrating its Gemini chatbot with every version of the phone and completely replacing the Google Assistant as a result. While it's not at the point where it should be the sole reason you buy a Pixel phone, it's definitely getting there. Max Buondonno/CNN Underscored Gemini Live is a great example of this. With the Pixel 9 Pro, you can speak to Gemini as you would the Google Assistant, only it's much more humanlike. You can ask it questions to research different topics, ask follow-up questions, interrupt the conversation and more. The experience feels like you're speaking to one of those futuristic supercomputers that has access to all the knowledge in the universe, except in a dumbed-down version that runs on your phone. Note that in order to access Gemini Live, you'll need to subscribe to the Google One AI Premium plan, which will set you back $20 per month. Luckily, that also nabs you 2TB of cloud storage with Google Drive and Gemini in apps like Gmail, Docs and more. The best part? If you buy a Pixel 9 Pro series phone, you'll get a year of it for free, which is a $240 savings. Gemini Live isn't the primary experience of Gemini. Instead, you have to start a live conversation with it to use it, but that's probably for the best since it keeps the regular experience nice and simple. Hold down the power button and talk to Gemini like you would the Assistant and you'll have a very familiar experience, just with the added benefit of more contextual responses and the ability to do things like generate images. Gemini can understand what's on your screen too, so you can learn more about a movie or YouTube video you're watching. It also has a nifty UI that floats over the content you're referencing, which is a nice touch. Max Buondonno/CNN Underscored Some of the most useful AI features on the Pixel 9 Pro are Pixel Screenshots and Pixel Studio. They're brand-new apps that rely on Google's Gemini Nano model that runs locally on the Tensor G4 processor without the need for Wi-Fi (hence why the apps aren't available on older Pixel phones). I think most people will enjoy toying around with Pixel Studio. It's similar to all those image generators you've heard about that let you create any kind of image you want using text prompts. Google includes a huge feed of examples to get your creative juices flowing, and you can tweak any of them to your liking. Later on, you can add your own text, stickers and effects, as well as add or remove any subjects or objects you don't want. It's a neat trick that could come in handy if you run a serious meme account or need a creative party invitation. Max Buondonno/CNN Underscored The app I've used the most is Pixel Screenshots. It's the new home for all the screenshots you take on your phone, and it lets you sort through and organize them all with ease. The fun starts when you hit the search key. Using Gemini, the Pixel 9 analyzes the contents of each screenshot and lets you locate the image you had in mind. For example, if you found the best burger recipe you've ever seen in your life but it's been a few months, you can search for "burger recipes" and it'll pop up. You can even search for text in screenshots, like Wi-Fi passwords you took a screenshot of while you were at your buddy's place. Over time, Pixel Screenshots can easily become a go-to tool for every Pixel user who takes way too many screenshots. I really hope other companies copy this idea, because it's pure genius. Google also added the ability to generate lists in Google Keep so you can sort out things like grocery lists before you head to the supermarket for taco night. There are now AI summaries of the weather in the new Weather app (which are surprisingly useful), and you can record a phone call and have it automatically transcribed using Call Notes. The latter is one of the more interesting features on the Pixel: It alerts each caller before a recording begins, then records and processes the call in real time on the device without sending anything to Google's servers. After you hang up, Call Notes gives you a summary of the call and any notable information that stood out. That way, you don't have to worry about missing key dates or phone numbers. I didn't test this feature a ton, but the few times I did, it seemed to work really well. I'll have to test it more in the future to get a better read, but signs are so far positive. Terrific performance and software support Max Buondonno/CNN Underscored The Pixel 9 Pro series gets Google's Tensor G4 processor which is about 10% faster than the G3 from last year, and it holds up well against what you'll find in the latest iPhones and Galaxy devices. Sure, it isn't quite as powerful as the competition in benchmarks, but it's still plenty fast for tackling everything you do on your phone. Multitasking is a dream on both of these phones, thanks to the 16GB of RAM that's included, which is far more than I'm used to in smartphones. Everything flies on the Pixel 9 Pro, and I've never experienced any sort of slowdown because of it. As per usual, Google delivers on the software front. The experience is first-class, with a clean UI and plenty of smart features like Now Playing and Call Screen. While the Pixel 9 Pro currently ships with Android 14 out of the box, it'll soon be updated to Android 15. In addition, Google is promising seven years of upgrades with its entire lineup of phones, which means you can keep using it for years down the road and still get all the latest features. The vibrations are unbelievably good I have no idea what Google's done with the vibration motor on the Pixel 9 Pro series, but it's excellent. It's about as good as Apple's Taptic Engine, except a tad less sharp. Still, everything from typing on the keyboard to your phone vibrating when you get a phone call feels premium, which isn't something you can say about a lot of phones on the market. The haptics were really good on the Pixel 8 too, but the Pixel 9 Pro takes things to the next level. What I didn't like about them Battery life could be better Max Buondonno/CNN Underscored I was a bit let down by the battery life on the Pixel 9 Pro and 9 Pro XL. It isn't necessarily bad, but they're both firmly one-day phones, whereas I was hoping for something more. The Pixel 9 Pro gets a 4,700mAh battery while the 9 Pro XL has a 5,060mAh cell, and they both perform fine. You can easily cruise through a full day of usage without issue, and you'll likely have somewhere around 10% to 20% in the tank before you go to bed. But while other phones like the S24 Ultra and OnePlus 12 can easily stretch into day two on a full charge, it's a shame that Google wasn't able to achieve the same thing with its phones. Luckily, Google makes up for it by including 45W charging support, the first time ever on a Pixel phone. You still need to buy your own adapter, however, such as Google's own that'll cost you $30. If you don't do that, you'll be stuck with 15W wireless charging (regular Qi, by the way, not the fancy magnetic Qi2 that's supposed to be rolling out soon). The price hike is no fun The Pixel 9 Pro is technically more expensive this time around. Whereas you could get the big Pixel phone for $1,000 last year, that option has been replaced by the regular 9 Pro while the 9 Pro XL starts at $1,100. Even the regular Pixel 9 is now priced at $799 instead of $699 like before. Whether the prices are justified or not, there's no doubt that paying more money for something that used to cost less is a bummer, so if you want to save money on your next smartphone, you might want to look into last year's models. Only 128GB? Really? Max Buondonno/CNN Underscored It is the Year of Our Lord 2024. We have advanced AI computers that can answer virtually any question you ask, cars that can drive themselves across the country, rocket ships that can launch and be reused later, and yet, somehow, the Pixel 9 Pro series still starts at 128GB of storage. For some people, that might be enough. Maybe you don't use a ton of apps or take a lot of video, and for that I commend you. But whereas the rest of the industry (including Apple) has made the leap to 256GB for the base configuration, Google somehow still believes that 128GB is enough to compete with everyone else. That means if you want the same storage spec that the rest of smartphone buyers get, you'll need to spend another $100 for the upgrade at checkout, which is pretty crummy. Bottom line The Google Pixel 9 Pro and 9 Pro XL are the best Pixel phones to date, and I have no problem recommending them to anyone searching for their next high-end Android phone. Their downsides are far outweighed by how good the rest of the experience is, and with seven years of promised software updates, they'll feel new for years down the road.

Google Pixel 9 review: Officially too much AI

Less comfortable to hold than Pixel 8 Relies too heavily on AI gimmicks The new Google Pixel 9 is teeming with AI -- and I don't feel any differently about it now than I did a year ago. That is to say, when I looked at the Google Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro phones last year, I came away thinking Google was focusing on the wrong things. After years of every new Pixel generation introducing genuinely useful features like live transcription in the Recorder app and tons of camera trickery, the Pixel 8 generation brought us a bunch of novel (but ultimately useless at best and vile at worst) AI features. That approach has only changed a little in 2024 with the Pixel 9. Google's entry-level flagship is $100 more expensive than the Pixel 8 at $799 -- and for that price you get more RAM, better cameras, and most notably, a bundle of even more new AI features that left me wondering why anyone would use them at all. This is still a very solid Android phone, but Google's foray into AI are starting to feel like the kinds of manufacturer-specific bloatware you used to buy Pixel phones to avoid. I've already established that the Pixel 9 got a $100 price bump from last year up to $799. But here's specifically what that gets you: The only hardware variant for Pixel 9 is a 256GB model that adds an extra $100 onto the price tag. Aside from the new Tensor chip (which has become a standard expectation for each new Pixel phone at this point), the biggest upgrade over the Pixel 8 here is 12GB of RAM, up from 8GB last year. That should theoretically allow the phone to handle more tasks at once, but really, it's there for AI features. We'll get to those in a bit. The most important thing to know about the Pixel 9, design-wise, is that it comes in a pink, or "Peony," this year. Excellent work by Google. Our review unit wasn't pink, and I'm very jealous of those who manage to get their hands on the Peony model. The other available colors are the much less striking Porcelain, Wintergreen, and Obsidian choices. As for design changes, Google went with flat, aluminum sides going around the phone, as opposed to the curved surfaces on the Pixel 8. I don't love this. It makes the Pixel 9 less ergonomic in the hands, and I constantly feel like I have less grip on it than I would a phone with curved sides. Whether it's actually in danger of falling out of my hands and onto the cement or not, you never want a phone that feels that way. The only other major design change worth noting is that the old side-to-side camera bar on the back has been replaced by a horizontal, oval-shaped camera bump that looks more like something you'd see on other phones. It's less distinctly Pixel than before, but I wouldn't say it looks bad. Just different. While I have misgivings about other aspects of the Pixel 9, the improved display is not one of them. Google bumped the max brightness up from 2,000 nits on Pixel 8 to 2,700 nits on Pixel 9, making this a great phone for use outside on a sunny day. While walking around my neighborhood, I never had trouble seeing the screen, which has become a problem for my slightly older iPhone. The adaptive 60-120Hz refresh rate that graced last year's entry-level Pixel is back and unchanged, which is for the best. As recently as the iPhone 15, Apple's equivalent handsets (as in the non-Pro models) are still locked at 60Hz. Google (as well as most other competitors at this point) continues to lap Apple in this regard. Oh, and you get an extra tenth of an inch compared to the Pixel 8. The Pixel 9's display is 6.3-inches, while the Pixel 8's was 6.2-inches. So far, I've established that this is a phone with good specs and a nice display. I don't love the way it feels in my hands, but hey, you can always buy a case. Now, it's time to get into what I dislike about Pixel 9: its excessive reliance on AI features. Just like how the Pixel 8 introduced the Magic Editor feature for quick-and-dirty photo edits, the Pixel 9 brings with it around half a dozen new toys to play with, of varying levels of usefulness. By that, I mean they vary from "inoffensive" to "I don't know why this exists." For instance, you can use the Reimagine feature in Magic Editor to take a photo of a street and use AI to turn the street into a river. Or you can use Add Me to create group photos that never really happened because one person had to hold the camera. There's also a new native Pixel Weather app that is mostly the same as the Apple one, but it gives you a quick AI summary of the day's weather when you boot it up. For example, today's summary in Brooklyn reads "Pleasant afternoon with comfortable temperatures and clean air." That's all true, and it's also information I could glean for myself by just scrolling down and looking at the rest of the weather app for 15 seconds. That's my primary problem with all of this. Google is going so hard on these features, championing them as the big selling points of the Pixel 9 family, and none of them are really transformative nor innovative in ways that matter. I don't need an AI to summarize the weather for me when every weather app already has a visually appealing way to do that. All of the photo editing features like Add Me and the expanded suite of Magic Editor features rub me the wrong way, too. Google has gone particularly hard on trying to sell these features as ways to create magical family memories, either through Add Me's ability to create perfect group photos or Magic Editor's ability to make mundane shots look spectacular. However, to me, this is the opposite of what memories should be about. I am not a parent, but if I were, I would not want my child to grow up and find out every picture I took of them was actually fake and enhanced by AI trickery. That photo of you sitting in a flowery field with a hot air balloon in the sky in the background? That's fake, sorry, kid. I cared more about making my social feeds look good than giving you an accurate glimpse of your childhood. And that says nothing of Pixel Studio, a new text-to-image generative AI tool that, well, turns your text prompts into images. This is standard Midjourney-level stuff and it works very quickly and efficiently on the Pixel 9, but to what end? So I can send my friends an obviously AI-generated photo of a lizard in a cowboy hat? That sounds like a great way to get banned from the group chat. That's not to say it's all useless. Pixel Screenshots is perhaps the lone example of Google leveraging AI in a way that could be life-saving. The idea is that it catalogs every screenshot you take and memorizes the on-screen text or other pertinent details for you. If you need to recall something you took a screenshot of six months ago, you don't need to scroll back through your library anymore. Simply open the Screenshots app, search for what you need, and it should be there. There are also ways to generate to-do lists and summarize phone calls, which I could see coming in handy at some point. But broadly speaking, something like 75 percent of these AI features (at least) feel tacked-on, like Google only put them there because the company spent too much on AI development and desperately needs some return on investment. I strongly feel that nobody actually needs things like Add Me, Pixel Studio, or Magic Editor. Just take a real photo of your kids and learn to love imperfections. All of those superfluous AI features are enabled by the new Tensor G4 chip and the 12GM of base RAM that come with every Pixel 9. Given all of that, and the fact that Pixel phones are generally very performant, one might expect the Pixel 9 to excel here. It doesn't, really. That's not to say there's anything overwhelmingly wrong with the way the Pixel 9 works on a day-to-day basis. Apps load quickly, the phone never seized up or slowed down in my time with it, and it didn't get warm on me after too much regular use. However, that's all been true of the last few Pixels, so it's not really impressive anymore. Compounding that is the relatively low Geekbench multi-core score of 4,358. That's lower than the Samsung Galaxy S23, which isn't even the newest Samsung flagship. There's already an S24! Again, I didn't run into any obvious problems with the Pixel 9's daily performance, but by the numbers, it isn't as powerful as even some older competitors. One area where the Pixel 9 is straight-up unimpeachable is the battery life. I'll keep this brief: It rocks. I ran a TikTok video on loop on the Pixel 9 screen with the brightness at 50 percent and, after 19 hours and 20 minutes, it ran out. It actually did better than the Pixel 9 Pro XL at the same test, as the bigger premium Pixel phone got 18 hours and 51 minutes of battery. It also lasts longer than the Pixel 8, which gave me a little more than 15 hours from the same test. When you're not running videos continuously, it lasts even longer. I was able to go about 24 hours between charges when using the phone normally. Google didn't drop the ball here. Specs-wise, Google only made one major change with the Pixel 9 cameras: The ultra-wide lens on the rear has been upgraded from 12MP on Pixel 8 to 48MP on Pixel 9. The 50MP main lens and 10.5MP selfie cam are unchanged from a year ago. Unsurprisingly, I was able to get nice-looking shots out of the Pixel 9 camera even though I'm not a photographer by trade. Google has always packed excellent cameras into these phones, using a combination of hardware and software processing, and the Pixel 9 is no different. For instance, while you don't get the eye-popping 30x zoom found on the Pixel 9 Pro models, the 8x zoom can produce very clear results from a distance. Excuse the fact that I don't really like taking selfies, and thus am not very good at them, but the selfie lens and portrait mode work as well as ever. Aside from just a megapixel upgrade, Google claims that the ultra-wide lens has greatly improved light sensitivity. My backyard has always made for a great low-light testing ground at night, and though the shot I got came out a little blurry, it is indeed much easier to see than it was in real life. For fun, I also tried out portrait mode at night, and it works very well. If you're a Pixel devotee, and your M.O. is to keep using your next Pixel the way you've always used your older ones, the Pixel 9 will serve you just right. It's got fantastic battery life and quality cameras to go along with adequate everyday performance. It's also much easier to see in the daytime while outside, which is a plus. But Google has simply gone too far with its AI features this year. I'm just not impressed that the weather app can sum up a temperature chart in one sentence because my brain can also do that instantly by looking at the chart. I don't want photos of my friends and loved ones to exist in this weird plane where they're all artificially edited. If I wasn't able to stand in for a group photo because I was holding the camera, then so be it. Life is full of imperfections and we don't benefit from pretending otherwise. I'll concede that the Pixel Screenshots app is genuinely useful, but beyond that, I would really rather see Google focus on real innovation or, in the absence of that, a phone that is more comfortable to hold than this one.

Google Pixel 9 Pro: Goodbye Pixel, Hello Gemini AI

Patrick's play The Cowboy is included in the Best American Short Plays 2011-12 anthology. He co-wrote and starred in the short film Baden Krunk that won the Best Wisconsin Short Film award at the Milwaukee Short Film Festival. Have you ever stayed up late, engrossed in a deep conversation with a close friend? Well, that happened to me with Google's new Pixel 9 Pro, which I've been testing for the past week. One night when I couldn't sleep, I decided to "talk" with the phone's premier feature: Gemini Live - basically the new assistant's conversation mode. I told Gemini that I had trouble sleeping and asked what I could do. Gemini, in an eerily human-sounding voice, offered ways I could sleep better and suggested that I reduce work stress - and yes, I realize the conversation in itself was actually work. During the "conversation," Gemini understood my rambling half-awake questions, interruptions, mumbles and tangents in a similar way a person would. The entire interaction felt natural and I didn't have to say, "Hey Google" once. At one point, Gemini recommended that I read the book Pride and Prejudice to fall asleep. I started to feel like Gemini really got me. But the entire time I talked with Gemini, I kept thinking: Am I like Joaquin Phoenix in the movie Her? Then, I had a horrifying revelation: Am I going to fall in love with a Pixel phone? That's when everything came to a halt. My new friendly sidekick went silent. Gemini stopped and wouldn't talk to me. Was it something I said? Did Gemini abandon me? In the span of five minutes, I started to truly understand Google's hype and potential around Gemini, only to witness it fail. We are still far from a time where generative AI and large language models become a seamless, trustworthy part of our daily reality. I'm not alone in what I experienced with Gemini. My CNET colleagues, Lisa Eadicicco and Andy Lanxon, were both wowed by the AI-powered assistant in their reviews for the Pixel 9 and Pixel 9 Pro XL, respectively. And like me, each ran into issues. Eadicicco similarly had Gemini stop responding, which she found confusing. Lanxon received inaccurate answers, like when he asked it to recommend places where he could get a drink, only to have Gemini to suggest a bar that had closed years ago. It became clear while testing the Pixel 9 Pro that the phone itself isn't Google's shiny new product, Gemini is. With its latest phone lineup, which includes the Pixel 9, 9 Pro, 9 Pro XL and 9 Pro Fold, Google merely wrapped it in four different packages. Want Gemini in a phone that won't hurt your wallet too much? Get the Pixel 9. Hoping to use Gemini with a great telephoto camera? Well, there's the Pixel 9 Pro and 9 Pro XL. Need a bigger screen for Gemini that can fold down to fit into your pocket? Consider the Pixel 9 Pro Fold. Of course, Gemini isn't exclusive to Pixel phones, which tarnishes some of the Pixel 9 Pro's luster. Google usually positions its Pixel phones as a premier Android experience, and clearly wants Gemini to be a big part of that appeal this year. There are other new AI-powered tools and features like Call Notes, which can transcribe and summarize phone calls. There's a new Screenshots app that's an on-device hub to store and quickly search for info contained in your screen grabs. The Pixel Studio app can generate clip art-like images from text prompts. There's also the Reimagine tool in the Photos app's Magic Editor to alter and generate aspects of a photo from your prompts. All of these, as well as the Add Me camera tool (which uses AR to help add the photographer of an image to group photos), seemingly try to address a specific problem or use case. But often, these aren't problems or uses that are applicable to me. Yeah, it was fun generating an image of a tuxedo-clad iguana tap dancing, but how many times am I going to use that? For better or worse, the Pixel 9 Pro's AI overshadows the hardware, which is a shame because the phone's design is actually quite nice. I am happy that Google made a smaller version of the Pixel 9 Pro XL. But this is a far cry from being a small phone in the way the 5.9-inch Asus Zenfone 10 or 5.4-inch iPhone 13 Mini were. Basically, it's the same size as the regular 6.3-inch Pixel 9, but with higher-end features like a better display, higher-resolution selfie camera, more RAM, a telephoto camera and a thermometer (yep, Google kept it around). The Pixel 9 Pro feels better built than previous Pixel phones, thanks in large part to its new flat-sided design, reminiscent of the Galaxy S24 and iPhone 15. The camera bar that defined the look of recent Pixel phones has shrunk to a thick flat-sided, pill-shaped camera bump. It almost looks like the phone is wearing a tiny VR headset. The new ultrasonic under-display fingerprint reader is blazing fast. At CNET's San Francisco office, my colleagues and I took a couple of minutes to marvel at how fast the Pixel 9 Pro was to unlock. The cameras are largely the same as last year's Pixel 8 Pro and take equally excellent photos. But they also suffer from some of the same problems with pixelation in low-light and night mode images. The 9 Pro and 9 Pro XL get a new 42-megapixel camera for selfies and video calls, which I found was a definite improvement over the Pixel 8 Pro's 10.5-megapixel front-facing camera. In my time using the Pixel 9 Pro, the battery life has been good and gets through a day. But I worry how the battery life will be as more features and AI tools get added over the coming years. The Pixel 9 Pro costs $999, the same as the Pixel 8 Pro. But that's not exactly the full story. The $1,099 Pixel 9 Pro XL, aside from the name change, is for all intents and purposes the true follow-up to the 8 Pro. I do think the Pixel 9 Pro is worth its price, but I can't believe I only get 128GB of storage for a grand. The $300 Moto G Power 5G comes with 128GB of storage and costs $700 less! Google's Pixel phones used to be a showcase for the latest version of Android. Now, it's clearly a showcase for Gemini. If you need more proof, the Pixel 9 family runs the current version of Android instead of the new and upcoming version of the operating system like past Pixels. This is just another sign that the Pixel 9 series is a turning point for Google as it shifts away from the Pixel phone we've known for years and toward a future where AI features are the biggest appeal. We're just not there yet.

Pixel 9 vs. Pixel 9 Pro: Smaller, smarter, similar [Video]

There is a divergence in the Made by Google smartphone series. We have two small phones that are identical in size and shape but offer different power outputs. Here's how the Pixel 9 compares to the Pixel 9 Pro. Before you've even seen the tale of the tape, the $100 bump across the board is tough to swallow. The Pixel 10 has also been swirling around with people saying they are hoping to see some even bigger improvements with the SoC switch from Samsung Foundry to TSMC. If you're one of those people, skip the Pixel 9 series wholesale. Even with that sentiment, Google's smartphones have almost always been more than just a sum of their parts; the Pixel 9 is no different. If you have even a passing interest, is the extra cost worth it? Here's what you need to know. While there are differences, the Pixel 9 and 9 Pro have the exact same footprint. They are the same size, shape, width, and height and are only 1g apart. They both pack in 6.3-inch "Super Actua" OLED screens, use the same processor, have the same battery, and have very similar core internals. Delve in a little deeper, and you will see why one is tagged "Pro." The Pixel 9 Pro has a brighter, higher-resolution display, 4GB more RAM, and two extra storage variants. The LTPO display on the 9 Pro can also reduce the refresh rate to as low as 1Hz to help save battery, but it even has smaller uniform bezels that are noticeable when viewed front-on. Google has done great by making the bezels the same width on all sides for a uniform look. While the internals are almost identical, the extra RAM overhead means that the Pixel 9 could be a little slower at certain memory-intensive tasks than the Pixel 9 Pro. We haven't noticed anything where the difference is pronounced, but AI tasks will have an edge on the 9 Pro now and into the future. The ultrasonic in-display fingerprint scanner is faster, easier, and more reliable than the optical scanner on the Pixel 7 and Pixel 8. One area where the Pixel 9 has the edge is in the color variants available. There is no parity in the brighter hues used on the cheaper handset, with the Peony offering a flashy, vibrant colorway to stand out from the crowd. The Pixel 9 Pro lineup is more muted and toned down, but the matte glass finish could be more appealing - if you can stomach glossy side rails. As noted above, only 1g gram separates the duo at 198g and 199g, respectively. IP68 water and dust resistance ratings are present, too, so taking a dip shouldn't pose any risk. You are getting practically identical software on the Google Pixel 9 and 9 Pro - save some camera functions we'll talk about shortly. The Google AI suite is fully catered for with any Pixel 9 device this year. This includes Pixel Studio for creating and editing your favorite images using Imagen2. Pixel Screenshots intelligently analyzes any on-device screenshots to help give context and pull key information where required. One of the most disappointing aspects of the entire Pixel 9 series is the lack of Android 15. These phones have shipped with Android 14 pre-installed. Google confirmed 7 years of updates are coming, but it's not clear if Android 15 is going to be classed as a "free" OS upgrade, but the official support pages state that August 2031 is when the lineup will be classed as "obsolete." Even with last year's update, the Pixel 9 series comes with a number of exclusive features like Pixel Screenshots for organizing your on-device images, Pixel Studio which lets you create images using AI prompts, or even Reimagine. This goes beyond the Magic Editor function with prompts letting you make changes or add content to your on-device images. Sadly, the Satellite SOS function is limited to the US for now. It lets you send SMS messages to emergency services when off-grid. The day-to-day experience is identical on this duo and, for what it's worth, very similar to the Pixel 8 series. As with many elements of this comparison, the Pixel 9 and 9 Pro share the same battery capacities at 4,700mAh. This is a decent cell size for a 6.3-inch phone. In our experience, you'll have enough overhead to handle a lot each and every day. The only difference is the charging speeds. Google claims 45W charging, but the reality this capped at lower charging rates closer to 27W when wired. You can get up to 70% in just 30 minutes with the Pixel 9 Pro or 55% on the Pixel 9 when using a USB-C cable. The wireless charging speeds with the second-generation Pixel Stand are also slightly different and lower than the specified 30W. The big difference between the Pixel 9 and 9 Pro cameras is the addition of one all-important extra lens and a big upgrade on the selfie camera. If you want up to 30x zoom, then there is only one device to pick. Aside from this lens, there is parity with the rear camera quality because the Pixel 9 has upgraded to a 48MP ultrawide angle lens. You can zoom in at 8x using the main lens, too, which produces acceptable stills and video. caIt's not just the hardware differences. The Pixel 9 Pro has more camera functions, including a dedicated Pro mode for photos, 8K 30fps video with the help of Video Boost, Super Res Zoom Video at up to 20x, and Zoom Enhance via the Google Photos application. Add Me is available on both phones and, in practice, is excellent. The Pixel 9 also has a much lower resolution 10.5MP selfie camera than the 9 Pro's 42MP selfie shooter. You can see the difference side-by-side, but if you're not much of a selfie taker, then this won't matter. Face Unlock works just as it always has - fast and reliable. If you choose the base model this year, you will miss out on Google's cutting-edge camera functionality, so we'd say you should choose wisely. About upgrading: 9to5Google often gives specific product recommendations. Sometimes, we may suggest not upgrading, due to various reasons including, but not limited to: increased device cost, negligible performance gains, or environmental impact. Whether to upgrade is always your call, but our aim is to help you make as informed a decision as possible. Google's decision to make the Pixel 9 and 9 Pro the exact same size and shape is both a blessing and a curse because while the regular Pixel 9 is a great entry into the lineup this year, you're so close to getting the full package with a little bit of extra cash. It has a great display and a solid dual-camera system. Although it is a little more expensive than its predecessors, it has some notable upgrades. There are tons of reasons to pick the Pixel 9 Pro over the Pixel 9, but it boils down to the telephoto zoom lens and enhanced feature set that this adds. If you want the best of the Pixel in a smaller package, this is the obvious choice. For an extra $200, you do not miss out on any of the good stuff -- the key-selling criteria. It's a no-brainer because, for the first time, you can have your cake and eat it.

Google Pixel 9 vs. OnePlus 12: the battle for the $800 crown | Digital Trends

As smartphones become more expensive and the best smartphones exceed $1,000, a class of phones aims to offer the best bang for your buck without breaking the bank. The top phones at this price point offer everything the bigger phones do, but with trade-offs that don't affect the overall price and allow companies to reach a lower sale price. The OnePlus 12 is the epitome of this, with few trade-offs and a price tag that belies belief. It offers everything from the Plus or regular Pro phones that other phone makers do, but with a few things that make it a true OnePlus smartphone. This includes a large battery, superfast charging, impressive performance, a triple camera, and a gorgeous display. Recommended Videos The Google Pixel 9 takes a slightly different approach. It keeps many of the things that make the Pixel 9 Pro such a compelling phone, but it drops the telephoto camera in favor of a lower price. That's not the full picture, however, as Google's camera prowess can simulate the effects of a physical telephoto lens. Each is a shining example of an excellent phone that doesn't need to break the bank, but how do they compare, and which should you buy? Google Pixel 9 vs. OnePlus 12: specs Google Pixel 9 OnePlus 12 Size 152.8 x 72 x 8.5 mm (6.02 x 2.83 x 0.33 inches) 164.3 x 75.8 x 9.2mm (6.47 x 2.98 x 0.36 inches) Weight 198 grams (6.98 ounces) 220 grams (7.76 ounces) Screen size 6.3-inch OLED 120Hz refresh rate, 1,800 nits high brightness, 2,700 nits peak brightness 6.82-inch AMOLED 120Hz refresh rate, 1,600 nits high brightness, 4,500 nits peak brightness Screen resolution 1080 x 2424 pixels, 20:9 ratio, 422 pixels per inch density 1440 x 3168 pixels, 510 pixels per inch density Operating system Android 14 Android 14 Storage 128GB, 256GB 256GB, 512GB, 1TB MicroSD card slot No No Processor Tensor G4 Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 RAM 12GB 12GB, 16GB, or 24GB Camera 50-megapixel wide, f/1.7 aperture, OIS 48MP ultra-wide, f/1.7 aperture, 123° field of view 10.5MP front 50MP wide, f/1.6 aperture, OIS 48MP ultra-wide, f/2.6 aperture, 114° field of view 64MP telephoto, 3x optical zoom, OIS 32MP front Video Up to 4K at 60 frames per second (fps) Up to 8K at 24 frames per second (fps), up to 4K at 60fps Bluetooth version Bluetooth 5.3 Bluetooth 5.4 Ports USB-C 3.2 USB-C 3.2 Fingerprint sensor Yes, ultrasonic under-display Yes, optical under-display Water resistance IP68 IP65 Battery 4,700mAh battery 27W wired charging 15W wireless charging 12W reverse wireless charging 5,400mAh battery 80W wired charging 50W wireless charging 10W reverse wireless charging App marketplace Google Play Store Google Play Store Network support Most major carriers Most major carriers Colors Obsidian (gray), Porcelain (white), Wintergreen, Peony (pink) Flowy Emerald (green), Silky Black, Glacial White (silver) Price Starting at $799 Starting at $799 Buy from Most major retailers OnePlus.com, Best Buy Google Pixel 9 vs. OnePlus 12: design and display While most phones prioritize a big screen over in-hand usability, the Google Pixel 9 is easy to use with one hand. It's reminiscent of the Samsung Galaxy S24, with flat sides and a squared-off design that feels fantastic in the hand. The rear features a glass finish and a camera bar design that might not appeal to everyone. It features a 6.3-inch AMOLED display tucked into a body that will feel small to those who use the biggest devices, but is perfectly designed to allow you to reach the corners with just one hand. The display offers up to a peak brightness of 2,700 nits and is protected with Gorilla Glass Victus 2 and an aluminum frame. The OnePlus 12 features a larger 6.82-inch display, but still feels comfortable when using it with one hand. Much of this is down to the curved display and curved edges, which make the phone edges easier to reach. The display offers up to 4,500 nits peak brightness and is paired with Gorilla Glass Victus 2 and an aluminum frame. The rear features a triple camera in the iconic BBK/OnePlus circular camera array and either a glass or a matte- and marble-textured finish. The former feels very similar to the glass on the Pixel 9, while the latter makes the OnePlus 12 much more comfortable in the hand. The Pixel 9's one-hand feel gives it an edge, while the OnePlus 12's excellent textured finish on the rear and the much nicer display are areas where that phone shines. Some may prefer the Pixel 9's in-hand feel and one-hand usability, but, for us, the OnePlus 12 has a better overall design and display. Winner: OnePlus 12 Google Pixel 9 vs. OnePlus 12: performance and battery Both phones feature big batteries, the latest processors, and tons of RAM, but the similarities end here. The Pixel 9 is powered by Google's new Tensor G4 processor, paired with 12GB of RAM and either 128GB or 256GB of storage. The starting storage is paltry by current smartphone standards, and while you can offload your photos to Google Photos to save space, you'll want to future-proof it by buying the higher storage option. The OnePlus 12 takes a different approach. It pairs the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor with between 12GB and 24GB of RAM and between 256GB and 1TB of storage. Unlike the Pixel 9, there are several storage and RAM combinations, with 16GB of RAM available for every storage option. The key here is the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3. It's the same processor as found in the best Android phones, including the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra and the Galaxy Z Fold 6. The Tensor G4 processor is Google's processor, and while it's the newer of the two, the smart money is on a Qualcomm-powered device. Previous Tensor-powered phones had battery and power concerns, and while the Tensor G4 is almost certainly better, it's unlikely to beat the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3. However, we haven't tested the newest Google chip yet, so that impression may change after our review period. The OnePlus 12's battery life is significantly better than that of the Pixel 9. Its 5,400mAh battery is paired with 80-watt charging, it comes with a charger, and it supports 50W wireless charging. It can charge your phone to full in around 45 minutes, and in our testing, the battery lasted for multiple days. Meanwhile, the Google Pixel 9 features a respectable 4,700mAh battery paired with 30W charging, but it doesn't come with a charger. The battery lasts at least a day, and often more, but it's not as good as the OnePlus 12's. The OnePlus 12 has the latest processor, tons of RAM and storage, and a proven phone experience that stays smooth and fast for years. This an easy win for the OnePlus 12 -- for the moment. Winner: OnePlus 12 Google Pixel 9 vs. OnePlus 12: cameras The companies take different approaches to cameras. OnePlus packs the OnePlus 12 with a triple-camera setup worthy of any flagship phone, while the Pixel 9 reiterates Google's belief that software is just as important as hardware. The OnePlus 12 features a 50-megapixel (MP) main camera with an f/1.6 aperture, optical image stabilization (OIS), and laser autofocus. The ultrawide camera has a 64MP sensor and a 114-degree field of view, while the telephoto lens is a 64MP periscope lens capable of offering 3x optical zoom. The OnePlus 12 also has a Hybrid Zoom feature that offers up to 6x lossless zoom by combining the telephoto lens hardware with impressive software smarts. Impressive software smarts are the best way to describe Google's approach to the camera. Since the first Pixel, Google has proven that you don't need the best hardware to get the best overall camera experience, and the Pixel 9 is no exception. Although it lacks a telephoto lens on paper, Google has been able to use impressive image algorithms to simulate the 5x telephoto found on many phones, including last year's Pixel 8 Pro. While the more expensive Pixel 9 Pro and 9 Pro XL get a new 42MP front-facing camera, the Pixel 9 keeps the same 10.5MP sensor found in last year's Pixel 8 Pro. This means it supports autofocus for the first time and can take great overall photos. The OnePlus 12 features a 32MP front-facing camera, but it is only fixed focus, meaning it will only focus when at specific focal lengths. It's a close comparison, but Google's software smarts and an autofocus front camera give it the edge. The OnePlus 12's rear camera is great -- one of the best around -- but Google's software smarts prove once again that it's not the hardware, but what you do with it that matters. Of course, all of this is based on early impressions, so that may change after our review. Winner: Google Pixel 9 Google Pixel 9 vs. OnePlus 12: software and updates One of the best reasons to buy a Google Pixel phone is related to the software and updates, and the Pixel 9 is no different. The Pixel Launcher is widely regarded as the best overall software experience on a smartphone, and each new Pixel usually ushers in the next version of the Android OS. We say usually, as this year is different. The Pixel 9 launched two months before Google's usual launch window, so Android 15 is not yet available. As a result, the Pixel 9 launches with Android 14, but it will almost certainly get the Android 15 update as soon as it's released. This will be the first of seven years of software updates, security patches, and Pixel feature drops. The OnePlus 12 also runs Android 14 out of the box and has Color OS. It's an incredibly smooth and feature-rich user experience, but OnePlus isn't the best with updates. The OnePlus 12 is guaranteed four years of software version updates and five years of security patches. While OnePlus has gotten better at rolling out updates in a timely manner, Google is still the gold standard. This one isn't even a contest. Google is one of the best in Android for updates and software. The Pixel 9 also comes with a range of new AI features exclusive to Pixel phones, including call transcripts, a new Magic Editor, and a year of Gemini Advanced for free. Winner: Google Pixel 9 Google Pixel 9 vs. OnePlus 12: price and availability The Pixel 9 comes in four colors and starts at $799 for 128GB of storage and 12GB of RAM. The OnePlus 12 comes in two colors and costs $899 for 256GB of storage and 12GB of RAM. The 256GB version of the Pixel 9 costs $100 more, while the OnePlus 12 is usually available with a $100 discount. Effectively, these phones are the same price. The OnePlus 12 is available from OnePlus directly or via Best Buy, but not via carriers. The Pixel 9 is available via most retailers and carriers, with wide-ranging availability on par with Apple or Samsung devices. If you want to experience the phone before you buy it and don't live near a Best Buy store, the Pixel 9 is the obvious choice, but if you want a phone that you can often buy for even cheaper, the OnePlus 12 is worth considering. Google Pixel 9 vs. OnePlus 12: verdict These two phones may seem fairly close on paper, and the OnePlus 12 may appear to have a better camera, but the old adage is true: user experience is about more than just the numbers. As a result, this becomes a harder contest to judge. The OnePlus 12 represents one of the smoothest smartphone experiences you can get today. It's built for speed and endurance and delivers on every level. As a result, it's still supremely fast eight months later. If battery life, performance, and endurance matter most to you, the OnePlus 12 is the phone for you. The Google Pixel 9 shows that software can replace hardware in many ways. Google's camera optimizations are second to none, and it doesn't feel like it's missing a telephoto camera. The Pixel 9 has some excellent AI features, is guaranteed three more years of software updates, and has a phenomenal camera. If you value longevity, an excellent camera, great AI features, and a smaller phone, look no further than the Google Pixel 9. It's the best regular-sized phone you can buy right now.