Final yr, I was emphatic that my time with Pixel phones was over as a result of Google had introduced it was planning to inject much more AI “goodness” into Android. I noticed that as a possibility to leap ship.
My purpose was to purchase the Nothing Phone 3. Then, as destiny would have it, Nothing CEO Carl Pei introduced that his firm was going all-in on AI, and the subsequent Nothing Cellphone would leverage the know-how in methods no different gadget had.
Foiled once more.
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Shortly after, I appeared into the Pixel 9 Pro series, which Google has made clear it is severe about returning the “flagship” moniker to the lineup. As a substitute of questionable design selections for the {hardware} (just like the unpleasant digital camera hump, too-slick glass, and oddly-beveled edges), Google opted for a classier look.
The corporate succeeded.
I positioned my order, traded in my Pixel 8 Professional, and obtained a whopping $700 in credit score. I sat again and waited. A few weeks later, my pink Pixel 9 Professional arrived. As quickly as I unboxed it, my first thought was, “Now this is a flagship gadget.”
The construct high quality is stellar, the look is gorgeous, and the texture is nice — and that was all earlier than I switched the telephone on.
The very first thing you may discover with the Pixel 9 is the flat edges, which give the telephone a really polished look. Virtually talking, these flat edges make the Pixel 9 Professional exponentially simpler to select up.
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This was certainly one of my large complaints with the Pixel 8 Professional. When the Pixel 8 telephone is on a flat floor, it may be arduous to select up with any confidence. Due to the slick floor, the telephone is susceptible to slide from between my fingers. Not that dropping a telephone a couple of inches to a desk floor would injury the gadget, but it surely’s definitely irritating.
The Pixel 9 Professional may be very straightforward to carry with one hand.
Jack Wallen/ZDNET
That concern isn’t any extra. The Pixel 9 Professional is much simpler to select up.
Past the texture of all of it, the Pixel 9 look is simply spot on. Sure, it’s totally iPhone-like, however I do not see that as a nasty factor. There is a cause why Apple has caught to an identical chassis design… as a result of it really works, and it screams “I am a flagship gadget!”
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Additionally, the digital camera hump is a lot nicer. On the Pixel 7 Professional and Pixel 8 Professional, the digital camera hump made the telephone look low-cost. It nearly appeared “unintentional.” Now? The digital camera hump seems intentional in design, and it matches the appear and feel of the gadget a lot better than in earlier iterations.
Lastly, the scale of the Pixel 9 Professional is ideal. It’s kind of shorter than the Pixel 7 Professional and Pixel 8 Professional, which implies it is simpler to make use of with one hand.
Organising my Pixel (from an older mannequin)
Usually, when transferring information from one Pixel to a different, you are prompted to attach the telephones through a USB-C cable and permit the info to switch (a course of that may take a while). With the Pixel 9 lineup, it is all accomplished through Bluetooth, and it is surprisingly quick and simple. I might go as far as to say that is the only and quickest switch from one Pixel to a different that I’ve skilled (and I have been doing this because the early Pixel days).
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In fact, not all the pieces transferred. By way of credentials, solely my Gmail account was robotically added. I needed to enter different app logins manually. That is to be anticipated, and I did not thoughts having to log again into sure apps and add my non-Gmail accounts.
I additionally bought a transparent case for magnetic equipment from Google, which was a sensible transfer.
Jack Wallen/ZDNET
My expertise
Ever because the Pixel 6 Professional, I’ve discovered Google’s high telephone’s efficiency excellent. The Pixel 9 Professional takes this up a notch, and eventually, Android can actually showcase animations on par with iOS. The whole lot is buttery clean, and apps launch immediately. Scroll via the App Drawer, and also you now not expertise stutters and jumps.
The show of the Pixel 9 Professional is nothing wanting unbelievable. Usually, I swap off the Ambient Show function as a result of the show tends to get a bit too darkish. On the Pixel 9 Professional, I’ve but to really feel the necessity to shut off that function. Positive, the show adjusts to the smallest change in ambient gentle, but it surely by no means will get too dim to see clearly.
If I manually modify the brightness all the way in which up, it is very vivid. Actually, that is the primary telephone I’ve used the place I assumed the show at full brightness was nearly too vivid. Photos have extra depth and readability when displayed on the Pixel 9 Professional.
The evening earlier than final, I forgot to place my telephone on the charger in a single day. Once I awakened the subsequent morning and noticed it on my desk, the share of the remaining battery was 76%. As a substitute of putting it on its cradle so it might cost, I made a decision to make use of it and wait till my regular time (round 6 PM — I wish to utterly disconnect on the finish of the day) to set it on the Pixel stand.
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By the tip of the day, the telephone was at 50%. Granted, I am not on my telephone continuously all through the day however, even so, that is spectacular. It isn’t any form of battery benchmark that I might actually go by, however figuring out the telephone can go with out an in a single day cost and the battery barely budges an inch downward is a fairly good indication that this telephone will greater than go the space.
Backside line (for now)
It is early in my relationship with the Pixel 9 Pro, however I am able to proclaim that Google has lastly created a Pixel telephone worthy of the flagship title. I am unable to wait to see how Android 15 will run on this child as a result of it runs like a champ on my Pixel 7 Professional.
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