Last updated on 11 October 2024
I’ve been using the Google Pixel 9 for about 4 weeks now as my only Android phone. I’ve given it a good go and I’m looking forward to sharing my thoughts with you.
Table of Contents
Hardware
I’m starting with the hardware since this is the first thing I noticed out of the box. The build quality is superb. I have enjoyed the Pixel hardware for a few years now, and the Pixel 9 continues to impress me. This device feels as premium as it should at this price in my opinion. Comparing it to the Pixel 8 from last year, it is about the same size, has flatter edges and curved corners (yes, like and iPhone), and the camera bar no longer wraps around the sides.
Display
The display on this phone is great. It is even brighter than the Pixel 8 which was the first time I felt like Pixels did not fall behind the competition in this area. This continues to be one of the brightest screens on the market if this is something that is important to you. I also didn’t have any issues with performing gestures or screen responsiveness. The screen size is 6.3 inches (slightly larger than last year’s model).
Speakers
Although I don’t use built-in speakers that often,I can say that these are great speakers for the size of the phone. They get pretty loud and have a full sound.
Camera
While I can’t comment on the quality of the pictures and videos, I will mention that Pixel devices are generally regarded as having some of the best cameras in a smartphone.
Microphones
I must say I was a bit disappointed when it came to the microphones. When recording audio, the gain seems to be too low resulting in a much quieter recording than what I am used to on other phones (including previous Pixels). Also, when recording videos in the camera app, the sound in those videos sounds more compressed and not as natural as I am used to on my Samsung phone. I really hope this is something wrong in the software that can be corrected with a software update in the future.
Fingerprint Sensor
I love the fingerprint sensor. This is the most improved aspect of the device over previous Pixels with in-display fingerprint sensors. It is just about flawless now. They have finally started using an ultrasonic sensor instead of an optical sensor. This means they are now as fast and accurate as Samsung’s premium devices which have been using these sensors for years.
Software and Accessibility
Pixel OS
Pixel software is one of the most stock versions of Android. Google’s flavor of Android is very simple. If you are into customizing your experience (like I am), you will feel very limited in how you are able to make your phone work better for you.
TalkBack
One of the shortcomings of Pixel devices in recent years has been the fact that TalkBack is not as responsive as on other flagship devices. Although this is still the case, it is not as noticeable. If I am going back and forth from my S24 Ultra and Pixel 9, I can tell a slight difference. But when using the Pixel alone, I get used to it and never find myself wishing it were more responsive.
Although I found TalkBack to be acceptable, here are some annoyances I found that I am not used to on my Samsung phone.
When using a 3rd party launcher, you are not able to swipe between open apps on the recents screen and have it scroll automatically. Instead you will have to swipe or slide two fingers to manually move through pages on the recents screen.
Another oddity with 3rd party launchers is that if you do TalkBack’s overview gesture twice (swiping left then up by default) to go to the last app while on the home screen, it will break the overview gesture until you have used the native gesture to bring up the recents screen by swiping up and holding with two fingers from the bottom of the screen.
The on device Gemini image descriptions included with TalkBack 15 are much better than what we previously had in TalkBack. However, the online detailed descriptions are far better and even faster. although connectivity plays a part, it was taking at least 3 times longer for me to get an on device description. I should point out that this slowdown also effects automatic icon and text detection since it waits on the results from the image detection to tell you the image, icon, and text detection all at once. Disabling automatic image descriptions seems to help the others to be a little faster, but they still feel slower than before.
AI
Although Google is trying to sell this device as “The AI Phone”, this is not something I use much at all.
I won’t comment on Gemini itself because as far as I know, there is nothing different when using it on a Pixel.
Call transcription works. It alerts the person on the other end that the call is being recorded. After the call, you can find a transcription and audio recording alongside that call’s entry in call history.
Pixel Studio (for generating images) was accessible and seemed to work fine. I did not notice anything that different from what you can do on the web with AI test kitchen.
The “Screenshots” app is nice. I saved everything I thought was important (like shipping labels) and could then ask it something like “What is the most recent tracking number you can find?”
Fingerprint Sensor
Although I already have raved about the hardware, I now have to rant about the software. I find it frustrating that Google makes you have your screen on to be able to unlock your phone with your fingerprint. I don’t like having to press the side key to wake up the screen before I can unlock the phone. A couple of workarounds are to have “lift to wake” enabled or to use the always on display. But for me, I don’t like “lift to wake” and TalkBack doesn’t play nicely with the AOD (as mentioned previously). So again, I can’t have everything I want. I have to “pick my poison” so to speak.
Camera
On a positive note, I have really been enjoying the camera. “Guided Frame” really is more than just a gimmick. This is the Pixel exclusive feature that gives you audio guidance on taking a picture and what is in frame. This happens automatically as long as you have the TalkBack focus on the “capture” button. An example would be “One pet and one person in frame. Move right to center both.” Then when everything is lined up, you will hear a chime and a countdown will start to take the picture for you. Of course you can also double tap the screen or press a volume key to take the picture if you’d rather. Another feature that I enjoy about the Pixel camera is that not only can you press the volume key to take a picture, but you can press and hold it to take a video (even with the camera in photo mode) and then release the key to stop the video.
Assistant Typing
Assistant Typing is the feature I miss the most when I am not using a Pixel. It is a version of Voice Typing in Gboard that Google reserves for its own Pixel devices. It works locally and has additional features. For example, you can insert many different emojis with voice commands. Also you can use commands such as stop, send, delete, clear, or clear all, which can actually be super useful once you get the hang of them. Although I really like Assistant Typing, I found that it was not quite as accurate this time around. For whatever reason it was getting more words wrong and missing others entirely. I’m not sure, but this might have had something to do with the microphones I mentioned earlier.
Conclusion
I don’t mean to come across negative in my reviews. I just want you to know exactly what you might be getting yourself into before you make such a purchase and this is why I tend to focus on the things that annoy me about a device. That being said, I do recommend the phone if none of the above are deal breakers for you. I really have enjoyed the experience overall. Even though I am now going back to my Samsung device, I would not be disappointed at all if I had to continue using the Pixel 9.
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