Google’s Pixel 9 Nonetheless Thought-about Android’s On a regular basis Masterpiece in 2025 at $499, Here is Why

Google’s Pixel 9 has flat sides that kind of hug your palm, like a well-worn paperback you’ve learn a dozen occasions. The again is all shiny glass and it catches the sunshine like a spark if you’re on the subway. However at 198 grams, this telephone is gentle sufficient that you just barely really feel it when it disappears into the pocket of your denims. Its matte aluminum rails and rounded corners are fairly acquainted, yeah, they do sort of echo an iPhone – however then there’s that floating digicam island that screams ‘it is a Pixel’.

Flip the swap, and its 120Hz 6.3″ show blasts out to 2,700 nits – which means you’ll be able to nonetheless make out what’s on the display screen if you’re strolling out into the intense daylight at midday, or binge-watching Netflix at nighttime with out straining your eyes. And the colours – effectively, they pop, however not in a cartoonish method. Scroll by way of Reddit at 7 a.m., sprint off some emails at lunch, stream a soccer match on the prepare, and also you received’t have to fret concerning the battery dying on you; a 4,700 mAh battery will nonetheless be at 30% juice by the tip of the day, even in case you’ve received all types of stuff occurring like location sharing, Bluetooth earbuds, and 5G gobbling up the facility. Informal customers would possibly get to 30 hours earlier than needing to recharge – and heavier customers, effectively, they need to nonetheless make it to sundown with out an excessive amount of bother.

Open up the digicam app, and this telephone actually comes into its personal. You’ve received a 50-megapixel foremost sensor working alongside a 48-megapixel ultrawide, which is definitely beginning to really feel like a helpful factor to have. Level the digicam at a crowded market stall and the individuals will nonetheless be recognisable, the spices will nonetheless appear like the true deal, and the shadows received’t make the whole lot appear like it’s been Photoshopped to loss of life. And when it will get darkish, the street-lamp alleys out of the blue turn into the sort of postcard-perfect surroundings you’d love to indicate off. Faucet the shutter and Google’s picture magic kicks in – pores and skin tones are pure, skies are blue, and all that jazz. For the informal person, fire-and-forget is all it takes – and the outcome’s able to rack up the likes on Instagram. Energy customers, however, will admire the guide white stability, 10-bit HDR video, and uncooked recordsdata that may stand up to probably the most intense Lightroom surgical procedure.

As for software program, Android 15 is so quick that it launches apps earlier than your thumb even has time to carry. And hey, full updates by way of 2031 imply that right this moment’s buy will really feel like a timeless basic, like a well-worn oak chair that simply retains on holding on. Google’s Gemini Nano lives on board, summarising long-winded articles in a single faucet, or turning some fuzzy child photograph right into a keeper. Pixel Screenshots will catalog each receipt and meme you’ve ever collected – searchable by a key phrase like ‘flight’ or ‘pizza’. And in case you’re only a informal texter you’ll be able to take pleasure in auto-replies that really sound such as you; energy customers, in the meantime, can chain Name Notes to transcribe all these conferences, then copy the transcript into Docs with out breaking stride.

Video games load in a flash, keep cool, and rarely stutter. Asphalt 9 cruises by way of downtown site visitors at 60 frames per second; Genshin Influence explores Teyvat with out a lot as a whisper of warmth warning. The Tensor G4 chip offers up a little bit of uncooked horsepower for the sake of effectivity, which implies the telephone won’t ever flip right into a hand hotter, it doesn’t matter what you’re doing. After which there’s the multitaskers – juggling 20 Chrome tabs, Spotify, and Slack is a breeze if you’ve received 12GB of RAM holding the whole lot in reminiscence. That ultrasonic fingerprint reader unlocks within the first press, even when your thumbs are a bit damp.

Wi-fi charging, if you do must plug it in, clocks in at an honest 15W on any Qi2 pad – and in case you do must plug it in, wired charging tops out at a nifty 27W; which means you may get full battery in 80 minutes. Satellite tv for pc SOS is sort of a security internet, ready patiently for the day you really want it. IP68 ranking means it may possibly snicker within the face of a spilled espresso. Restore outlets may have real elements in inventory, and iFixit guides will stroll you thru swapping the display screen in case you ever must. They arrive in some pretty colors too – Porcelain, Wintergreen, Peony – that’ll catch individuals’s eye on the espresso store. Storage begins at 128GB and tops out at a formidable 1TB on the Professional fashions, however belief me after I say that the bottom mannequin by no means feels cramped, even with good compression to assist hold the whole lot tidy.