The Pixel 9 collection represents a few of the largest design modifications in Pixel historical past, and that begins with the Google Pixel 9 Pro and Pixel 9 Pro XL. Both telephones ship a singular imaginative and prescient of what Google sees in the way forward for Pixel telephones, providing an similar expertise at two distinct sizes.
Since there isn’t any actual distinction between these two telephones aside from their measurement, we’re combining the opinions to present you a greater take a look at the most effective Pixel 9 expertise accessible. I’ve been utilizing each fashions interchangeably over the previous week and have come away upset about issues which have plagued Pixels for years. Thankfully, a lot of Google’s newest function additions assist offset these disappointing emotions.
If you are trying to decide up a Google Pixel 9 Pro or Google Pixel 9 Pro XL this 12 months, learn on to search out out why that is an excellent selection for some people, whereas others may need to look elsewhere for his or her subsequent smartphone improve.
Google Pixel 9 Pro: Price and availability
The Google Pixel 9 Pro and Pixel 9 Pro XL are actually formally accessible as of August 22, 2024. Both fashions provide a selection of 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, or 1TB of storage, in addition to 16GB of RAM. You can select from both measurement in a spread of colours, together with Obsidian (black), Porcelain (white), Hazel (gray), and Rose Quartz (pink).
The Google Pixel 9 Pro begins at $999 with 128GB of storage, whereas the bigger Pixel 9 Pro XL begins at $1099 with 128GB of storage. You should buy the Pixel 9 collection in any of the next international locations:
- NAMER: US, Canada
- EMEA: Austria, Belgium, Czechia, Denmark, Finland, France, Estonia, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, Sweden, UK
- APAC: Australia, India, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan
All Pixel 9 fashions embody Pixel VPN at no extra value, which helps defend you whereas on the go and connecting to doubtlessly unscrupulous public Wi-Fi hotspots. Google can also be together with one 12 months of Gemini Advanced with each Google Pixel 9 Pro or 9 Pro XL, which might usually value $20 monthly with the AI-tier Google One subscription.
Each Google Pixel 9 Pro field accommodates no plastic and is impressively environmentally pleasant.
Google Pixel 9 Pro: What I like to date
This previous weekend, I spent a variety of time with my household. Inevitably, plenty of photos are taken, however none of them ever have everybody within the body. The Pixel 9 Pro modified that for the higher, and I could not be happier with the end result. Some have questioned how helpful the Add Me function is perhaps, however let me inform you this: it’s very invaluable, and I hope this involves different Android telephones.
Being in a position to embody everybody in a photograph — one which’s an precise good photograph of everybody and never a lame selfie at an ungainly angle to suit everybody in — is pure genius of the best kind. It’s a type of options that makes AI make sense, one thing significantly necessary in a day in age the place AI is invading every little thing and seemingly offering little or no worth given it is monumental R&D value.
Add Me is my favourite new digital camera mode of the last decade, to date.
It’s not good — there are some telltale indicators that somebody was cropped and positioned into the body in case you look shut — however I’d wager nobody would search for these small imperfections in case you do not ask them to look. As it stands, Add Me is my favourite new digital camera mode to date this decade.
Fans of Panoramas may even adore the Pixel 9 Pro collection, as the brand new panorama mode permits it to take considerably higher panoramas, particularly when the lighting is not precisely good.
Putting them side-by-side with fairly actually any different cellphone exhibits how a lot better Google’s new panorama function is, and I totally anticipate to see these upgrades make their method to different telephones sooner or later. For now, although, that is the cellphone for panorama lovers.
And whereas I’m protecting new options, the Pixel Screenshots app has been much more spectacular than I initially anticipated it to be. One of the largest causes for that is that it routinely imported each screenshot saved in Google Photos that I’ve ever taken.
That’s years of screenshots, all processed and listed, now searchable regionally. If I have been to proceed utilizing this cellphone long-term, I’d be altering how I take notes and, as a substitute, simply take screenshots and categorize them for later.
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Another shock got here within the type of the cellphone’s design itself. Despite preliminary misgivings in regards to the very iPhone-like redesign, the design has grown on me even when I nonetheless choose the Pixel 8’s design language total. Google’s design director stated the corporate now designs its telephones to be put in circumstances, and that appears to suit completely with my expertise with the cellphone. Indeed, each telephones appear and feel greatest in a case, and that is saying lots since I’m usually a case-less type of man.
So far, my favourite case is the Thinborne Pixel 9 Pro case, which got here as no shock since I’ve beloved Thinborne’s minimalist circumstances for years. It provides nearly no bulk to the cellphone whereas giving it an necessary factor of grippiness, one thing that is very important given how loopy slippery these new telephones are. It additionally provides MagSafe functionality, so you need to use some suitable MagSafe equipment and chargers.
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Ever for the reason that first Samsung Galaxy Note got here out, I’ve been the one who picks the largest cellphone attainable. But whereas I’ve been utilizing the Pixel 9 Pro and Pixel 9 Pro XL, I’ve discovered myself grabbing the smaller one more often than not.
I’ve additionally been very stunned at how a lot I really like the smaller-sized Pixel 9 Pro. Ever for the reason that first Samsung Galaxy Note got here out, I’ve been the one who picks the largest cellphone attainable. But whereas I’ve been utilizing the Pixel 9 Pro and Pixel 9 Pro XL, I’ve discover myself grabbing the smaller one more often than not.
Part of it’s that it simply feels a lot nicer to make use of, significantly one-handed. It’s a beautiful measurement, and its flatter form makes it a delight to make use of all day. It additionally helps that there is function parity between the fashions, so I do not miss out on something necessary when selecting the smaller mannequin. That’s a primary for Pixels.
Unsurprisingly, the digital camera is one other one of many cellphone’s greatest options. I’ve already lined how superb the Add Me function and the panorama upgrades are, however the best-hidden function is one I’ve written about for the reason that Pixel 6 days: Pixels take photographs of transferring objects — that primarily means pets and children — higher than any cellphone within the U.S. market.
You cannot purchase one other cellphone collection within the U.S. that takes crisp imagery of your never-sit-still youngsters or pets like a Pixel can.
Internationally, telephones from Honor (just like the Honor 200 Pro) have caught up, however you’ll be able to’t purchase one other cellphone collection within the U.S. that takes crisp imagery of your favourite little ones like a Pixel can. I’ll have a extra detailed breakdown of those telephones’ cameras in a separate digital camera overview, however total, it looks like a marginal improve over the Pixel 8 Pro in most methods.
Battery life has additionally been great, and whereas I have never observed a lot of a distinction between both of those telephones and final 12 months’s Pixel 8 Pro, benchmarks inform a special story.
Our guardian firm, Future PLC, runs lab checks by way of the Future Labs division and located that it took over a median of 13 hours to run down the battery on the Pixel 9 Pro and the Pixel 9 Pro XL. Comparatively, the Pixel 8 Pro died after simply 9 hours of operating the identical take a look at. Clearly, Google wasn’t kidding after they stated Tensor G4’s effectivity was higher.
Daily efficiency is worse than Pixel 8 Pro in some circumstances, however Pixel 9 Pro/XL do not get searingly scorching like that cellphone.
Lastly, I’m very happy to report that Google appears to have lastly conquered the extreme warmth points which have plagued Tensor-powered Pixels with Tensor G4 on the Pixel 9 collection. While efficiency is definitely worse in some circumstances when in comparison with the Pixel 8 collection (learn under for that), the cellphone would not change into as scorching as a frying pan when enjoying video games for a very long time — though it does nonetheless get heat.
This extra aggressive throttling not solely retains the cellphone from heating up because the Pixel 8 Pro does, nevertheless it additionally retains it from having big framerate dips whereas enjoying. In a Minecraft take a look at, I noticed the Pixel 8 Pro drop to as little as 35FPS for a minute, whereas the Pixel 9 Pro XL by no means dipped under 65FPS.
Google Pixel 9 Pro: What’s not nice
Some of my largest issues with each of those telephones are ones that, fortunately, not everybody must take care of. First off, the brand new ultrasonic fingerprint scanner has been tremendous hit-or-miss with me. Some days, it really works fantastic and feels no completely different from the wonderful optical fingerprint sensor on the Google Pixel 8 Pro.
On different days, it really works half the time or much less. There have been instances when it flat-out would not work in any respect for me, which you’ll be able to see within the GIF under. I’ve complained about this drawback since Samsung began utilizing ultrasonic fingerprint sensors on the Galaxy S10 many moons in the past. It seems that I’m not alone, and this know-how simply would not work properly for some folks, though I’ve but to get a straight reply as to why.
The new fingerprint sensor would not work with some display screen protectors and was usually unreliable for me.
Worse but, some display screen protectors trigger the fingerprint sensor to cease working completely, forcing you to make use of Google’s “financial institution grade” face unlock. Some folks choose face unlock, however I’m unsure how a lot I belief the single-camera answer regardless of Google telling us in any other case.
Thankfully, some folks have reported that this low-cost tempered glass protector on Amazon will work with the cellphone. Google says it formally helps choices from firms like Case-Mate, Zagg, Otterbox, and others. However, this would possibly not repair the scanner’s inconsistent nature for me, which appears extremely inclined to modifications in pores and skin moisture (and possibly different elements).
If Google had simply made the fingerprint sensor within the energy button a capacitive sensor — as it’s on each foldable cellphone — this drawback would not exist.
Second, the ultra-low 240Hz PWM charge used to “dim” the cellphone’s show provides me horrible complications, particularly when I attempt to use the cellphone within the night. This drawback began about 2 years in the past for me and has solely gotten worse as shows have gotten ultra-bright.
The 3000-nit show on these telephones is insanely shiny, and flickering on and off at a low charge of 240Hz is nothing in need of abysmal. Google is the one smartphone firm that hasn’t upgraded its charge — Samsung and Apple now use 480Hz on most gadgets — and firms like Honor and OnePlus push that charge to 2160Hz, 4320Hz, and past.
At this brightness, Google just isn’t even near complying with the really helpful IEEE PAR 1789 customary for shows and lighting.
And earlier than we transfer past shows, the brand new rounder corners on the Pixel 9 collection will inevitably minimize off some UI components in apps or video games. It’s not the top of the world, however I observed some apparent clipping in Minecraft and different titles, which could hassle some people.
For the second 12 months in a row, Google has raised the value of Pixel Pro fashions by $100.
Beyond my private points with the cellphone are some extra goal criticisms persons are sure to face when utilizing a Pixel 9 Pro or Pixel 9 Pro XL. As Android Central contributor Brady Snyder identified when he wrote this text, the Tensor G4 processor contained in the Pixel 9 collection is not a lot of an improve over the Tensor G3 in on a regular basis duties, together with gaming efficiency.
As I stated within the part above, the Pixel 9 Pro and Pro XL keep cool even after gaming for half-hour or extra. However, these telephones throttle lots sooner than the Pixel 8 Pro and keep throttled whereas beneath heavy hundreds.
On the most effective of days, the Pixel 9 Pro and Pixel 9 Pro XL are as quick as a Galaxy S22.
In one take a look at, I opened Minecraft on the bamboo forest template and left it operating wanting in the identical path on each telephones for half-hour. At the top of the take a look at, the Pixel 8 Pro had a framerate that stayed across the 80-95 FPS mark with dips into the 60s for a minute to chill down.
Meanwhile, the Pixel 9 Pro hovered round 65-70FPS with out these drastic dips — but in addition with out the upper framerates of the Pixel 8 Pro. On the most effective of days, the Pixel 9 Pro and Pro XL are as quick as a Galaxy S22 primarily based on any variety of checks I’ve run over the previous week.
Initial charging velocity is quicker than Pixel 8, however a full cost takes simply as lengthy.
In my Pixel 9 hands-on, I talked in regards to the new charging speeds for the telephones and even was ready to make use of Google’s new 45W charger. While that charger is nice for topping up the battery rapidly from 0% to about 50% in beneath half-hour, a full cost is not any sooner than the Pixel 8 collection — and charging the cellphone when it is above 50% battery degree leads to a a lot slower cost than you may anticipate.
All of this comes at $100 greater than final 12 months’s telephones, which have been additionally $100 greater than the Pixel 7 era. Google gives a variety of worth with its telephones — issues like seven years of software program updates, quarterly function updates and additions, free Pixel VPN, and plenty of different goodies — nevertheless it’s laborious for me to justify paying $1100 for a cellphone with 128GB of storage within the second half of 2024.
And whereas a Pixel 9 Pro is “the identical value” as a Pixel 8 Pro — $999 — you may truly should spend $1099 to get the identical measurement cellphone as final 12 months, the Pixel 9 Pro XL.
Since Tensor is not anyplace close to as quick because the competitors for on a regular basis duties or gaming, I’ve a definite fear that the Pixel 9 will begin feeling very sluggish earlier than lengthy, a lot much less by the point seven years of software program updates are up.
Google Pixel 9 Pro: The competitors
Google’s largest competitors within the U.S. is each Samsung and Apple, and each firms provide telephones with sooner processors and shows with higher PWM charges. The Galaxy S24 collection is promised to ship the identical seven years of software program updates because the Pixel 9 collection, and given the gulf in efficiency between Google and Samsung’s telephones, any Galaxy S24 mannequin will probably last more with out feeling sluggish just like the Pixel 9 finally will.
If you are on the lookout for an excellent higher show and loopy quick charging speeds, the OnePlus 12 does all of it whereas costing even lower than a Pixel 9 Pro. I personally use a OnePlus 12 day by day and am more than pleased with it, particularly given its superior multitasking UI. OnePlus solely gives 4 years of software program and OS updates, however you might not plan to carry on to your cellphone for greater than that, so it is most likely an OK trade-off.
Of course, none of those telephones include these nifty Pixel-exclusive options like name screening, VPN, Pixel Studio, and others. Plus, as I’ve lined many instances, Pixels take the most effective photographs of youngsters and pets and now even have nice options like Add Me that supply much more attention-grabbing images choices. And, in contrast to Samsung or OnePlus, The Pixel 9 Pro household provides you a selection of cellphone measurement with out shedding options or digital camera prowess.
Google Pixel 9 Pro: Should you purchase it?
You can purchase it if…
- You have pets or youngsters that you just take plenty of photos of.
- You love Google’s intelligent AI options and Pixel exclusives like name screening.
- You prefer to preserve your telephones for years earlier than updating.
You mustn’t purchase it if…
- You play plenty of cellular video games.
- You need sooner charging or extra storage at a cheaper price.
- You’re delicate to mild flicker or shows that use low-Hz PWM dimming.
Over the years, Google has discovered intelligent methods to distinguish its Pixel line from different telephones in significant methods. Pixel-exclusive options like Call Screening, superior spam detection, and Pixel VPN have been mainstays of the road for years, whereas new Pixel-exclusive options like Pixel Screenshots, Pixel Studio, and digital camera modes like Add Me are positive to make your family and friends jealous.
But there’s an underlying upfront worth drawback that continues to develop. Pixel is as soon as once more $100 greater than the earlier 12 months. Tensor remains to be slower than different competing processors and heats up extra rapidly than these, too. Google hasn’t improved its show dimming charge as different firms have, and the ultrasonic fingerprint sensor is problematic for some folks, too.
Thankfully, Pixel 9 offers will usually get you the cellphone for subsequent to nothing as Google tries to develop its attain globally and get extra Pixels into extra folks’s fingers. It would not make up for a few of the different issues the cellphone has, nevertheless it’s straightforward to present Pixel a shot and see if all these superb unique options and apps are extra necessary to you than uncooked efficiency or charging velocity. Plus, with the ability to select a measurement with out shedding necessary options is lastly a actuality.
As for me, I’ll be going again to utilizing my OnePlus 12 now.
Finally! Get a smaller cellphone with out shedding all the nice options of the largest fashions. The Pixel 9 Pro features a triple digital camera system on the again with a 5x optical zoom digital camera, Pro-grade software program options, and a daring new design you simply may love.
When solely the largest show will do, the Google Pixel 9 Pro XL is the precise cellphone for you. Packing Google smarts and the most recent bag of AI methods powered by Gemini, the Pixel 9 Pro XL will get it performed.
