Google Pixel 9 review: better than ever
- by Digital Trends
- Oct 02, 2024
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Andy Boxall / Digital Trends
The Pixel 9 has a 6.3-inch Actua screen with a 1080 x 2424 pixel resolution and a maximum 120Hz refresh rate. Google does set the refresh rate at 60Hz by default, though, so make sure you change this in the settings. Compared to the Pixel 9 Pro and Pixel 9 Pro XL, which feature higher resolutions and a dynamic 1Hz to 120Hz refresh rate, the base Pixel 9 has the lesser screen.
The Pro phones are also brighter, and this is one of the small issues I’ve had with the Pixel 9. The official figures claim 1,800 nits maximum brightness and 2,700 nits peak brightness, but I’ve found it doesn’t get quite as bright as I’d like under normal outside use. Whether it’s the ambient light sensor that needs tweaking or a poor average brightness for everyday situations, I’ve found myself maxing the brightness setting out quite often, yet it’s still not as vibrant and visible as required for the conditions.
Screen brightness is one of the small issues I’ve had with the Pixel 9.
This is really the only negative, though. There’s a very fast and accurate new ultrasonic fingerprint sensor set sensibly high up on the screen, and that’s joined by an instant face unlock feature. It’s the simplest, fastest, and most reliable Pixel phone security system I’ve used, and I’ve found it far more pleasant to use than those on other phones, including the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6 and the HMD Skyline. Google has also engineered a superb haptic feedback system that is used throughout the software. It’s delightfully soft and tactile, yet noticeable and useful too.
Andy Boxall / Digital Trends
Apart from cranking the brightness up on the Pixel 9’s screen, I’ve enjoyed watching video on the phone, but more than that, I like the informative and customizable always-on screen and the sheer speed of response. It sounds basic, but until you use a phone like the Pixel 9, it’s easy to accept slower, more ponderous versions of Android as the norm.
Audio comes from stereo speakers, and they sound good at anything up to about three-quarters of the volume, after which they distort quite badly. If you own a set of Pixel Buds Pro or Pixel Buds Pro 2 earbuds, you can listen to spatial audio through some online video streaming services. The audio and visual experience on the Pixel 9 is excellent and representative of the phone’s price.
Google Pixel 9: software and performance
Joe Maring / Digital Trends
I’ve been reviewing the Pixel 9 with Android 14 installed, and it has received a few software updates since I started using it. Google will keep it updated with major OS versions, security updates, and Feature Drops over the next seven years, starting August 22, 2024. This means that Google will use one of these major updates to receive Android 15 later this year, which may frustrate some. However, before you get upset, ask yourself if you expect to still use the Pixel 9 in 2030.
The Pixel 9 has the Google Tensor G4 chip at its heart with 12GB of RAM and either 128GB or 256GB of storage space. The Tensor chips have had their fair share of problems over the past few years, but none seem to be evident in this latest version. It has not generated any unexpected heat, it has run all my apps without any reliability issues, and Android 14 performs without stutters or flaws. It’s the most fluid, smoothest, and most enjoyable Pixel experience yet.
Andy Boxall / Digital Trends
There are a couple of new preinstalled apps: Pixel Studio and Screenshots. Screenshots works like a fancy version of the screenshots folder in Google Photos. It’s searchable using AI, and your screenshots can be organized into collections. You can also take photos in the app itself, allowing you to add essential information to them. It has some usefulness, and its simple interface will encourage you to use it. But why it’s an app and not an enhancement to Google Photos, where it could be used on different devices, I have no idea.
I also have no idea why anyone would want to use Pixel Studio. It uses AI to generate images based on your descriptions, and it’s vaguely fun for a few tries.
There does seem to be a way to upload your own photos for the AI treatment. Still, all my photos were flagged as inappropriate (I wouldn’t mind, but none of the photos were inappropriate), so I couldn’t try it. Other tests have produced some very questionable images.
It’s an app that’s good for showing AI’s “imagination,” and I’m sure it’ll be fun for social media posts. However, aside from that use case, it’s forgettable fluff. I’d rather use the Rabbit R1’s generative AI camera feature.
Google Pixel 9: AI and Gemini
Andy Boxall / Digital Trends
All this talk about Screenshots and Pixel Studio brings us neatly to the Pixel 9’s AI, which is what Google spent most of the launch event talking about. I’ve been using basic Gemini AI, but not Gemini Advanced, as the Pixel 9 does not come with a free year of its use, unlike the Pixel 9 Pro range. It has taken over from Assistant, but does defer to Assistant for things it can’t do, like set alarms. You can talk much more conversationally with it, and Gemini understands and replies in a similar fashion. In fact, Gemini loves the sound of its own voice, so make sure you tell it to summarize in a few sentences, as otherwise, it will chat away for ages.
For all the talk about its ability, Gemini can be frustratingly sparse in its functionality if you don’t pay for Gemini Live and the Gemini Advanced package. It can’t translate webpages or videos, it can’t answer system-based questions like “How do you change your voice,” and when you feed it a link, it doesn’t seem to know what to do with it. It is good at answering questions based on summarization and information gathering. I asked it to explain the Porsche 911 range between 1997 and 2004, which it did, and it recommended the model I should buy and gave me some general tips on purchasing, too. I didn’t feel it had saved me that much effort or time, but it was a decent jumping-off point for more research.
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