I tested the new Google Pixel 9 and its new features can overshadow Samsung and Apple

Google is releasing its new Pixel 9 and 9 Pro phones a little early. We were able to try them out in preview and they definitely prove to be premium.

The shift made by Google in the last two years in terms of smartphones has not failed to make many users react. In the space of a few months, the firm that was known for competing with premium smartphones by offering accessible and high-performance models has seen its phones aggressively increase their prices. The specifications of these devices have also followed this increase in order to get closer and closer to high-end phones such as the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra or the iPhone 15 Pro Max.

A shift that we can still see today with the release of the new Google Pixel 9, Google Pixel 9 Pro and Google Pixel 9 Pro XL whose prices and ambitions are again revised upwards. We were able to try them out in preview before their official release in order to give you our impressions of these new smartphones and whether we recommend them for purchase.

Editor's note: This review was completed by fully realizedé &agrav; from a loaned copy; by the brand.

A refined designé year to year

This is certainly the easiest change to observe when looking at the new Google Pixel 9. The latter have a completely new design. Goodbye to the curved edges and hello to the flat edges that are strongly reminiscent of other competing smartphones such as the latest iPhone, Samsung Galaxy S/A and Redmi Note 13. This allows for a grip that may seem less pleasant, but much firmer and reduces the potential for the phone to slip out of our hands. This change, however, remains rather subjective depending on your preferences and habits.

© Linternaute/Julian Madiot

The back of the Google Pixel 9 also sports a new camera block. The latter no longer goes from one edge of the phone to the other, but forms a sort of large pill in which the different photo sensors are housed (two for the Pixel 9 and three for the Pixel 9 Pro, but we'll come back to that later). However, this change has almost no impact on the handling and the Google phone remains fully usable on a flat surface without it leaning to one side or the other. The weight of this block is also very well managed and you don't feel it at all when handling the phone.

The back of the Google Pixel 9 now sports a glass plate with a beautiful effect. While the latter only retains fingerprints very little, you will still have to be careful about the certain fragility of the glass in the event of a fall. This is why we would tend to advise you to get a case if you have already had a few misadventures in the past. The Pixel 9 Pro, meanwhile it has a matte back that is very pleasant to the touch and is not at all afraid of fingerprints.

All of these small additions give the Google Pixel 9 an ever more premium appearance that has nothing to envy the high-end phones from Samsung and especially Apple, whose design is very similar at first glance. Like it or not, let's hope that Google keeps its original camera block that allows it to stand out.

A screen so beautiful to look at!

This paragraph is going to be a declaration of love for the screen of the Google Pixel 9 and Pixel 9 Pro. Now that the tone is set, let's see the technical specifications of the latter.

The Google Pixel 9 has a 6.3-inch panel with Gorilla Glass Victus 2 protection and can increase its brightness up to 2700 nits while the Pixel 9 Pro, for its part, is capable of going up to 3000 nits. This brightness is particularly noticeable when used in direct sunlight where readability remains good and allows you to handle the Google Pixel 9 without having to squint too much.

© Linternaute/Julian Madiot

But such brightness is nothing without control. The automatic brightness management of the Google Pixel 9 (and the Pixel 9 Pro) proved to be very good during our test days. Whether we were going through a tunnel or going out in direct sunlight, the phone's screen adjusted its brightness very quickly to avoid burning our eyes or, conversely, to allow us to have good readability. of our contents.

Another new feature of the screen: the Google Pixel 9 is equipped with an ultrasonic fingerprint sensor under the phone's screen. The latter allows you to unlock the Pixel 9 extremely quickly and by just touching the sensor with your finger. A speed of execution that impressed us and a very good point for the new Google smartphone.

Whether it's the Google Pixel 9 or the Google Pixel 9 Pro, the two new smartphones from the Mountian View firm have a refresh rate of up to 120 Hz for great fluidity in your games and applications. Their big difference is that this rate can vary between 60 and 120 Hz for the Pixel 9 while the Pixel 9 Pro can vary between 1 and 120 Hz to save more battery.

As a reminder, the refresh rate of a smartphone screen is fairly equivalent to the FPS (frames per second) on a computer screen. The higher this rate, the smoother the images in your applications and games will be. An adaptive refresh rate allows you to automatically adjust this rate based on the content displayed. to save the device's battery (a screensaver, which does not need animations, will often run at 1 Hz to not consume too much).

The Google Pixel 9 is not a power monster

All this praise will soon be tainted by a small problem concerning the Google Pixel 9: its power. Google phones have never been known as monsters capable of running games in excellent quality and smoothly. The Pixel 9 is no exception to this rule.

All of the new Google Pixel 9s are equipped with the new Google Tensor G4 chip. The latter is supported by 12 GB of RAM on the Pixel 9 and 16 GB on the Pixel Pro.

On a daily basis: nothing to complain about. Navigation between the menus and our different applications is extremely fluid. It is possible to switch between several applications and chain them together quickly without feeling a single slowdown or complete freeze of the phone. A good point, but we wouldn't have expected anything less.

Mobile gamers will be a little more disappointed, however, by the performance of the new Pixel phones and especially the Google Pixel. We were able to test the latter with resource-intensive titles like Honkai: Star Rail or Wuthering Waves which require many files to install and sufficient power to be fluid. These installations alone caused our copy of the Google Pixel 9 to overheat to the point where we could no longer hold it in our hand. The Pixel 9 Pro fares a little better with overall better controlled heating.

The Pixel 9 runs games in good quality, but quickly tends to heat up. © Linternaute/Julian Madiot

Once in a game, the lack of power of the Google Pixel 9 is a little less unpleasant. Both titles launch by default in “high” or “medium” quality with 30 FPS. It is always possible to increase these settings without the phone overheating too much, but this will quickly impact the phone's battery life. Ultimately, if you're used to running demanding games, we'd recommend the Google Pixel 9 Pro with its 16GB of RAM.

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Still among the best photos on the market

If there's one area where Google phones shine, it's photography. The firm doesn't necessarily have the best sensors, but its software processing is good at producing shots rich in contrast and detail. But since a picture is worth a thousand words, here are some shots taken during our tests with the Google Pixel 9:

We see some pretty typical Google Pixel shots. The colorimetry is a bit too much, but it creates a style fairly easy to identify and avoid displaying dull photographs. The main sensor and the ultra wide angle manage to capture enough light to deliver shots that are teeming with details, even when the light is lacking.

< p>The Google Pixel 9 Pro also has an additional photo sensor that allows it to achieve optical zooms of up to x5 (beyond that, it will be a digitally created zoom). The results are generally good, even if there is a tendency to lose quality over time. as you zoom in on the image.

Photo taken with the Google Pixel 9 Pro's 5x zoom. © Linternaute/Julian Madiot

But the other great strength of the Google Pixel 9 comes in its multiple image editing options, notably based on artificial intelligence. The “Magic Eraser” is still as good at removing unwanted elements from an image and the many filters and options still allow us to refine our shots. The “Magic Retouch” allows us to completely transform part of our shot by adding, for example, new elements like here with butterflies added to the sky of our photograph. It is also possible to move certain subjects on the photo or even extend the borders of the latter with generative AI. The results are generally quite good if the additions made are done meticulously. Rest assured, however: the photo basic remains always accessible via the phone.

A photo retouched by AI with the Google Pixel 9. © Linternaute/Julian Madiot

The other big new feature is the “Add me” function. In concrete terms, this allows you to take a photo of your group without having to give your phone to a stranger. To do this, one of you simply has to take a photo of the group that the Google Pixel 9 will save in memory. The photographer just has to pose in the same place where the first photo was taken. made and the phone's AI will then merge the two shots into one! However, the results are sometimes quite messy, especially when zooming in on the small details of the added person (especially the shadows). It is not uncommon to see some blurring here and there, but there is no doubt that this will be improved over the course of updates. day.

Here, our dear colleague Sam (left) was added &agrav; the photo. © Phonandroid

The Google Pixel 9 Pro also has an additional option compared to the base Pixel 9 and previous smartphones in the range. Called “enhanced zoom”, this option allows you to smooth out the most distant details in your photo to produce a slightly more usable image. Nothing transcendent in reality, but it still allows you to refine certain details a little which becomes more readable, in particular the texts captured at long distance.

A decent battery life for a recharge that takes its time

The battery life of Google Pixels is always a thorny subject. If there is one point on which Pixel phone users grind their teeth, it is the battery life of their device. The Google Pixel has a 4,700mAh battery (compared to 4,575mAh for the Pixel 8) which allows the phone to last a little over a day, but not much more.

Unplugged at 8am, our test model ended up turning off the next day around the same time. It is therefore possible to use the Google Pixel 9 for an entire day, but we would still recommend recharging it overnight in order to enjoy it the next day. Our Google Pixel 9 Pro, meanwhile, lasted a few minutes longer.

Once our Google Pixel 9 is discharged, it is time to put it back on track! The Pixel 9 only supports charging at up to 27W (as was the case with the Pixel 8), which is admittedly quite low. It takes about an hour and a half to charge the Pixel 9 at 100%.

No charging pad is included with the phone, but you will still get a USB-C cable.

Clear communications and reduced background noise

The Google Pixel has never had any major issues with communications, if you forget the bugs that the Pixel 6 had when it was first released. Making calls with our Google Pixel 9 was a real pleasure, especially thanks to the “sound clarity” feature. Enabled by default, this feature helps reduce background noise during your Wi-Fi, 4G and 5G calls. Our calls were then perfectly audible to us or our interlocutors, even when we were surrounded by particularly intense background noise.

We were also able to test the Google Pixel 9 and Pixel 9 Pro with other connected objects such as Philips Hue bulbs, Google and CMF smartwatches as well as headphones and earphones from SONOS, Apple and Nothing. We never had any problems with pairing or disconnection.

Our conclusion to the Google Pixel 9 test

It's always a pleasure to test Google smartphones and the Pixel 9 is no exception. This year, the phone has a revised design that is very pleasant to handle, particularly with its new flat edges and its camera that is always recognizable at a glance.

Unsurprisingly, the photographs are from the Google Pixel 9 are very good. The phone is able to capture enough light in everyday life or in less lit places to deliver excellent shots. The multiple editing options via AI also allow to produce astonishing results and able to easily fool those around you or catch up on a photo that you thought was a failure. However, we will tend to prefer the Pixel 9 Pro for its extra sensor capable of better zooms, but that still represents a difference of 200 euros on the bill.

The biggest frustration with the Google Pixel 9 doesn't even come from Google… But from Europe. Several features presented at the Pixel 9 conference are not available in Europe due to the latest European standards and laws, such as the “Pixel Screenshots” or “Pixel Studio” applications. We will have to wait and see if these latter arrive later in the year, but it hurts a little to buy a phone at an expensive price and not have all its new features.

We would therefore recommend the Google Pixel 9 at those looking for a high-end smartphone capable of taking some of the best photos and videos on the market. However, you shouldn't expect to have a battery life monster, in which case we would advise you to consider a Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra.