Google Pixel 9 Pro Review: A Pocketable Champion

2024 is the year Google finally introduced its entire range of Pixel devices in India, including the Pixel 9, Pixel 9 Pro, Pixel 9 Pro XL, and Pixel 9 Pro Fold. In short, this year, consumers have plenty of Pixel devices to choose from, depending on the budget. Starting at Rs. 79,999 for the base Pixel 9 and going all the way to Rs. 172,999 for the book-style Pixel 9 Pro Fold.

On paper, the Pixel 9 Pro and 9 Pro XL might only differ in terms of display size and battery, but the real difference lies in everyday use. One is compact to fit in the smallest pockets and convenient to use with one hand, while the other is huge at 6.8 inches. This year, Google added one phone to its Pixel lineup, which is the Pixel 9 Pro, which we will review here. Much like how Apple brought all the bells and whistles from its Pro Max model to Pro this year, Google also tries to fit all the firepower in the compact body of the Pixel 9 Pro. So, who should exactly buy this one or consider an alternate flagship? I try to answer this in my review.

Google Pixel 9 Pro Design: Compact form wins

• Dimensions – 152.8mm x 72mm x 8.5mm
• Weight – 199 grams
• Durability – IP68 dust and water resistance

The Pixel 9 series finally ditches the bar-style rear back that housed the camera in a way that was loved and hated by some. The good news is that there’s a new island placement on the rear for cameras, and it looks mature. It is easy on the eyes and makes the new Pixels shine in a crowded market with no distinct design except the iPhones.

The Pixel 9 Pro comes in four colour choices

I like the matte back panel and glossy frame finish on the Pixel 9 Pro. Thanks to the matte treatment, the back isn’t a fingerprint magnet; however, it is a slippery phone. I accidentally dropped it twice during this review, but thankfully, the 9 Pro survived both drops without scratches. Unlike the iPhone 16 Plus (Review), the Google Pixel 9 Pro doesn’t wobble on a flat surface mainly because the centre-aligned island at the back keeps it even.

The Pixel 9 Pro packs a 4700mAh battery

Over the years, the Pixels have developed their design language, and the new 9 series somehow maintains that in a good way. The polished finish metal frame feels solid in the hand, and Google has added additional protection by using Gorilla Glass Victus 2 on both front and back panels.

At under 200 grams, the Pixel 9 Pro is a handy phone with an even weight distribution. The 8.5mm thickness is also decent. There’s IP68 dust and water resistance on board for peace of mind.

It weighs 199 grams

The Pixel 9 Pro beats the 9 Pro XL in convenience. The compact form factor is easy to use and something that’s easier to live with every day. I would pick this over most big phones because of the one-hand usage as well, and it nails the basics quite comfortably—the ease of checking notifications, typing, dialling numbers, and doing everything with just one hand. Everything else in design is minimalistic, which will grow on you.

In terms of colours, Google has always offered different shades, and this year, the lineup is interesting. The Pixel 9 Pro is available in Rose Quartz, Hazel, Obsidian, and Porcelain – the one I got for the review. Overall, the Pixel 9 Pro feels like a solid device and a premium one, too.

The Pixel 9 is a compact device that’s convenient to use with just one hand

Google Pixel 9 Pro Display: Flagship-grade

• Display – 6.3-inch, 1280×2856 pixels, 1Hz – 120Hz
• Display Type – Flat, LTPO, OLED
• Display protection – Gorilla Glass Victus 2 (front and rear panels)

The smartphone has an excellent display offering crisp, accurate and natural colours. The Pixel 9 Pro, compared to the Pixel 8, packs a bigger display – 6.3 vs 6.2 inches. The bezels around the display also seem slim, and the claimed screen-to-body ratio stands at 87 percent. I liked the overall colour rendering, and you will love watching HDR videos on the display. With a peak brightness of 3000nits, the Pixel 9 Pro is bright outdoors, and sunlight legibility is never a problem.

The phone offers a peak brightness of 3000nits

Thanks to the compact size, the Pixel 9 Pro is one of my preferred devices for multimedia usage and offers a decent 495PPI pixel density. With Widevine L1 certification, Pixel 9 Pro streamed Full-HD resolution Netflix shows on demand. This year, Google has shifted to an ultrasonic fingerprint scanner, which is quick and almost flawless for everyday use. The punch hole for selfies is almost non-distracting while watching videos or playing games.

The bezels around the display are narrower compared to the Pixel 8 Pro

Google Pixel 9 Pro Performance: Hits and misses

• Google Tensor G4
• Titan M2 security coprocessor
• 16GB RAM and 256GB storage

In terms of raw performance, the Pixel 9 Pro doesn’t offer the absolute best, and you guessed it right, it won’t beat phones in the same price bracket. Google Tensor G4 is good for browsing, multitasking, and running Google’s suite of AI apps. However, when it comes to gaming or even graphic-intensive image or video editing, the Pixel 9 Pro disappoints. But I’m not surprised, as the Pixels have never been advertised as gaming or performance-driven devices. During my review, the Tensor G4 handled light image editing and could run AI features without stutters. The Pixel 9 Pro doesn’t get hot during intensive tasks thanks to excellent heat optimisations. Like during our synthetic benchmark tests, the Pixel 9 Pro handled tests well and below are the results for your reference.

The pure Android experience is another reason many prefer Pixels over other Android devices. The Pixel 9 Pro runs Android 14 out-of-the-box and comes with Gemini (which I will talk about in a bit). Lately, Google has been pushing its AI prowess under the name Gemini, and it seems like a bigger push than what we have seen in all these years. It is greater than how Google pushed Search, but I’m not surprised. AI is the next big thing for smartphones and empowers users to do much more in less time. As expected, the software experience is fluid, and the Pixel UI is clean of bloatware, Pixel’s biggest advantage over rivals.

Google Tensor G4 powers the Pixel 9 Pro

While reviewing, I downloaded the Android 15 update, which was mostly similar to Android 14, with some added features, like Theft Detection Lock and Private Space. Among all new features, the App Archiving has to be my Android 15 pick, a feature announced last year by Google that is only making its way as a system-wide option with the latest update. The feature lets users save storage on an app that’s used rarely.

Thanks to the form factor, the Pixel 9 Pro is my go-to device for quickly typing emails and has one of the decent haptic motors for typing feedback. The loudspeaker is a loud one and is excellent for a mid-size room. As mentioned above, the Pixel 9 Pro was my device pick for most of my multimedia needs, thanks to the display quality and speaker output. The 9 Pro can connect to mobile networks in areas like a basement where other phones struggle to be connected to a network. The call quality is decent on the device, and we had no problems with 5G on both Airtel and Jio networks.

It features a 42-megapixel selfie camera

Google Pixel 9 Pro AI

2024 has been the year of AI push for smartphone manufacturers, so why should Google hold back? The Pixel 9 series comes with a host of AI features. The first is the Gemini assistant, which uses multimodal models with which users can interact via voice, text, or pictures. The company added an all-new Add Me feature to the camera, which will never let you miss out on group photos with the help of AI. The Super Res Zoom, a feature that has been part of Pixels ever since Pixel 3, has been improved and offers high-quality zoom up to 20x. Pixel 9 series gets the all-new Pixel Studio, an image generator app powered by what Google calls an on-device diffusion model running on Tensor G4 and Imagen 3 text-to-image model. There are more additions, like the new Weather app that gets AI enhancements, Keep Notes that integrates Gemini, and Pixel Screenshots to organise screenshots on the device. We have discussed AI capabilities on the new Pixels in our Pixel 9 Pro XL review, so you can read it here.

Pixel Studio uses generative AI to bring imagination to life

Google Pixel 9 Pro Camera: “Pixel-able”

• 50-megapixel primary camera
• 48-megapixel ultra-wide and 48-megapixel telephoto
• 42-megapixel selfie camera

Pixel 9 packs the same camera setup as its bigger sibling, the Pixel 9 Pro XL. Jumping straight to camera results, the daylight shots on the 9 Pro come out crisp with natural colours (true-to-life colours) and plenty of details. The dynamic range is excellent in some of the samples I captured, and skin tones are bang-on. Portraits are amazing, and blur is handled wonderfully. The telephoto camera is great and doesn’t disappoint in some of the challenging situations. I managed to capture some excellent 5x photos.

Pixel 9 Pro comes with a triple camera setup

The ultrawide camera on the 9 Pro also shines. It captured some really good shots during camera tests, which you can see below. Macro lovers can take advantage of 9 Pro’s ultrawide camera, though Samsung has done better in macro shots this year. The Pixels are a league apart when it comes to camera comparisons, be it with Samsung or an iPhone.

Daylight samples from the primary camera (tap images to expand)

Close-up shot using ultrawide camera (tap image to expand)

Low-light photography is another highlight of the 9 Pro. I clicked some amazing low-light shots with plenty of details, controlled noise, and keeping colours in check. Pixel’s automatic night mode worked well for me. Of course, you can take things into your control and tweak settings to get better results. The portraits come out good, though, there’s scope of improvement. 

Low-light camera samples (tap image to expand)

Portrait shot in low light (tap image to expand)

The selfie camera on the 9 Pro is amazing; finally, the front camera upgrade has paid off—amazing skin tones captured in different light conditions. On the video front, the Pixel 9 Pro has improved greatly compared to the Pixel 8 Pro. However, it is not as good for videos as the iPhone at the moment.

Shots taken using 1x, 0.5x, 2x and 5x (tap image to expand)

Low light shots taken in 1x, 0.5, 2x and 5x (tap image to expand)

Google Pixel 9 Pro Battery: Decent

• 4700mAh battery
• Up to 55% charging in about 30 minutes
• Wireless charging support

Do not underestimate the Pixel 9 Pro just because of its sheer size. In my tests, I found the Pixel 9 Pro to be a capable device in terms of battery performance. With heavy usage, the Pixel 9 Pro lasted a whole day with 15-20 percent left till the end of the day. While with medium usage, the phone can easily last up to 36 hours.

Pixel 9 Pro comes with fast-charging support

The Pixel 9 Pro doesn’t ship with a charger like modern-day flagships. It supports 27W wired charging and up to 15W wireless charging. I tested the phone with a 45W charger, and it matched the brand’s claimed fast charging figures. The phone, however, takes roughly 100 minutes to charge fully.

The Pixel 9 Pro is a device that can outshine many compact flagships out there

Google Pixel 9 Pro Verdict

The Pixel 9 Pro is an excellent choice for those who want Pixel-like camera prowess. Its compact form factor is the biggest highlight, and the good thing is that Google this year hasn’t kept marquee features limited to 9 Pro XL. You get all the bells and whistles of the bigger sibling at a lesser price with the 9 Pro. The battery surprised me with its backup, and it shines in most scenarios. The extended software support should give prospective buyers confidence.

The Pixel 9 Pro comes with a single 16GB RAM and 256GB storage configuration

The only downgrade is the lack of heavy-duty performance credentials, which you can experience only when gaming or editing videos or photos on the device. Long thing short, where the chipset is required to handle graphic-intensive tasks is where 9 Pro feels it remains behind the competition. It’s high time that Google opts for Snapdragon or MediaTek for its chipset requirements, as Tensor cannot outrun its closest rivals.

If you want the best camera experience, you can’t go wrong with the Pixel 9 Pro, but when you add gaming and other graphics-intensive tasks, I have to ask you to look another way.

At Rs. 109,999, the Pixel 9 Pro feels slightly expensive for what it offers, but you can consider it as a premium for all the top-tier Google features arriving this year, along with AI.

When talking about alternatives, the Pixel 9 (Review) is definitely the closest sibling you can consider, minus some features. The Samsung Galaxy S24+ (Review) is also closer to the Pixel 9 Pro in terms of packaging, while you can also look at the iPhone 16 Pro, which is slightly more expensive.