Google Pixel 9 review: Compelling AI features, camera but lacks flagship power

Google Pixel 9 review: Over the years, I have met several smartphone users who prefer Android flagships over Apple iPhones. While it’s a constant war between Android and iOS, I have always been an Android user and I always wanted to use a Google Pixel, since the company is popular for developing Android software for smartphones. Now, after experimenting with several Android devices, I finally get to use the Google Pixel 9 which is known to be the “King of Android” or is it not? Well, we will discuss this briefly at the end of the review.

Being a first-time Google Pixel user, I had some perceptions about the device due to what I have heard from the people who have used the device. However, this time I have curated a very different opinion about Google devices after using the Pixel 9 smartphone for about 15 days. Therefore, this review will be completely based on my experience as a first-time Google Pixel user.

For starters, the Google Pixel 9 is an impressive smartphone with a compact look, attractive display, good battery life, and everything AI. However, it also faces a lot of challenges which may come as a serious concern to a smartphone user. Let’s dive deep and see if the Google Pixel 9 is a worthy flagship smartphone in the highly competitive market.

Google Pixel 9 review: Design

Google Pixel 9 comes with some design refinements that make the smartphone look quite attractive. The smartphone features a shiny glass panel and matte-finish aluminium frame, giving the smartphone a premium and luxurious look. Well, simply put Pixel 9 looks and feels like an iPhone if we hide the camera module. In my review unit, I received the Peony colour variant of Pixel which is the Pink shade. At first glance, I was not really impressed with the shade of pink Google picked since it was quite vibrant, but somehow the colour grew on me and it also attracted other’s eyes as well.

Furthermore, Google has redesigned the camera module which gives the Pixel 9 a fresh look. Although the camera bump is exaggerated it does not let the smartphone wobble when placed on a flat surface. On the other hand, the Pixel 9 is very strong and sturdy and I did not feel the need to put a smartphone case over the device. It is not slippery or attracts any dust or fingerprints, making it check all the boxes when it comes to design. Overall, the Pixel design is simple and subtle for my taste as it looks classy as a premium smartphone should look.

Google Pixel 9 review: Display

The Google Pixel features a slightly bigger screen with a 6.3-inch Actua OLED display. It offers 1080p resolution, 120Hz refresh rate, HDR10 and HDR10+ support. However, the display still has a thick and noticeable bezel, which may extract its premium look. Despite the bezels, everything about the Pixel 9 display was perfect. It generates punchy and vibrant colours that make the watching experience on the device enjoyable. Additionally, the Pixel 9 offers 60Hz and 120Hz refresh rates, making the smartphone run smoothly. It is equally responsive when it comes to usage as I was able to switch between apps and tabs without any stutter, making the overall experience fluid.

The Pixel 9 also offers up to 2700nits which is promising as I did not face any struggles using the smartphone during direct sunlight conditions. Overall the Pixel 9 display is quite impressive and it may be the best experience I had with any of the flagship range smartphones. However, my only concern was the thick bezels, which Google next to fix maybe in the next generation.

Google Pixel 9 review: Camera

Google Pixel smartphones are famously known for their exceptional camera capabilities. From what I have heard, I was quite excited to test the Pixel 9’s camera which features a dual camera setup consisting of a 50MP wide-angle main camera and a 48MP ultrawide camera. The main camera also offers up to 8x Super Res Zoom which does a pretty average job as it makes the objects look blurred from the edges, although the post-processing images come out to be fine.

The Pixel 9’s main camera captures exceptional HDR photos with impressive detailing and colour accuracy. The smartphone managed to capture images in natural tones, perfectly capturing the essence of the scenery. There is a slight saturation in some cases, which is noticeable during low-light conditions. However, it does not make the colours look edited or artificial. Additionally, its bokeh and portrait mode photography is worth mentioning as does an incredible job with its natural background blur. The ultra-wide camera also captured impressive images, making Pixel 9 one of the best camera smartphones in the ₹80000 segment.

Apart from the photos, the Pixel 9 offers up to 4K at 60fps video recording which also comes out brilliant, however, you need to manage the focus of the sensor which captures close-up shots or else it produces blurred videos. The smartphone supports several interesting camera AI features which we will discuss in detail in the upcoming sections.

Google Pixel 9 review: Performance and software

Google Pixel 9 is powered by the company’s in-house Tensor G4 chipset which claims to offer flagship performance. However, in my opinion, the Google Pixel 9 is not ideal for performance-centric users. While the day-to-day performance was promising, I faced frequent overheating issues. If you go out and capture images or videos for some time, then the devices get extremely hot, especially if you have the brightness at 100%.

Additionally, with Pixel 9, since I frequently use social media and OTT streaming platforms, I sometimes experienced frequent lags even during basic usage such as switching between apps or scrolling through social media. While it was nothing major, it was quite noticeable that it can impact your experience. In terms of graphic-intensive games, the smartphone works fine with lower graphics settings, however, during extended hours you will notice frame drops and stutters.

In terms of user experience, the Pixel 9 still runs on Android 14 and we are waiting for the official rollout of this year’s Android 15. However, the UI is quite clean and clutter-free. It also offers several customisations and shortcut features through which users can personalise their experience. I also noticed the new Pixel Weather app that offers an “AI weather report” for the day which I found innovative.

Overall, when it comes to performance, the Pixel 9 is great for day-to-day tasks, however, it’s not an ideal flagship smartphone in terms of graphic-intensive performance, or multitasking. I was left wanting more since users will be paying a whopping Rs.80000 for an average flagship performance. However, Pixel 9 AI features may hide its performance flaws, since it does an incredible job, making it a worthy AI smartphone in the budget segment.

Google Pixel 9 review: AI features

The Pixel 9 comes with plenty of Google AI features making it one of the strongest contenders in the AI smartphone market. This year, Pixel 9 has made some impressive AI additions when it comes to camera editing tools. It gives users a whole new exciting experience to experiment with different forms of editing. The star of all AI features was “ Add Me” and “AI suggestion” to enhance the images. The AI-powered Add Me features allow users to add people in the frame effortlessly, and it looks extremely real. Whereas, the “AI suggestion” feature allows users to entirely change the scene of the images such as adding portrait mode, enhancing, unblur, creating the golden hour effect, and much more.

The Pixel 9 also includes a “Reimagine tool” allowing users to add objects to the photos and make them look real as they already existed when the image was captured. Well in most cases the newly added object looks artificial. However, in some cases, you can’t tell the difference if it’s edited or real. I also tested the popular “Magic Editor” feature, however, I was not really impressed by its performance as it sometimes makes unrealistic or odd edits. In my opinion, Galaxy AI’s object removers work better than Google’s Magic Eraser.

Apart from camera AI features, I also explored the new Pixel Studio and Pixel Screenshots app. With Pixel Studio, users can create fun and interactive images using AI. The app gives users two ways to create, one by typing text prompts of what they want to create or by selecting the providing template. However, it comes with very limited options. It further enables users to add additional stickers and text of their choice for a personalisation touch. However, using the Pixel Screenshot to find a screenshot taken on the device was tricky for me to use. During several instances, I was unable to find the screenshot or confused what kinds of prompts were to be used.

Google Pixel 9 review: Battery

In terms of lasting performance, the Google Pixel 9 offers a decent day’s battery with a single charge. I was easily able to use the device throughout the day which included calling, camera usage, web search, social media, OTT content, messaging, and others. Therefore, you can easily use the Pixel 9 for a good 17 to 18 hours. However, I was not so impressed with the charging speed despite offering a 45W charging capacity. It took about 1 hour and 30 minutes to fully recharge the device which is quite slow to my taste.

Google Pixel 9 review: Verdict

Should you buy a Google Pixel 9? In my opinion, the smartphone checks all the boxes with an impressive camera, better and upgraded display, plenty of AI features, and decent battery life. The only area where Pixel 9 lacks is performance, while it’s good for day-to-day usage, it struggles with demanding applications and multitasking. Additionally, it has some major heating issues due to a missing vapour-cooling chamber.

So, is it the “King of Android’? Well in terms of software, user experience and AI features, it definitely is one of the best Android smartphones. However, in my opinion, it’s not an ideal flagship smartphone due to its average performance. If you are someone who wants to experience a flagship smartphone with top-notch camera capabilities and AI features, then Google Pixel 9 could be a perfect choice for you.