Google Pixel 9 First Impressions

Google's latest flagship phones are here, earlier than usual, flaunting new design, hardware, and even more AI features than last time around. The lineup now consists of four devices – the Pixel 9, Pixel 9 Pro, Pixel 9 Pro XL, and Pixel 9 Pro Fold. For the first time, consumers in India will be able to buy all four handsets. I've been using the smaller Pixel 9, priced at Rs. 79,999, for a couple of days now and here's a look at what's new with the base Pixel.

Firstly, the Pixel 9 has a new design compared to last year's Pixel 8. The sides are now flat like an iPhone 15 or Samsung Galaxy S24, the rear camera visor is now replaced with a pill-shaped camera bar that continues to sit horizontally across the rear panel, and the front bezels are now uniform all around. Despite the new camera bar design, you can still tell it's a Pixel from afar. Also new is the glass protection, which is now Gorilla Glass Victus 2, both front and back. The phone continues to retain the IP68 rating from last year's model.

The display on the Pixel 9 is brighter and has uniform bezels all around

Google has packed a slightly larger 6.3-inch display on the Pixel 9, and this makes the phone taller compared to the Pixel 8. The display is still an OLED panel with full-HD+ resolution and 60 to 120Hz refresh rate, but it's now brighter. You also get an ultrasonic in-display fingerprint reader instead of the optical found in the older model. Our review unit came in the Porcelain colour option, but the phone is also available in Obsidian, Peony, and Wintergreen shades.

The familiar camera visor is no longer there at the back and has been replaced with a pill-shaped bar. However, the camera bar protrudes just as before. The phone gets a dual camera setup at the back with the same primary camera sensor as last year but features an upgraded 48-megapixel ultrawide sensor. The glass pill shaped housing inside the camera bar is bigger than last year as well. The front camera is the same as the Pixel 8, a 10.5-megapixel sensor, but now gets auto-focus.

The new camera bar reminds me of the Google search bar

The Pixel 9 lineup is the first in recent Pixel history not to get the latest Android build at launch, but that's because the phones also launched earlier than usual. Thanks to the Gemini Nano model running on-device, you get Android 14 out-of-the-box and a long list of AI features. The phone is powered by the new 4nm Tensor G4 chipset paired with 12GB RAM and 128GB storage. The new SoC enables a lot of the latest AI features, and I'll be testing them thoroughly. There are also new apps such as Pixel Screenshot, which lets you search for content through screenshots, and Pixel Studio, which enables you to create images from scratch. Apart from just an AI boost, Google also claims that the new SoC offers improvements in performance and efficiency. I'll be testing the claims in my full review.

Finally, you get a slightly larger 4,700mAH battery with the new Pixel 9, but it still supports 27W fast charging as before. The phone also features wireless charging. 

Google's Pixel 9 offers some nice upgrades over last year's Pixel 8, especially with the new ultra-wide camera, brighter display, and the Tensor G4. There are also plenty of new AI features available on the phone, and there's a lot. However, are all of these upgrades and AI add-ons enough to justify the price hike, and can the Pixel 9 take on upcoming phones such as the iPhone 16 series? Stay tuned for the full review to find out.