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Techopedia has?given the Pixel 9 series phones a hands-on at the Made by Google event, and it’s clear that the company has figured out some of its biggest challenges — though the value of Gemini AI will need some testing.
The design is definitely the first thing you notice. Some are put off by the flatter sides and that protruding camera bump, but I love it: it’s easy to hold but more premium-feeling, if a bit more fingerprint-prone on the sides. The colors this year pop, including the mint green and rose pink, although I’m partial to the hazel (almost more gray) myself.
Google was absolutely right to change the sizes this year. In my hands-on experience, I found the 6.3-inch Pixel 9 Pro (and the regular 9) to be just the right dimensions: it’s comfortably large but still viable one-handed, narrower than a Pro-series iPhone but slightly taller. You’ll still struggle a bit to reach the top, although typing isn’t an issue.
The Pixel 9 Pro XL is still very much a large phone, but it’s still light and very practical to wield. Thankfully, you no longer have to sacrifice camera features if you prefer something smaller.
All models are unsurprisingly speedy given the Tensor G4 chip. Early tests also suggest the ultrasonic fingerprint reader has finally, finally solved the sluggish sign-ins from older Pixels. I’ll have to conduct some real-world testing to gauge the display brightness, but there were no complaints in Google’s brightly-lit Bay View complex.
As for the AI features? Some of those will have to wait for the review, but in my hands-on time the Pixel 9 series was indeed fast at generating images and otherwise churning through on-device Gemini AI features, including Pixel Screenshots. Gemini Live is outstanding in (admittedly controlled) demos and will put pressure on Apple to deliver Siri’s Intelligence upgrades quickly.
Google’s challenge, as you might guess, is convincing everyone else that the Pixel 9 is worth a go. Samsung’s Galaxy S24 series is likely brawnier, and Apple fans are holding their breath for the iPhone 16 launch in September. From what I’ve seen so far, though, Google makes a good argument if you’re looking for an AI-centric phone with excellent cameras and an eye-catching style.
