Google Pixel 9 hands-on: Google is coming after the iPhone 16

• ✅ ???? Refined design that feels super premium

• ✅ ⚙️ Faster performance

• ✅ ???? Upgraded cameras

• ✅ ✨ Google Gemini gets deeper integration

• ✅ ???? Seven years of software updates

• ❌ ???? The price went up by $100

• ❌ ???? No telephoto camera

• ❌ ???? Only 128GB of base storage

Google held a big event at its headquarters in Mountain View to unveil not one, not two, but four new Pixel 9 phones. We had a chance to check them out ahead of the event, and one of the more interesting entries is the standard Pixel 9.

It sits at the bottom of the lineup as the most affordable option, but it’s still plenty powerful compared to its more expensive siblings. I had time to play with it and see what it’s like to use, and you know what? It seems really solid.

Best Buy: Pixel 9 + $100 giftcard

• ???? Release date: August 22nd

• ???? Price: $799

• ???? Screen size: 6.3-inch OLED

• ????️ Resolution: 2424 x 1080

• ????‍♂️ Refresh rate: 60-120Hz

• ???? Brightness: 2,700 nits

• ???? Main camera: 50MP

• ???? Ultra-wide camera: 48MP with 123–degree field of view

• ???? Selfie camera: 10.5MP with autofocus

• ⚙️ Chipset: Google Tensor G4

• ???? RAM: 12GB

• ????️ Storage: 128GB/256GB

• ???? Speakers: stereo (and no headphone jack)

• ???? Battery: 4,700 mAh

• ???? Wired Charging: 45W

• ⚡ Wireless Charging: Yes, 15W

• ???? Connectivity: 5G sub6 and mmWave, WiFi 7

• ????️ Biometrics: Side-mounted fingerprint reader

• ⚖️ Weight: 198 g

• ???? Colors: Obsidian, Porcelain, Wintergreen, Peony

• ???? OS: Android 14 (seven years of software upgrades)

• ???? Durability: Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2 on front

• ???? Waterproof: IP68

???? An iPhone-like design. When I saw the Pixel 9 for the first time, it sort of threw me off in the same way that the leaks did. Its new design is much more reminiscent of an iPhone than anything before it with rounded corners, flat sides, and a completely flat display. Pick it up and you’ll see that feels really solid in your hand, yet a bit less conforming than the Pixel 8 given the flat sides.

The phone looks identical to the Pixel 9 Pro, which shares the same-size display and adds a few features like an extra camera and higher brightness. This base model, though, looks plenty premium all by itself. There’s a nice matte finish along the aluminum on the sides, you get Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2 on the front, the buttons are large and clicky, and there’s a set of stereo speakers. The camera bar has also been redesigned so it floats in the upper portion of the back of the phone, complete with an aluminum chassis and a pill-shaped glass cutout for the cameras.

Best Buy: Pixel 9 + $100 giftcard

???? Check out this Actua display. The 6.3-inch Actua OLED display has a sharp 2424 x 1080 resolution and can reach 2,700 nits of peak brightness (300 nits less than the 9 Pro). Its refresh rate hovers between 60 and 120Hz depending on what you’re doing, and at first glance, all the colors and sharp contrast looked excellent. I used it side by side with the 9 Pro at the demo area and noticed that the two screens look essentially the same, at least to the naked eye. That’s great news for those of you already eyeing up the cheaper option.

⚙️ Jam-packed with power. Inside the Pixel 9, Google includes its new Tensor G4 processor, which promises better performance and efficiency than the Tensor G3. You also get 12GB of RAM and either 128 or 256GB of storage. The battery weighs in at 4,700mAh and is compatible with Google’s new 45W fast charger, which it seals separately. Of course, wireless charging and Battery Share are also supported.

???? Solid cameras? One of the biggest areas of focus for any Pixel phone is the camera, and the Pixel 9 doesn’t seem like it’ll be disappointing, at least on paper.

On the back, there’s a main 50MP f/1.68 lens that supports Super Res Zoom up to 8x, while a new 48MP f/1.7 ultra-wide sits beside it with a 123-degree field of view. That ultra-wide camera can be used for Macro Focus, which lets you take macro photos of your subjects. You’ll also find a 10.5MP selfie camera with autofocus built-in. Google is obviously claiming that you’ll get incredible results regardless of the time of day you take photos and videos, but we’ll need to run some tests to know whether that’s true.

✨ Looking for some AI? Of course, the company doesn’t want you to just focus on the pure quality of the cameras – Google also has a lot of AI stuff to show you. You’ll get Magic Editor for touching up your photos using machine learning and AI, Night Sight that ramps up the quality of your photos and videos in dark environments, Magic Eraser for removing unwanted subjects and objects from the frame, and Best Take that merges you and your friend’s best facial expressions from a burst photo into a single image.

Best Buy: Pixel 9 + $100 giftcard

With the Pixel 9, Google is also announcing a feature called Add Me, which seems both impressive and somehow creepy. You take a picture of your subject in front of whatever setting you want, then have your subject take a picture of you in the same setting. Google’s AI magic merges the two images together and voilà, you’re both in the same picture. I saw a few of my friends try it out during our hands-on experience, and it seemed to work surprisingly well. Google says it’s rolling out Add Me in preview at first so it might not work correctly each time, but the couple of times I did see it in action, it seemed to do well.

The artificial intelligence madness doesn’t end with the Pixel’s camera system. On every Pixel 9 is Android 14, which Google has enhanced with Gemini, its AI chatbot. Gemini is getting a few neat upgrades with these phones, like the ability to see what’s on your screen and provide context for it (e.g. you could ask for more information on a YouTube video or movie you’re watching) and generating images on the fly and dropping them directly into an app like Gmail or Telegram. One of the most notable updates is Gemini Live, which allows you to have a full-on conversation with the bot. Google says it can understand your intent and train of thought while you converse with it, giving the bot an assistant-like experience.

There are also a couple of new apps that use Gemini and run locally on your Pixel 9 thanks to Tensor G4. Pixel Screenshots gives your screenshots a new home and lets you search for information and other items by analyzing each one you capture. For example, if you take a screenshot of a chocolate chip cookie recipe, you can go to the Screenshots app and ask: “How much butter does that cookie recipe call for?” You could also take a screenshot of an event, and Gemini will automatically prompt you to add it to your calendar.

Pixel Studio is also here, which allows you to generate any image you want in a variety of styles and customize it to your liking. You can add text and stickers, remove generated objects, and more. I got a demo of the app during my hands-on time, and it actually seemed pretty useful, especially for those of us who enjoy cooking up memes.

With every Pixel 9, Google is offering a full year of the Google One AI Premium Plan for free. That gets you access to Gemini Advanced, Gemini in apps like Docs, and 2TB of cloud storage.

???? Good ol’ Android 14. As far as Android itself goes, it’s the same ol’ Pixel experience on top of Android 14, which means it’s clean, inviting, and offers plenty of customization. On top of that, Google is sticking to its commitment of offering seven years of software upgrades for all of its new Pixel phones, which is incredible to see.

A couple of other features I wanted to highlight:

• There’s a new feature called Satellite SOS, which allows you to connect to emergency services via satellite when you’re out of range of a cellular or Wi-Fi network. It works the same way as an iPhone does and lets you share your location with an emergency contact so you can be found.

• As per usual, there’s an under-display fingerprint reader for security.

• Google says it can use its own AI to tell you whether an image you come across online was generated with AI, but that’s something we’ll need to test to know whether it actually works.

  Best Buy: Pixel 9 + $100 giftcard

The Google Pixel 9 Pro is available to pre-order now for $999 with 128GB of storage and it’ll be available starting on September 4th.