Google Pixel 9 First Impressions

Google’s newest flagship telephones are right here, sooner than traditional, flaunting new design, {hardware}, and much more AI options than final time round. The lineup now consists of 4 units – the Pixel 9, Pixel 9 Professional, Pixel 9 Professional XL, and Pixel 9 Professional Fold. For the primary time, customers in India will have the ability to purchase all 4 handsets. I have been utilizing the smaller Pixel 9, priced at Rs. 79,999, for a few days now and this is a take a look at what’s new with the bottom Pixel.

Firstly, the Pixel 9 has a brand new design in comparison with final yr’s Pixel 8. The edges at the moment are flat like an iPhone 15 or Samsung Galaxy S24, the rear digicam visor is now changed with a pill-shaped digicam bar that continues to take a seat horizontally throughout the rear panel, and the entrance bezels at the moment are uniform throughout. Regardless of the brand new digicam bar design, you may nonetheless inform it is a Pixel from afar. Additionally new is the glass safety, which is now Gorilla Glass Victus 2, each back and front. The cellphone continues to retain the IP68 score from final yr’s mannequin.

The show on the Pixel 9 is brighter and has uniform bezels throughout

 

Google has packed a barely bigger 6.3-inch show on the Pixel 9, and this makes the cellphone taller in comparison with the Pixel 8. The show remains to be an OLED panel with full-HD+ decision and 60 to 120Hz refresh fee, however it’s now brighter. You additionally get an ultrasonic in-display fingerprint reader as an alternative of the optical discovered within the older mannequin. Our evaluate unit got here within the Porcelain color choice, however the cellphone can also be out there in Obsidian, Peony, and Wintergreen shades.

The acquainted digicam visor is not there on the again and has been changed with a pill-shaped bar. Nonetheless, the digicam bar protrudes simply as earlier than. The cellphone will get a twin digicam setup on the again with the identical main digicam sensor as final yr however options an upgraded 48-megapixel ultrawide sensor. The glass tablet formed housing contained in the digicam bar is greater than final yr as effectively. The entrance digicam is identical because the Pixel 8, a ten.5-megapixel sensor, however now will get auto-focus.

The brand new digicam bar jogs my memory of the Google search bar

 

The Pixel 9 lineup is the primary in latest Pixel historical past to not get the newest Android construct at launch, however that is as a result of the telephones additionally launched sooner than traditional. Due to the Gemini Nano mannequin working on-device, you get Android 14 out-of-the-box and a protracted checklist of AI options. The cellphone is powered by the brand new 4nm Tensor G4 chipset paired with 12GB RAM and 128GB storage. The brand new SoC permits plenty of the newest AI options, and I will be testing them completely. There are additionally new apps comparable to Pixel Screenshot, which helps you to seek for content material by means of screenshots, and Pixel Studio, which lets you create photos from scratch. Other than simply an AI increase, Google additionally claims that the brand new SoC gives enhancements in efficiency and effectivity. I will be testing the claims in my full evaluate.

Lastly, you get a barely bigger 4,700mAH battery with the brand new Pixel 9, however it nonetheless helps 27W quick charging as earlier than. The cellphone additionally options wi-fi charging. 

Google’s Pixel 9 gives some good upgrades over final yr’s Pixel 8, particularly with the brand new ultra-wide digicam, brighter show, and the Tensor G4. There are additionally loads of new AI options out there on the cellphone, and there is a lot. Nonetheless, are all of those upgrades and AI add-ons sufficient to justify the worth hike, and may the Pixel 9 tackle upcoming telephones such because the iPhone 16 sequence? Keep tuned for the complete evaluate to search out out.