For the second consecutive year, Google has raised the asking price of its entry-point mainline Pixel phone. When the Google Pixel 7 hit the shelves two years ago, the biggest allure was its sticker price, which undercut flagship phones from both Apple and Samsung. But with the Google Pixel 9 this year, that advantage is gone.
The latest Google phone starts at $799. This puts it in the same league as the Apple iPhone 15 and the Samsung Galaxy S24. The steep $200 price bump, however, comes with a handful of perks that cover almost every major aspect of the phone.
As always, the pertinent question is whether one should stick with the trusty ol’
Google Pixel 9 vs. Google Pixel 7: specs
Google Pixel 9 | Google Pixel 7 | |
Size | 152.8 x 72.0 x 8.5 mm |
155.6 x 73.2 x 8.7 mm |
Weight | 198 grams | 197 grams |
Colors | Obsidian
Porcelain Wintergreen Peony |
Obsidian
Snow Lemongrass |
Price | Starts at $799 | Starts at $599 |
Display | 6.3-inch Actua OLED
1080 x 2424 pixels 60-120Hz refresh rate 422 PPI pixel density Up to 2,700 nits peak Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2 protection |
6.3-inch OLED
1080 x 2400 pixels 90Hz peak refresh rate 416 PPI pixel density Up to 1,400 nits peak Corning Gorilla Glass Victus protection |
Chipset | Google Tensor G4 Titan M2 security coprocessor |
Google Tensor G2 |
12GB | 8GB | |
Storage | 128GB
256GB |
128GB
256GB |
Rear cameras | Primary Camera 50 MP Octa PD wide camera f/1.68 aperture 82° field of view 1/1.31″ image sensor size Super Res Zoom up to 8x OIS and EISUltrawide Camera 48 MP Quad PD ultrawide camera with autofocus f/1.7 aperture 123° field of view 1/2.55″ image sensor size |
Primary Camera 50 MP Octa PD wide camera f/1.85 aperture 82° field of view 1/1.31″ image sensor size 1.2 μm pixel width Super Res Zoom up to 8x OIS and EISUltrawide Camera 12 MP ultrawide camera f/2.2 aperture 114° field of view 1.25 μm pixel width |
Camera features | Super Res Zoom up to 8x Add Me Macro Focus Night Sight Astrophotography Portrait Mode Face Unblur Long Exposure Action Pan Real Tone Panorama Top Shot Frequent FacesEditing Features Magic Editor Magic Eraser Best Take Photo Unblur Portrait Light |
Photo Unblur Night Sight Top Shot Portrait mode Super Res Zoom Motion auto-focus Live Frequent Faces Dual exposure controls Cinematic Pan Portrait Light Magic Eraser Long Exposure Real ToneEditing features Face Unblur Panorama Manual white balancing Locked Folder Magic Editor Astrophotography |
Video capabilities | 1080p video recording at 24/30/60 FPS Dual exposure on wide camera Digital video zoom up to 7x Macro Focus Video 10-bit Cinematic Blur Cinematic Pan Slo-mo video support up to 240 FPS Astrophotography timelapse Night Sight timelapse |
1080p video recording at 30/60 FPS 10-bit Slo-mo video support up to 240 FPS Astrophotography timelapse Optical image stabilization Fused video stabilization 1080p Active video stabilization Digital zoom up to 7 |
Selfie cameras | 10.5 MP Dual PD selfie camera with autofocus f/2.2 aperture 95° ultrawide field of view |
10.8 MP Dual PD selfie camera f/2.2 aperture 92.8° Ultrawide field of view 1.22 μm pixel width |
4,700 mAh | 4,355 mAh | |
Charging | 45W wired fast charging Qi wireless charging Reverse wireless charging |
21W wired fast charging Qi wireless charging Reverse wireless charging |
Water resistance | IP68 | IP68 |
Connectivity |
Google Pixel 9 vs. Google Pixel 7 : design and build
Let’s start with the aesthetics and durability. It’s your typical Pixel affair. Both the phones have a metal frame, but the Pixel 9 has a satin finish to it on top. More importantly, Google has flattened the sides to give its new phone a sharper appearance, while its predecessor with a slightly bulging look that feels more comfortable to hold. You get a glass and metal sandwich look. But there are a few crucial differences here, even though both the phones feel equally premium in hands.
We’ve found the Pixel 9 to be the most attractive and well-presented standard Pixel phone yet, while also being one of the best-looking smartphones you can buy today. The new Google phone gets both the aesthetics and ergonomics right, which makes it glorious in a way Pixel phones haven’t always been before. The
The Pixel 9’s satin-finish metal chassis has precisely the right amount of curve to blend in with the flat Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2 rear panel. Google has also trimmed down the bezels by a healthy margin on the front. They are now uniform on all sides. One quick glance at the phone is enough to see how Google chased the premium looks formula and nailed it. The Pixel 9 also detaches its iconic camera island bar from the side frame and has taken a pill-shaped format. This makes the size spot on as you can use it with one hand without feeling like you’re going to fumble it.
The Pixel 9 is beautifully made without any hint of misalignment, or unwanted ridges, which can’t be said for the
Google has put the second-generation Corning Gorilla Glass Victus on the front as well as the rear face of the Pixel 9, compared to the first-gen Victus shield on the
If durability is one of your key concerns, both phones offer an IP68-rating for dust and water protection, but the surface shield on the Pixel 9 is significantly more durable. Moreover, if fresh looks also happen to be on your wishlist, the latest from Google serves that by the oodles in an emphatic fashion.
Google Pixel 9 vs. Google Pixel 7: display and performance
Across both generations, the display resolution is an even match at Full-HD+ and so is the pixel density. But that’s where the differences end. While the Pixel 9 doesn’t have a higher resolution display like the Pixel 9 Pro and Pixel 9 Pro XL, it supports a higher 120Hz refresh rate and is brighter and better than the
The
A brighter display is not only an ideal situation for watching content but it also cuts down on the reflection problem and improves content legibility even under broad daylight. This is one aspect that often goes unnoticed but makes a huge difference in day-to-day usage. However, we were able to max out the brightness setting quite often.
Another quality-of-life improvement comes with the better, faster, and more accurate ultrasonic fingerprint scanner. It is set sensibly high up on the screen so it’s easier and more natural for you to reach. The face unlock accompanies the biometric authentication to make the Pixel 9 the simplest, fastest, and most reliable Pixel phone security system we’ve used.
The new Pixel 9 is powered by the fourth-generation Google Tensor processor, while the
Google Pixel 9 vs. Google Pixel 7: software
Software can no longer be decoupled from hardware in the context of AI tricks. Remember when Google announced that on-device Gemini Nano was coming to its smartphones, then excluded the Pixel 8 and kept the AI shenanigans limited to the Pixel 8 Pro? That was primarily because the
The Pixel 9 has 12GB of
The Screenshots app is like a fancy version of the screenshots folder in Google Photos but supercharged. You can search and organize your screenshots into collections and also take photos in the app itself, allowing you to add essential information to them. It declutters the Photos app/ The simple interface also encourages you to use it. On the other hand, Pixel Studio is a fun-to-have party trick, which uses AI to generate images based on your descriptions. It’s vaguely fun for a few tries but we forgot it existed for the most part when using the new phone.
Gemini on the Pixel 9 has taken over from Assistant on the
When comparing both Pixels, you must note that it’s extremely likely that a healthy bunch of performance and camera-centric features that arrive with subsequent Pixel Drops will remain exclusive to the Pixel 9 because it packs the necessary resources to handle them. If you aim to push your phone for at least three to four years and don’t want to miss out on the best of what Google has to offer, the Pixel 9 is your safest bet.
The
Now, that’s a massive relief in itself. But it’s also worth keeping in mind that the extra firepower underneath its shell would ensure it is capable of running next-gen
Google Pixel 9 vs. Google Pixel 7: cameras
Pixel smartphones have cultivated a solid reputation for their camera performance, and if you’re eyeing that luxury, the Pixel 9 won’t disappoint you. The
On the Pixel 9, you get a 50MP primary camera, but the sensor has a much wider aperture to let in more light and produce more detailed shots. The biggest upgrade was reserved for the ultrawide-angle camera this year. It’s a 48MP sensor and offers a much wider aperture (f/1.7 vs f/2.2) and a wider field of view (123 degrees vs 114 degrees) than the 12MP ultrawide camera on the
A wider field of view, combined with the benefits of pixel-binning and a larger aperture, offer a guaranteed lift in the quality of images clicked by the Pixel 9’s ultrawide camera. In addition to the hardware-side upgrades, there are a handful of software-side updates, as well. In our tests, there weren’t any situations where the photo came out poorly because of something the camera had done. Both rear cameras shoot sharp, colorful images that can have a slightly processed look but they are never dull or underwhelming. They are better than the aging cameras on the
To start, the Pixel 9 adds the option to record
Another neat trick is Auto Frame. Available as part of the Magic Editor suite in the Google Photos app, this feature finds frame issues and helps users correct them. In addition to automatic frame correction via angle adjustment, it can also crop or expand the view to get the best out of a picture. You can also add new elements to these pictures by simply typing the changes they seek. The query is then passed through a text-to-image pipeline, and the AI-generated assets are then added to the pictures clicked by the Pixel 9.
Google Pixel 9 vs. Google Pixel 7: battery life
For small-ish phones, battery juice is always in short supply. The Pixel 7’s 4,355 mAh battery was no exception. Thanks in no part to some weird idle power drain and poor resource optimization, the phone gave many some serious battery anxiety. Thankfully, Google is addressing the undesirable situation with a couple of upgrades to the Pixel 9. First, it comes armed with a bigger 4,700mAh Li-ion cell inside.
The Pixel 9’s battery life surprised us. Previous models have all suffered from average-at-best battery life, but the new Pixel goes beyond this. As noted in our review, the battery life is not stellar but it’s more than acceptable for general use. On days when you don’t play games but do use GPS, the camera, media, and apps, you can expect a total of four hours of screen time, with around 30% remaining.
Support for wireless charging and reverse power share is part of the package. In addition to a bigger battery, Google is also addressing another pain point of Pixel phones: slow charging. The
Google Pixel 9 vs. Google Pixel 7: which one to pick?
The Google Pixel 9 is hands down the better device than the Google Pixel 7. It delivers refined looks that certainly break the monotony with its signature camera bar, beautiful colorways, a brighter display, and a faster processor. But most importantly, it builds up on the Pixel brand’s two core strengths: a fantastic camera and the best software support strategy in the
Of course, $200 is quite a fat hike on the sticker price, but compared to the usual set of iterative goodies you’ll come across on an iPhone or entry-point Samsung Galaxy, the ask is a lot more palatable in the Pixel’s case.
Should you pick the Pixel 9? Well, if you’re already in the market for a reliable phone with cash in your hand, you can’t go wrong with this one. If you seek to upgrade from the
If the answer is yes, look up for whatever trade-in deal you can score and put your trust in the Pixel 9. Otherwise, the