The Pixel 9 Professional hero is a good looking system from each angle.
Jack Wallen/ZDNET
A couple of months in the past, 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 objective was to purchase the Nothing Cellphone 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 expertise in methods no different system had.
Foiled once more.
Additionally: I replaced my Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra with the Pixel 9 Pro XL for a month – and can’t go back
A couple of weeks after that proclamation, the leaks for the Pixel 9 lineup made it clear that Google was critical about returning the “flagship” moniker to the lineup. As a substitute of questionable design decisions for the {hardware} (just like the unpleasant digital camera hump, too-slick glass, and oddly-beveled edges), Google was choosing a classier look.
The corporate succeeded.
I positioned my order, buying and selling in my Pixel 8 Professional and getting a whopping $700 in credit score, sat again, and waited. A few weeks later, my pink Pixel 9 Pro arrived. As quickly as I unboxed it, my first thought was, “Now this is a flagship system.”
The construct high quality is stellar. The look is gorgeous. The texture is nice.
That was all earlier than switching 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 choose up.
This was one in every of my large complaints with the Pixel 8 Professional. When the Pixel 8 telephone is on a flat floor, it may be arduous to choose up with any confidence. Due to the slick floor, the telephone is susceptible to slide from between my fingers. Not that dropping a telephone just a few inches to a desk floor would harm the system, but it surely’s actually irritating.
The Pixel 9 Professional could be very simple to carry with one hand.
Jack Wallen/ZDNET
That situation isn’t any extra. The Pixel 9 Professional is way simpler to choose up.
Additionally: The $799 Pixel 9 may be Google’s sleeper hit this year. Here’s why
Past the texture of all of it, the Pixel 9 look is simply spot on. Sure, it is very iPhone-like, however I do not see that as a foul 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 system!”
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 appears intentional in design, and it suits the appear and feel of the system a lot better than in earlier iterations.
Lastly, the dimensions of the Pixel 9 Professional is ideal. It’s kind of shorter than the Pixel 7 Professional and Pixel 8 Professional, which suggests it is simpler to make use of with one hand.
Establishing my Pixel (from an older mannequin)
Usually, when transferring knowledge 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 best and quickest switch from one Pixel to a different that I’ve skilled (and I have been doing this for the reason that early Pixel days).
Additionally: I’m a diehard Pixel user, but I’m considering a change for two reasons (and I’m not alone)
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 from Google, which was a sensible transfer.
Jack Wallen/ZDNET
My expertise
Ever for the reason that Pixel 6 Professional, I’ve discovered the efficiency of Google’s prime telephone to be excellent. The Pixel 9 Professional takes this up a notch and eventually, Android can actually showcase animations on par with iOS. Every little thing is buttery easy and apps launch immediately. Scroll by way of the App Drawer and also you now not expertise stutters and jumps.
The show of the Pixel 9 Professional is nothing wanting unimaginable. Usually, I swap off the Ambient Show characteristic 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 characteristic. Positive, the show adjusts to the smallest change in ambient mild, but it surely by no means will get too dim to obviously see. If I manually regulate the brightness all the way in which up, it is very brilliant. In actual fact, that is the primary telephone I’ve used the place I assumed the show at full brightness was nearly too brilliant. Photos have extra depth and readability when displayed on the Pixel 9 Professional.
Additionally: That massive Pixel security flaw reported last month has been patched
The evening earlier than final, I forgot to place my telephone on the charger in a single day. Once I wakened the subsequent morning and noticed it on my desk, the share of the remaining battery was 76%. As a substitute of inserting it on its cradle so it might cost, I made a decision to make use of it and wait till my normal time (round 6PM — I wish to fully disconnect on the finish of the day) to set it on the Pixel stand.
By the tip of the day, the telephone was at 50%. Granted, I am not on my telephone always all through the day however, even so, that is spectacular. It is not any kind of battery benchmark that I might truthfully go by, however realizing the telephone can go with out an in a single day cost and the battery barely budges an inch downward is a reasonably 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. I am guessing when Android 15 hits the Pixel 9 Professional, it will take it to yet one more degree of flagship-ness.
