Google Pixel 9 review: A sleek redesign and compelling AI features

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The Pixel 9 is easily Google's best entry-level premium phone to date, thanks to a range of upgrades that touch almost every aspect of the phone and a major, year-over-year redesign. 

The Pixel 9 series introduces a fresh new look for Google's Pixel phones, and they've never looked better. Relative to the Pixel 8, the Pixel 9 also has a super-bright display for better content visibility in sunlight, a new processor, more RAM for better performance and AI functionality, an upgraded ultrawide camera, a larger battery, and a new ultrasonic fingerprint sensor. 

Google's new Gemini AI assistant is also a highlight in the Pixel 9 series, and it's a major upgrade over the Google Assistant. Plus, it wouldn't be a Google Pixel phone without some new AI-powered photo and editing features, some of which are actually quite good and useful, while others are somewhat questionable. 

Where the Pixel 9 Pro and Pixel 9 Pro XL offer various enhancements with higher price tags, the standard Pixel 9 likely offers the best value for most people within Google's new phone lineup. 

Design: A welcome overhaul 

With flatter edges compared to the Pixel 8 series' rounded edges, the Pixel 9 looks more modern and subjectively better. Previous Pixel phones never quite looked or felt on par with the competition from Samsung and Apple, but the Pixel 9 has decidedly closed that gap. That said, the modern flat-edge look has become ubiquitous between the Google, Apple, and Samsung trio, and I can barely tell their current flagship phones apart on my desk. 

The Pixel 9's aluminum frame has a smooth matte texture, while the back glass is clear. It's available in Peony (bold pink), Wintergreen (earthy mint green), Porcelain (white), and Obsidian (black). Only the Pixel 9 Pro models get the warm-gray Hazel and light-pink Rose Quartz options.

Google has a new large, bold, and thick camera oval on the back that helps set the Pixel 9 apart. A distinct, protruding shape with the same color and texture as the frame, the new camera oval feels like a natural evolution of Google's camera previous camera design, a thick bar with a different color and texture that spanned across the back of previous Pixel generations. 

Apart from differentiating its looks, the Pixel 9's camera oval keeps the phone from rocking to one side on a flat surface when you're swiping and tapping on the screen, an issue with Apple's and Samsung's flagships due to their off-center cameras. It's not a reason on its own to buy the Pixel 9 over other phones with offset cameras, but it's a nice benefit.

Performance: Don't be disappointed by the lower benchmark results

The Pixel 9 series, including the base and Pro models, run on Google's latest Tensor G4 processor. The base Pixel 9 behaves like a premium phone by opening and running apps quickly and smoothly. The same goes for games, which look sharp and detailed. And for most people, that's all that matters.  

On the other hand, in line with any of the best Google Pixel phones, the Pixel 9 doesn't benchmark like a top-tier device. Benchmark results show that the Pixel 9 running the Tensor G4 doesn't closely compete on performance with Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor running Samsung's Galaxy S24 series. In fact, it's not much of an upgrade over the previous-generation Tensor G3 that ran the Pixel 8 series.

My only concern is whether the Pixel 9 will stay quick and smooth for as many years as one would expect for a premium phone when the Android operating system and apps become more complex over the years.

Using the Pixel 6 with the original Google Tensor processor from 2021 running the latest Android 14 as a point of reference, the Pixel 9 should still run flawlessly after three years and two Android upgrades. Games don't look as crisp as on the Pixel 9, but the Pixel 6 still runs great.

It remains to be seen how many more years Google's Tensor processor can remain snappy, but if you upgrade your phones every two or three years, I'm confident in saying you shouldn't have anything to worry about with the Pixel 9's more powerful processor staying in working order for the long run. 

The base Pixel 9 has less RAM (12GB) than the Pixel 9 Pro models (16GB), but the difference is negligible in everyday use or with power-hungry applications like games. The Pixel 9 also has 4GB more RAM than the previous Pixel 8 to better accommodate Google's emergent AI features.

Display: Brighter than ever

The Pixel 9's 6.3-inch display is on the larger side of the average for an entry-level flagship phone display (6.1 inches), but it's the smaller model in the series and feels perfectly manageable. The display can also run up to 120Hz, but it's oddly set to 60Hz by default. Make sure to enable "Smooth Scrolling" in the settings if you're after fluid on-screen animations that are standard on many of the best Android phones, budget or premium. 

Google gave the base Pixel 9 its super-bright Actua display, previously reserved for the Pro models in the Pixel 8 series, that can reach up to 2700 nit brightness. Viewing screen content under bright sunlight was never an issue in previous Pixels, but colors pop more, and content looks better overall on the Pixel 9's Actua display.

It's a bit late to the party, but Google finally adopted a modern ultrasonic fingerprint sensor system for the Pixel 9 after using outdated optical sensors. It's extremely quick and accurate, and it's better than the ultrasonic fingerprint sensors on Samsung's Galaxy S24 series, which consistently give me trouble unlocking the phone. 

The Pixel 9 uses more basic face recognition than Apple's Face ID, but it works surprisingly similarly. I've found it's fast to unlock the phone and more reliable than Samsung's face recognition. 

Battery life: Excellent, but nothing extraordinary

With its 6.3-inch display, the Pixel 9 finished our intensive battery test with 60% remaining. That's right in line with other premium Android phones with similar display sizes, and it's more than adequate for most people. 

In practical terms, if you're using a similar-sized phone, the Pixel 9 won't change your daily charging habits, as only larger phones have the potential to last longer than a typical day's use. 

The Pixel 9 charges fairly rapidly at 27W, and it's fine. I wish it charged at the same 37W as the Pixel 9 Pro XL (the Pixel 9 Pro is also 27W). The Pixel 9 comes with a USB-C charging cable but no charger — just make sure your charger is capable of 30W or more to get the fastest charging speed. The Pixel 9 can also charge wirelessly up to 15W with Google's 2nd-gen Pixel Stand, but it's compatible with standard Qi wireless chargers up to 12W. 

If you're comparing the Pixel 9's specs with the Pixel 9 Pro models, you may notice the Pixel 9 has a 60-120Hz refresh rate display while the Pixel 9 Pro models have variable 1-120Hz displays. Variable refresh rate displays, like those on the Pixel 9 Pro models, are supposed to help improve battery life by reducing the refresh rate when the screen is static, as lower refresh rates usually reduce power drain.

However, I found no tangible difference in battery drain from display refresh rates between the two phones. Both phones drained the same 4% battery life over a 12-hour test with the always-on display enabled compared to the same test with the option disabled. And there was no perceivable difference in battery life from using the phones normally. 

Cameras: Superb, as usual

The Pixel 9 has the same 50MP main and 48MP ultrawide cameras as the Pixel 9 Pro models, so you don't need to upgrade to the high-end Pixel models to get one of the best phone cameras you can buy. It doesn't have a dedicated optical zoom lens, like the 5x camera on the Pixel 9 Pro models, but the Pixel 9 can take optical-quality photos at 2x zoom by cropping into its main camera sensor, and it still delivers high-quality images up to 5x zoom. 

Google has made a name for its Pixel cameras, which reliably take superb photos with balanced and natural-looking colors, along with superior lighting and contrast that create a better sense of depth than most other phone cameras. The Pixel 9 keeps up the Pixel camera legacy.

The 50MP main camera actually takes 12MP photos by default — a result of combining four smaller pixels to form one larger pixel, otherwise known as pixel binning. You can take 50MP photos if you want, but they'll take up way more space and superficially look the same as 12MP photos. Only when you crop into a 50MP photo will you see clearer details of objects and subjects that are further away. The default 12MP option looks great for most people, but the Pixel 9's high-resolution 50MP camera has other benefits.

Pixel binning also helps capture more light, which benefits low-light shots. It requires you to stay still for a few seconds, and it's not any faster than other top phones on the market, but the Pixel 9 can take some great photos at night. If there's a bright light source, like a lightbulb, it does well to brighten up the areas that don't get the bulb's light, but not too aggressively to make it look like the scene is floodlit. 

Even in extremely low light conditions, the Pixel 9 can take photos that look good on the phone's display. However, you start to notice some pixelation and grainy artifacts when viewing ultra-low-light photos on a larger screen, like a computer monitor. 

The Pixel 9 supports 4K resolution up to 60 frames per second (fps), and videos generally look great. There are some instances where brighter details in a bright environment become white and void of detail, but it's something that most phones struggle with. You can enable 10-bit HDR to get even better colors and contrast, but make sure your monitor or TV supports HDR10 if you plan on viewing your videos on those devices. If they don't, some videos can have incredibly unbalanced contrast and colors to the point of distraction. 

My only complaint is that the Pixel 9's videos can appear somewhat choppy at 30 fps compared to comparable results from Apple's iPhones. You can get ultra-smooth videos using the Pixel 9's 60 fps option, but they use up a lot of storage space and give a soap opera look that's not for everyone. 

Gemini and AI features: Powerful, generally useful tools with occasionally questionable results

Google's Gemini AI assistant is basically a much smarter, more dynamic version of Google Assistant, but it's optional on the Pixel 9. Whether you're used to using Google Assistant or not, Gemini is worth a try, as it provides a novel, potentially more useful experience. 

Gemini still performs the same simpler tasks that Google Assistant historically has, like setting a timer or reminder, but it's generally much better at answering questions. It responds as if Gemini, the AI entity, is providing a comprehensive answer in straightforward language rather than pulling up a Google search and summarizing a single source, which is what Google Assistant mostly does. 

I'm finding myself using Gemini more and more than performing a Google search manually. One of my favorite Gemini features is asking for "kid-friendly" answers that explain things I don't fully understand faster than if I did the research myself, which is something Google Assistant doesn't do. However, I do wonder where Gemini is getting the information to answer my questions or requests at times, as sources sometimes aren't clearly cited, or cited at all. 

The Gemini assistant can also be inferior to Google Assistant in odd and specific ways. For example, Gemini refused to tell me anything about a political organization I wanted to learn more about. Meanwhile, Google Assistant pulled up and summarized the organization's Wikipedia entry, which is basically what I wanted.

Gemini can also be outright wrong, as shown in the screenshots below. When I asked whether the Pixel 9 shares the same ultrawide camera as the Pixel 9 Pro, Gemini told me it didn't. I double-checked with Google, and the Pixel 9 does, indeed, have the same 48MP ultrawide camera as the Pixel 9 Pro. It's ironic Google's Gemini got information about Google's own phones so wrong. 

Even asking the time in a different time zone caused problems. I asked the time in Slovenia, and Gemini gave me the right time but the wrong time of day, as it said the time was in a.m. when it was actually in p.m. When asked if the CET time zone was ahead or behind EDT, it wrongly stated it was behind. 

You can tap the Google symbol at the bottom of an answer to help verify a Gemini answer, as it searches the web for results. Yet, the feature doesn't always work; pressing the symbol pointed out that Gemini's answer to the Pixel 9 question may have been incorrect, but it pulled up irrelevant Google searches for the time zone question.

Still, Gemini's real power and usefulness become apparent when you start asking more complex things, like crafting an email outline to express a concern with an organization, finding fun things to do around a place you're visiting, coming up with ideas for an event (like a surprise birthday party), and much more. It doesn't do the work for you, but it helps with the daunting "where do I even start?" question. 

Switching gears from Gemini, Google has built a comprehensive suite of software and AI-based camera and photo editing tools over the last few years. Magic Editor, Magic Eraser, and Best Take are some of the more useful and effective ones.

With the Pixel 9, Google is introducing Add Me, which lets a person taking a group photo be added to the photo. It works surprisingly well and is fairly easy to accomplish, especially after some practice. Results aren't always perfect, and small details can look out of place. Initial results can be pretty funny while you're learning to use Add Me, but photos were rarely ruined or unusable. 

There's also a Reimagine feature in Magic Editor, which lets you select parts of a photo and replace it with an AI-generated image. I'm trying to find a need to, say, change the background or setting a photo is taken in. I guess it can be for fun? Reimagine can create fairly decent scenery, but it's obviously fake. It also struggles deeply with recreating animals and people.

There's also the new Screenshots app, which acts like a Google Photos search specifically for screenshots you've taken to remind you of something. I've used it similarly to how I use Shazam: to recognize a song and keep it in my Shazam library to return to later. I've never used screenshots to remind me of something for later, but Screenshots is changing that. It's not totally effective, as it can miss some screenshots and add some that are entirely irrelevant to my search.

For example, I took several screenshots of sci-fi movies I wanted to see later, and after searching for "movies" in Screenshots, it missed some relevant screenshots while adding one that had nothing to do with movies. Still, it's a neat feature that's likely to improve over time and become more reliable. 

Should you buy the Google Pixel 9?

The Pixel 9 is the easiest Google flagship phone recommendation to date, largely thanks to its thoroughly refreshed design, superb cameras, and Google's long list of compelling AI features, even if their usefulness and effectiveness can vary. 

Despite the Pixel 9's lower benchmark scores relative to comparable Android flagship models, characteristics like battery life and performance are still excellent for a premium phone, and there's little to complain about generally. You should absolutely consider the Pixel 9 if you're looking for a base model of a flagship phone lineup. 

That said, the Pixel 9's lack of a dedicated zoom lens makes it relatively difficult to recommend outright when Samsung's Galaxy S24 comes with an optical 3x zoom for better long-range photos. Zoom lens aside, however, the Pixel 9 and Galaxy S24 are ultimately very similar devices in almost every other way that matters, and both offer seven-year support windows for security and software updates. 

You may want to check your carrier or Google's online store for trade-in deals on the Pixel 9 series. Depending on the deal you find, you could have the option to get a Pixel 9 Pro model at a substantial discount or even free. If that's the case, you might as well buy the higher-end phone to get the dedicated zoom camera for little to no extra cost. 

Check out our guides to the best Pixel 9 and Pixel 9 Pro cases and screen protectors to ensure the longevity of either phone.