Google Pixel 9 review - The small Google smartphone has taken the wrong path

Over the course of the last few years, the normal Pixel series from Google acted as a sort of reference among the "affordable" Android smartphones in all things photo quality. It isn't without reason that the manufacturer has once more set its focus on the Pixel 9's cameras. However, since the Pixel 7, its leap from the upper mid-range to the upper class has been pushed in just two generations. Although the Pixel 9 still boasts good photography performance, the competition is quickly catching up at a price of just under $1000. Especially when it comes to zoom photography, the latest Pixel generation disappoints and its main camera also isn't better than those of the competition—if anything, it's the complete opposite.

The Pixel 9's strengths include good photo quality, long runtimes, a super bright OLED display and extensive software support. We also really like its new ultrasound fingerprint sensor. These are all virtues that a Galaxy S24 also has, but the Samsung phone offers the better total package and additionally features a high-end SoC. Especially the Tensor G4 inside the Pixel 9 is in no way superior to its Qualcomm and MediaTek rivals. In addition, the Pixel 9's slow charging speeds are anything but a reason to purchase the phone. We would have wished for much clearer progress in this respect compared to its predecessor—not to mention that this model doesn't even come with a power supply.

Those interested in a top-of-the-range phone can get more performance combined with really fast charging times in the shape of the Xiaomi 14 or the 14T Pro, for example. A Oneplus 12 would also be a good alternative to the Pixel 9.

The ninth generation of the small Pixel phone from Google once again unites compact measurements with a selection of features that require no compromises to be made. This year, the Pixel 9 again gets to make use of many components known from the Pro models. At the heart of the Google Pixel 9 is the new Tensor G4, which is theoretically only a minor upgrade compared to last year's SoC. Otherwise, much remains the same and the improvements seem to be limited. However, the successor to the Pixel 8 has more RAM—namely 12 GB—and its battery is also slightly larger at 4,700 mAh.

Although the upgrades within the Pixel 9 generation have proven to be somewhat limited and Google increased its prices dramatically last year already, the entry into the Pixel world has been adjusted significantly upwards once more. The base version of the Pixel phone is still 128 GB, but now for an MRSP of $799. The version of the Pixel 9 with 256 GB of storage now comes nearer to the 1000-dollar mark (MRSP: $899).

The Pixel 9 comes in four different colors and in comparison to the Pixel 8, its slightly larger 6.3-inch display has gotten a bit wider and taller. The bezels surrounding the OLED panel, on the other hand, are slimmer, resulting in the latest Pixel generation featuring an improved ratio between its screen and case size, namely 86.1 percent. Even so, the Pixel 9 doesn't look the most modern compared to other manufacturers' compact phone ranges—a Galaxy S24, for example, boasts a much better value (90.9 percent).

Gorilla Glass Victus 2 is used on the front and back of the device which, in combination with the satin metal frames, feels nice to touch and gives the phone a really high-quality appearance. This is only the case when you admire the Pixel 9 from afar, however, as its glossy back becomes quite the fingerprint magnet in the hands of its user. We would have preferred the use of the Pro models' matte glass. Although the colorful versions of the Pixel 9 seem less susceptible to this problem than our black test sample is.

Google is not only showing its awareness of sustainable thinking when it comes to the phone's long update period, but also with the materials used during production. The manufacturer hasn't provided exact CO₂ emission values, but does state that at least 20 percent of the product weight is made from recycled materials. Recycled aluminum (12 percent) makes up the largest proportion of this. The material used in its case consists of 100% recycled materials. The packaging in which the Pixel 9 is delivered to the customer is also plastic-free.

The Pixel 9 proves to be futureproof when it comes to its wireless standards—for at-home use as well as on the go. It masters Wi-Fi 7 including 6 GHz WLAN which, in combination with our Asus ROG Rapture GT-AXE11000 reference router, resulted in very high and stable transfer rates.

For mobile internet access, the Google phone supports the 5G and 4G networks and boasts a wide frequency cover. The Pixel 9 is set up very well for use in Germany, where this test was carried out, but users should also face no connectivity issues further afield. Support for 30 LTE bands is almost equivalent to a global phone.

For the ultra-wide-angle camera, Google has swapped out the 12-megapixel lens of its predecessor for a 48-MPix lens with a larger 1/2.55-inch sensor and a much brighter f/1.7 aperture. This puts the Pixel 9 right at the top in terms of quality. The Google phone shows few image errors and a good dynamic range. However, we are not entirely enamored by its sharpness along the image edges and details are sometimes captured better by the competition. 

If you want, you can use numerous AI functions for post-processing. An intelligent image and video editing function called Magic Editor is available to do so. Among other things, this allows you to change the background of photos or remove elements. The "Add Me" function ensures that a group photo is recorded multiple times using augmented reality so that all people appear in one shot. Another new feature is "Best Image Section", an option for photos that have already been taken and for which a new image section is generated. You can also extend the photo using Generative AI.

In controlled lighting conditions, we analyzed the main camera's color representation in comparison to the actual reference colors. In addition to the brightening that often occurs with smartphones, the Pixel 9 didn't reveal any major deviations when depicting the ColorChecker passport and delivered a solid white balance. The upper-class phone only showed color outliers (>10) when depicting cyan.

Due to the installed OLED technology, Google relies on pulse-width modulation to control the screen's brightness. However, the manufacturer doesn't use a type of PWM dimming that is easy on the eyes, such as Xiaomi does in its smartphones featuring OLED displays which use high-frequency flickering (3,845 Hz). On the Pixel 9, we measured a constant but very low 120 Hz using an oscilloscope. Anyone who is sensitive to flickering displays should therefore expect complaints. The amplitude deflection of over 22 percent doesn't change this—a value well below 20 percent would be desirable for 120 Hz panels. The greater this value deviates from 0 percent, the higher the probability that changes in the brightness control will be noticed negatively.

When it comes to GPU performance, the gap between the ARM Mali-G715 MP7 installed in the Pixel 9 and the upper-class competition becomes even wider—even more noticeable than in the CPU tests. At times, a Xiaomi 14 performed over 50 percent better in the GFXBench results than the Google phone.

Since the Pixel 9 offers the least computing power within the comparison field, it isn't surprising that Google's top-of-the-range device didn't achieve a top position in the browser benchmarks. Subjectively speaking, browsing still feels fast and without any significant delays.

The Pixel 9 surprises in the field of storage connectivity—but unfortunately again in a rather negative way. The Google phone (likely) still relies on the UFS 3.1 standard—Google hasn't provided exact details. Its read rates are on par with its predecessor, but the Pixel 9's write rates are extremely low. Its low read speed is probably due to the Tensor SoC's memory controller, but this cannot be the cause of its poor write rate results.

The Pixel 9 keeps its case surface temperatures under control; in our load scenario using the Burnout benchmark, we measured a rather low waste heat of around 43 degrees Celcius. This nevertheless led to a moderate throttling of the system performance of around 20 to 30 percent in the 3DMark stress tests.

The Pixel 9 uses two speakers, one of which is located inside the ear cup, so there is no equivalent stereo sound. The sound is quite full, but the staircase-shaped frequency curve in the pink noise measurement isn't ideal. For a smartphone with a compact design, the Google phone has present lows and slight bass.

If you want external sound output, you can use the wired USB port or wireless Bluetooth 5.3. The latter relies on a solid number of codecs.

The Pixel 9's power consumption is neither efficient under load nor in idle mode. At almost 1.5 watts in idle mode, there is certainly still some room for optimization, although its bright display will make a significant contribution here.

Its 4,700 mAh battery can be charged at up to 27 watts using a cable. This already isn't terribly fast, but without the right power supply unit, its charging power is likely to be even lower during everyday use. The manufacturer does not specify which standards the Pixel 9 supports; in our test, we needed around 2 hours to charge the battery using a power bank (PD 3.0, 100 watts max.). With three different power adapters (between 18 and 30 watts) which we tried out, we had to leave the Pixel 9 connected to the power for almost exactly 3 hours. However, we were unable to test how it behaves with the original power supply from Google. Wireless charging using the Qi standard is possible at up to 15 watts.

The Pixel 9 delivers very good runtimes for a compact smartphone. The best comparison can be drawn when taking a look at the values at an adjusted display brightness (150 cd/m²). In this case, the Google phone lasted three hours longer than its predecessor when surfing on Wi-Fi. Our test devices actually achieved better runtimes during endless video playback without Wi-Fi, but the Pixel 9 was an exception to this, managing around 16 hours.