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Google Pixel 9 Pro Review: Best Phone For Regular Use

The launch of the Google Pixel 9 series is undoubtedly the biggest for Google in many years. Instead of giving us two phones—a 9, a 9 Pro, and the Google Pixel 9 Pro XL—they gave us four phones to try to decide between, all of which have been heavily redesigned.

I have had a complicated relationship with Google Pixel phones over the years. I’ve always said that at their very core, these phones are special. They have beautifully animated, friendly, customizable software that’s always capable of doing a few things so intelligent that they’re practically indistinguishable from magic.

The previous series of Pixel phones made me rage because, so far, there’s always been a blocker—significant enough issues that distract you from being able to focus on that delightful software. I’ve had build quality issues, overheating issues, signal issues, inconsistent camera issues, and generally the phones being quite a bit slower than the competition.

So, that puts this new Pixel 9 Pro and the Pixel 9 Pro XL, which is the one I’ve been mainly using, in a very interesting position. They have a lot to prove, but if they can prove it, then, I mean, these could become my favorite phones ever. You can check out my Google Pixel 9 Pro XL review for more insight.

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Google Pixel 9 Pro Specifications

Dimensions: 152.8 x 72 x 8.5 mm (6.02 x 2.83 x 0.33 in)
Weight: 199 g (7.02 oz)
Build: Glass front (Gorilla Glass Victus 2), glass back (Gorilla Glass Victus 2), aluminum frame, IP68 dust/water resistant (up to 1.5m for 30 min)
Display: 6.3 inches, LTPO OLED, (1280 x 2856 pixels), 120Hz, HDR10+, 2000 nits (HBM), 3000 nits (peak)
Main Camera:
- 50 MP, f/1.7, 25mm (wide)
- 48 MP, f/2.8, 113mm (telephoto), 5x optical zoom, OIS
- 48 MP, f/1.7, 123˚ (ultrawide),
Selfie Camera: 42 MP ultrawide, f/2.2
Video Recording: 8K@30fps, 4K@24/30/60fps, 1080p@24/30/60/120/240fps; gyro-EIS, OIS, 10-bit HDR
OS: Android 14, up to 7 major Android upgrades
Chipset: Google Tensor G4 (4 nm)
RAM/Storage Options: 16GB RAM, 128GB/256GB/512GB/1TB storage (UFS)
Battery and Charging: 4700 mAh, 27W wired, 21W wireless (Pixel Stand), 12W wireless (Qi compatible)
Color Options: Porcelain, Rose Quartz, Hazel, Obsidian

Google Pixel 9 Pro Design

It feels almost exactly like an iPhone when you pick it up—very similar dimensions, very similar flat sides with a slight curve, and it’s the same weight down to the gram. On some levels, the Pixel 9 looks a bit like an iPhone. But if you saw an iPhone next to the Pixel 9 Pro, I can’t imagine anyone would honestly say, “But yeah, it’s just an iPhone clone.

Here, take a look.

The Pixel 9 Pro will likely receive its fair share of derision from iPhone users who feel its overall design is too close to their prized Apple-made product.

I mean that as a compliment to the Pixel. The sides are grippier than their past phones. It looks and feels classy, especially with these thinner, completely even screen bezels. And this is also easily the most solidly constructed phone Google has ever made.

I’ve kind of been getting the feeling over the last few years that the Pixel would end up as yet another one of those canned Google projects.

Google Pixel 9 Pro Display

Google has given the a beautiful, super-realistic OLED display. It’s got a 1280 by 2856 pixel resolution, so it’s slightly sharper than the standard Pixel 9 despite keeping the same screen size. A dinky 6.3 inches and the 9 Pro XL sits at 6.8″. Both have a refresh rate of 1-120Hz, are protected by Gorilla Glass Victus 2, and can reach a maximum brightness of 3000 nits.

I was getting very good brightness while watching movies. And I found that the display was bright enough to see in sunlight

HDR10 streaming support, of course, on the likes of Netflix. I can do movie series, anime cartoons, photography, and videos well without any problem

Google Pixel 9 Pro Tensor G4

Every year, performance has been a classic Pixel weakness that Google seems to keep addressing by just slapping an AI bandaid on top. And the new phone isn’t completely free of that curse either.

The new Tensor G4 chip inside the 9 Pro is still noticeably less fast than the chips inside the best from Samsung, Apple, and OnePlus. All of those companies’ top-end phones make every action instant, whereas the Pixel still feels like it enjoys its thinking time.

The phone’s storage speed might have something to do with that too. I ran multiple tests, and the Pixel comes out as significantly slower in terms of sequential read and write speeds than Samsung, which would explain why it takes longer to load things.

This disparity felt like an acceptable compromise when Google was charging $900 for a Pro Pixel, but now we’re at $1,100. It needs to get on that level. That said, in a way, it’s better than I thought it would be.

I was expecting gaming, for example, to be a flop, but this is Zenless Zone Zero. This is as difficult as mobile games get to run, and I’ve played this for an hour at a time on absolutely maxed-out settings with no issues, apart from some slightly toasty side rails.

Also, this chip, combined with now 16 gigabytes of RAM by default, seems to drastically speed up AI tasks—I’m talking like 50% faster than they used to be, which was much needed.

Google Pixel 9 Pro Camera

The rear set of cameras has almost identical hardware to last year’s phone.

So that’s a 50-megapixel main, 48-megapixel ultrawide, and a 48-megapixel five-times optical zoom. So it’s probably not shocking news to learn that the base quality of photos feels not that different from last year.

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This means good color reproduction, a very strong ability to handle high dynamic range scenarios and control those bright spots, and very comparable levels of detail to Samsung’s highest-end Galaxy S24 Ultra.

But then, a good night mode that’s just a little softer than Samsung’s, and a portrait mode that, I think it’s fair to say, falls behind. Like, look at the edge detection here versus the Galaxy. It gives itself away as a phone photo.

And upsettingly, many of the frustrations I had with last year’s phone are also still present here. Zooming in and out is still very laggy, making it feel unpolished.

The camera preview can still get grainy, even if the end photos are not. The transition between lenses feels jumpy. There are weird limitations like you can’t use your five-times zoom lens to take portraits, nor can you use it for slow-mo, with the phone instead opting for some very poor quality digital zoom.

Pixel 9pro Photo

And this cool cinematic blur mode is 1080p only. But the front camera is new. It’s now a 42-megapixel sensor, which is the reason for the fairly large cutout—and I’ll take it. It lets you go super wide if you want to get those group shots. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a phone go wider than this, but I was also pleasantly surprised by the detail.

And you can also shoot some pretty solid 4K video because yes, Google has put some work in to bring up the video quality on the Pixels too. And that leads me on to the AI feature, video boost. It’s kind of strange, but when you’re taking video on this phone, this only works on your rear cameras by the way, you have the option to boost that video.

If you select the option, then your phone will keep the footage largely unprocessed so that the next time you’re on wifi, it can upload it to the cloud and get Google’s superpower data centers to process it even better than your phone itself could.

It can completely rescue grainy footage taken in low light, which was one of the biggest weaknesses of past Pixel phones.

It can even upgrade the resolution to 8K. And it’s one of those features that you feel like it shouldn’t work. It almost sounds like some kind of elaborate scam, but it does.

I guess you could say there is a hidden cost associated with it though. Because like, if you want 8K video-boosted content, you’re gonna need a heck of a lot of cloud storage, specifically Google Cloud storage. You’ll need about 800 megabytes per minute of it also you need to be very careful with this phone about joining other people’s data hotspots because your phone will pick them up as wifi networks. And before you know it, you could have burned through 10 gigabytes of their data, obliviously boosting your videos in the background without you even realizing it. I know this from personal experience.

Google Pixel 9 Pro AI Software

As for software, it is still Android 14, unfortunately, but Android 15 will be here imminently. And Google, once again, offering seven OS updates and seven full years of security patching with this bad boy too.

And of course, you’ve got that fresh new ultrasonic fingerprint sensor, And even if you are wearing gloves or something, you’ve always got a bit of face unlock, as backup does usually take a wee bit longer than that fingerprint sensor, depending on the lighting conditions, but usually gets there in the end.

And I’m sure you’ll be deeply relieved to hear that yes, Google has kept that temperature sensor for the compact Pro. That works very well

And you’ve also once again got that ultra-wideband tech bunged in the 9 Pro. AI-flavoured features

So first up, there’s Gemini, which comes preloaded onto the Pixel 9 Pro with a full-year subscription to the advanced model chucked in for free.

Google Pixel 9 Pro Battery

As for the battery life, you’ve got the same capacity cell here as the regular Pixel 9, 4,700 milliamp hours. I’ve got to say, one of the biggest upgrades for me on the Pixel 9 Pro versus the old Pixel 8 is the battery life. It’s stellar.

The 9 Pro is quite comfortably one of the best smartphones in 2024 for longevity. Most days, I end with at least 30% battery life remaining, and that’s with plenty of camera use, which usually drains these things pretty fast—not to mention video streaming, audio streaming, and all the usual stuff.

Unfortunately, however, like all Google phones, the google 9 Pro is rather lethargic when it comes to recharging. You’ve got 27-watt wired charging support, so plug a cable in, and it’ll take just over an hour to fill back up if it’s mostly drained. You also have Qi wireless charging support at 21 watts, so slightly faster than the regular Pixel 9. Of course, filling it back up will still take quite a while.

Verdict

new Google Pixel 9 Pro. I’ve got to say, it’s one of my favorite phones thus far in 2024 because I like a dinky, and you don’t get much more dinky than this in 2024, that’s for sure.

You’ve got all those Pro features still packed in there with no compromises, even though you can slip it into your pocket without popping your pancreas.

The battery life has also massively improved over the previous generation, so absolutely no stresses in that department at all. It’s pretty bloody good for gaming as well, even if the G4 does still tend to get a wee bit toasty.

my thoughts on the Pixel 9 Pro.

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Alvi Hosain

I am a tech enthusiast with over 1.5 years of experience in phone reviews and gadgets. Passionate about making technology easier for everyone, I focus on creating smartphone reviews and detailed tech guides. Whether exploring the latest devices or providing tips on how to get the most out of your gadgets, I love helping others navigate the world of technology. Known among my friends for solving phone-related problems, I enjoy discussing technology and staying up-to-date with the latest industry trends.