Okay, it's been a beat and I had some time with the Pixel 9 and the Pixel 9 Pro to be able to discuss what we're up against in terms of choices when you want to buy.
I've given you some of the reviews of the new Pixel 9 series apps that each house:
But let's remind you of what the differences are in the variations.
So these phones have some tricks up their sleeves, and not all of it is tied just to AI incorporations.
For this review, I'm going to assume so many of you have seen the device in other reviews, or seen it shown off in other areas, I won't regurgitate a lot of the same, rather I'm going to let you know about MY experience in using it.
Now, for the first thing, let's determine which of these 3 Pixel 9s you want to pick up. You should first decide if you want the Pro model or not.
For $250 jump from the 9 to the 9 Pro you get a LOT of extras, in my mind it's definitely going to be worth it.
- Extra resolution (you may not notice... I did)
- An extra telephoto camera (definitely a want, but not a need)
- A better selfie camera (you'll see a difference)
- A thermometer (??)
- More RAM
Now, for me, the RAM was a must. Even tho' the 9 jumped from 8GB last year on the Pixel 8, to 12GB this year, I feel that you'll want the RAM. In my initial reviewing of the 9, I noticed an improvement from the 8; was it all from the 50% increase in RAM or was some of it the Tensor G4 over the G3? Hard to tell. But it was a noticeable improvement.
Going from the 9 to the 9 Pro was again a noticeable improvement. Now, not in speed... I have to make that clear. What I'm referring to is how when I would switch between apps, how quickly it could load up an app's previous state. On the Pixel 8 I often noticed, especially on browser tabs, that the pages would have to be reloaded, or I'd have to re-sign back in on pages... that I don't have to on the Pixel 9.
In terms of 'performance speed' itself, I can't say I really notice any major bump ups over it, but then again I can't say I'd ever say it was laggy either. Swapping back now and again to the OnePlus 12 with a Snapdragon, I can say the OnePlus 12 is definitely snappier... feels more responsive, that being said, goin back to the Pixel 9, I can't say I'd feel frustrated or saying it was slower.
If I were buying, I'd definitely be saying the Pro model over the non-Pro. $250 for the added RAM, the better camera, and I do love having a higher resolution screen.
The next question would be, do you want it bigger. It's only $150 difference to jump up to another hand size. Do I need 'bigger'?
With the 8, I really felt like it was a small device. For some reason the 9 didn't feel quite so 'cramped', despite having only a slightly larger frame I didn't make so many mistakes on the keyboard like I used to (again, not that I made a lot, just I remember making them and getting irked, but moving on). I pick up the OnePlus 12 or the 7 Pro I still have and they feel 'big'. But the 9 doesn't feel 'small'.
But I think that's a personal question - do you need the bigger screen for your fingers. It's not a matter of 'more screen real estate', as the resolution is not really much more (60'ish pixels over 0.5" worth). I'd ad vocate for the $250 upgrade already, whether you stretch that to $400 for your fingers is up to you. There is no other 'gain' with the XL model.
One thing I have enjoyed with the Pro upgrade is the fact that we get Gemini Advanced for free. Now, it's only a year, and I'm sure in a year's time I'll be bemoaning the fact that I've gotten used to it and don't want to have to pay >$20/month to keep it going, but we've gotten that kind of treatment with the unlimited photos or other 'bonuses' with Pixels in the past. Just sigh deeply and move on.
But let's get into using the device.
I do love how the 9 feels over the 8. The 8, with it's rounded-ish, rails and form to the 'slab' style - feels 'quality' in the 9. That being said, the first thing I did is slap it into a case to protect it. Depending on the style you get (UAG's or Google's) you won't notice that feature or feel the back again (and that camera 'bump/visor' is super predominant now).
Opening the device up, you're met with an 'ultrasonic' fingerprint sensor, which is fast. I don't know if it's THAT much faster than the Pixel 8's 'optical' version, but I do know that if I'm in a 'not so bright' room, the flash of the fingerprint sensor doesn't happen anymore.
And the screen, I feel like it's 'brighter' out of the box (the Pixel 8 was max 2000nits, whereas the 9 is 2700 and the 9 Pro 3000), and that's cool, but we tend to turn it down anyways. But, good to know that it can.
Using the device as a smartphone, I am still ... I'd hate to say 'underwhelmed', but it's exactly doing what it exactly needs, no more, and definitely no less. It's not screaming, but it's also not letting me down at any time. It's a perfect balance in my mind.
Best of all it's got that Pixel feel. Everything fits where it should, and it has the features I have started to expect from other phones and get disappointed when they aren't there:
- Notification history (I've not seen where to get that setting on other phones, or at least have it as handy as it is with Pixels)
- What's Playing
- Amazing Pixel camera magic
Yeah, I'm getting a little spoiled, as I get comfy with my comforts of a Pixel.
And that last point is something that I think a lot of us Pixel users like, is the Pixel camera. It's about this time of year I get my 'you remember when' with Google Photos or Facebook Memories, that I had that first "holy" moment with my Pixel 2 when it really gave me a shot that I knew it was something different. So let's dive in there for a moment.
As I am suggesting - you will want to go for the Pro model and that unlocks the telephoto lens. That is something you will definitely want, as with the 9 not having it and zooming in... oof, you will regret it.
There is the 'Zoom Enhance' mode - but to be honest, I don't know if I really noticed a difference between just zooming in and using that feature.
The more assistance you get with a lens, the better.
So how much better? As with the OnePlus 12 I did some shots from wide to zoomed in and here we go: (going from 0.5x wide, to 1, to 5x, to 30x digital crop)
I think even at the fully zoomed in 30x (so the 5x lens and then digitally upped to 30x) on a well lit scenario is pretty decent. Way better than the 9 trying to zoom in to 10x.
And even on some of the nights with that full moon, I was able to get decent handheld shots of the moon:
Something that without a good zoom lens, just isn't going to pull out well. Sure, there's some noise in those shots, but that's really zoomed in, really dark night and I'm hand holding it. I'm sure if I had a tripod, it would take some of the jitteriness out and not have it appear as noise.
With the 9 Pro, you also have access to 'pro' modes in the camera.
Which is cool, but 99.9% of the time we'll never try to use them. The one feature I did try out a few times was the full 50MP vs. 12MP mode. I don't know if I really ever saw a difference between the 2 shots to say there was a difference.
So I've just left it as 12MP.
Where it's really apparent the difference between the 9 and 9 Pro is the selfie camera. Normal day fine.
But, on a lower light scenario, the 9 isn't doing as well. Still good, and usable, just the 9 Pro is better at it.
One feature that both the 9 and the 9 Pro have is the 'add me' feature to your selfies.
This is a great feature and I still need to do a proper review on just that feature. I'm just so used to flipping the camera to selfie and putting it on wide to get everybody in from arms length away. With Add Me, I don't have to do that anymore.
Just snap a shot of your friends, have a buddy swap places to hold the camera and take a picture with you now super imposed in on it.
As it might suggest that I don't have a review for this just goes to show you that for people like me, it's not really top of mind and is moreso a 'novelty' than a utility. But I love how simple it is for it and then the people I've shown it to, just love it. "No WAY!".
So the camera between the 2 phones is the same, EXCEPT you get the telephoto on the Pro (and not that I use it all the time, but it's so useful to have when I do go to use it) and the selfie camera is better.
The only thing I ever noticed that was 'funny' with the 9 Pro over the 9 was that when I started using the 9, I immediately had the 'magic compose' feature in Google Messages. But when I went to the 9 Pro the feature wasn't there. I had a lot of issues a while back trying to make sure I had it - I know it's still 'beta' and isn't SUPPOSED to be there all the time, on every device, but it's frustrating.
As of today, the feature showed up. So I don't think it's a phone thing, moreso a 'Google server side' thing. Just odd that their 'flagship' wouldn't be assured to have all the AI features it wants to flaunt, out of the box.
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