One of the best smartphones in my list this year is definitely the Google Pixel 9. It’s a complete balance of a good experience and also a price that is pretty reasonable for a flagship smartphone.
Google Pixel 9 Review: Design and hardware
The Google Pixel series always has an iconic camera design and it isn’t gone on the Google Pixel 9. We still have the visor camera module at the back and on the sides, the Google Pixel 9 features flat metal sides along with the glass back that feels likes an iPhone. Nonetheless, it isn’t a bad thing as the Pixel 9 really exudes a premium and solid feel into it.
As expected, the visor camera of the Pixel 9 is protruding at the back and despite the flat sides, the smartphone is still comfortable to hold thanks to the small and portable body of the smartphone. This makes the Google Pixel 9 an excellent smartphone for those people who are looking for a smaller flagship smartphone. Oh and just to add, I do love the pink color of this device.
One thing that I really don’t like about the Google Pixel 9 is the placement of the power button of the smartphone. It is placed near to the volume button of the smartphone at the same side and half of the time, I have been pressing the volume buttons instead of the power button of the smartphone. Not really a deal breaker but it has become annoying for me as the power button of the smartphone should be placed in the middle and should not be close to the volume buttons.
If you love playing music or just using the speaker most of the time, the Google Pixel 9 has two speakers. It can be loud but it’s not perfect at all. I feel that it lacks a little bit of bass but other than that, it was quite well.
As for the battery, the Google Pixel 9 does an almost day and a half surprisingly in normal usage. Which is surprising. But for most people, the Google Pixel 9 would last up to a single work day without problems
Google Pixel 9 Review: Display
The Google Pixel 9 has a smaller display, which again, is perfect for those who wants a handy smartphone. It comes with a 6.3-inch OLED Display with a 120Hz refresh rate and sure, it’s comparable to an iPhone 16 and sure, it isn’t the best for gaming but the display of the Pixel 9 is excellent but definitely not the best one.
The colors and brightness of the display is more than enough for most usage and it would definitely be usable outside but compared to other flagship smartphones out there, the Google Pixel 9 is far from the best. The size isn’t ideal also for people who have large hands or to people who wants to have more content on their display.
Google Pixel 9 Review: Software & performance
The software is probably the best feat about this smartphone. It’s running on the latest Android OS and it’s the BEST mobile android operating system that you can experience. First, there are no bloatwares and the UI is really easy on the eyes and customizable. Honestly, I find the design of it really cute.
Gemini isn’t really fully baked-in to all of the features but Google does have one of the most usage for AI in their smartphones. They have also put in Pixel Studio on this one which does generative AI features on the smartphone. But honestly, I rarely use these features but it’s nice to have these things on a smartphone.
As for the performance, the Google Pixel 9 really lags when it comes to the competition. The Google Tensor G4 chipset inside it does wonders but it isn’t up as the other flagship smartphones out there. It can play the latest games out there and it certainly can play games like Genshin Impact and also Honkai Star: Rail at the highest settings BUT do not expect it to run at stable 60fps. It does fluctuate and the heating management of the smartphone is definitely not the best at all.
The Google Tensor G4 feels like it’s a processor from the previous generation. But in today’s smartphones especially with the market of Pixel smartphones, most consumers care about the experience and the smoothness when navigating on the smartphone rather than have the best numbers and the best performance in gaming. Nonetheless, I still wish Google could improve the Google Tensor line in the future. Here some of the benchmarks of the smartphone:
Google Pixel 9 Review: Camera
The camera of the Google Pixel 9 is one of the features that I really love in it. To be the most affordable and smallest in the Pixel 9 series, the Google Pixel 9 does a pretty good job. The colors that I have been getting were excellent and the combination of the post-processing and the hardware of Pixel 9.
The 50MP wide camera and the 48MP ultrawide camera does wonder but unfortunately, there’s no telephoto lens on this one. Nonetheless, the dual camera setup is more than enough for most people unless you want to shoot on concerts.
As for the camera quality, we’re really happy with the lowlight quality of the smartphone’s camera and the colors that are produced in the shots are definitely on the iPhone 16 Pro level. Another thing, I have noticed that they keep on updating the smartphone and the quality has improved every update. Check out the camera samples of the smartphone below:
Google Pixel 9 Review: After 6 months
It’s not a surprise that the Google Pixel 9 has been getting amazing updates and it keeps on improving the device even more. While the Tensor G4 chipset still needs a lot of improvement, I have noticed that the camera’s performance has definitely improved. The software was still fun to use as it is swift and good.
While there are a lot of competition in the market now especially with the new wave of flagships are already here, the Google Pixel 9 still prove to be an interesting smartphone in this space. Yes, there’s the Samsung Galaxy S25 now and some other phones from the Chinese brands such as vivo X200 mini, the Pixel 9’s greatest strength and advantage would still be its software.
Google Pixel 9 Review: Verdict
The Google Pixel 9 is an almost perfect handy smartphone. The smartphone’s design is a beauty and it’s a very handy smartphone to hold, the camera is amazing, and the software that we got in here is top-notch. However, the Tensor G4 is the only thing that pulls it down.
Don’t get me wrong, the Google Pixel 9 can run all the things that I need but I wish it was better. I wish it had better numbers and better performance. Nonetheless, for casual users or normal users, the Pixel 9 would be more than enough for them.
