Google Pixel 9 Pro review: Aesthetically pleasing, at a price

Note: This review was first published on 26 November 2024.

We reviewed the Google Pixel 9 and Pixel 9 Pro XL when they were released in Singapore earlier in September, And now, the Google Pixel 9 Pro has finally joined its siblings two months later to complete the lineup. 

The TL;DR version: 



The Google Pixel 9 Pro is a nice flagship device that completes its aesthetically pleasing package with AI smarts, but the phone's meagre performance improvements might not be worth the added asking price.



Note: You can buy the phones at the official Google Store, Amazon SG, Challenger, Courts, Singtel, Shopee, Lazada, and SprintCass (Airport).

The Pixel 9 Pro is incredibly similar to both models. It adopts the compact form factor of the Pixel 9 and has the advanced features found on the Pixel 9 Pro XL. You're getting Pro perks like a triple rear camera array, 8K at 30fps video, 3,000-nits peak brightness, and more. 

It’s been two months since we reviewed the Pixel 9 and Pixel 9 Pro XL. Has anything improved software-wise with the Pixel 9 Pro? Is Gemini a little less unreliable now? Let’s take a look.

Forward-looking

It didn’t surprise us that the Pixel 9 Pro looks exactly like the Pixel 9 Pro XL, just in a smaller size with a 6.3-inch display. However, aside from size-related discrepancies like the display size and battery capacity, these two phones are almost identical. 

You get polished sides with flat glass on the back and front, and the rounded edges offer extra comfort when using the phone. Even though my daily driver (Apple iPhone 16 Pro) is a little smaller than the Pixel 9 Pro, Google's phone feels just as comfortable in the hand.

The buttons are relatively tactile, and the IP68 dust and water resistance add a nice touch of durability. 

Interestingly, the Pixel 9 Pro's weight of 199g is just a gram heavier than the Pixel 9. It feels perfect to me because the iPhone 16 Pro weighs exactly the same.

As with the Pixel 9 Pro XL, the display supports 24-bit colour and HDR10+. Because it has a high 3,000 nits peak brightness, it's enough to make the display legible even under the harsh afternoon sun.

The display has an adaptive 1-120Hz refresh rate, which helps with battery efficiency if you’re idling with an always-on display.

The Pixel 9 Pro came with Google's version Android 14 out of the box, so if you want the “purest” form of Android, the Pixel series will always be the best option. However, you can update to Android 15, since that was released for Pixel phones last month.

Gemini was the highlight feature of the Pixel 9 series, and we tested it in our Pixel 9 and Pixel 9 Pro XL reviews as well as our Pixel Buds Pro 2 review. 

Our minor quibbles remain, like the inability to use Gemini for basic functionality like turning on Do Not Disturb without an Internet connection.

However, Gemini did improve its fact-finding. It now acknowledges Tasha Low’s existence as a Singaporean who debuted in a K-pop group, for example.

The information provided is also relatively up to date, with Gemini mentioning that the U.S. Federal Reserve had recently cut interest rates.

Unfortunately, some queries are censored, including ones like “who has AP called as the next US president”.  In its place, Gemini feeds the user a disclaimer that it’s unable to respond on elections and political figures, which makes sense for other questions like “Who won the last US elections?” since ballots were still being counted at the time of trying its features. 

The bright side is that the censorship is quite fair across the board. Gemini provided the same disclaimer when we asked about who won the last Singapore and British elections.

Imaging Performance

The cameras are the same as those found on the Pixel 9 Pro XL, which means we’re getting a 50MP main, 48MP ultrawide, and 48MP telephoto with 5x optical zoom. Software editing tools like Magic Eraser, Auto Frame, and more are also available, and you can read more about each feature in our earlier report here.

Photos from the Pixel 9 Pro are just as good as the other Pixel 9 phones, with gorgeous colour rendition and detail retention. I particularly liked how it doesn't blow out a photo's saturation just to make it look vibrant.

The 5x optical zoom has plenty of detail. If you look at the sample image above, after zooming in, you might just be able to make out the “baked snack crackers” text under the Cheez-It logo on the bag. 

The ultrawide shots are decent, although, as we mentioned previously, a bit more fish-eye correction would have been nice. Sharpness at the edges of the frame is good too.

Nighttime shots are fantastic. Some of these photos were taken in places with dim lighting, but the phone captured colour accurately and was able to compensate despite adverse shooting conditions.

I also took two photos, one in 50MP RAW and the other in 12.5MP pixel-binned with Night Sight turned on for both. You’ll easily see the difference that pixel-binning offers (more brightness at the cost of megapixels).

As always, low-light photos require the shutter to be opened longer, so moving objects will result in motion blur – but this can certainly be utilised artistically in some situations. 

Benchmark Performance

The Google Pixel 9 series all share the same processor, the Google Tensor G4, which was supposed to be 20% faster at web browsing and 17% faster at launching apps than the Tensor G3 while offering better power efficiency.

We’ll compare it to other AI-capable flagship models from this year and throw in last year’s Pixel 8 Pro for comparison.

Putting it to the test

To find out how the competitors line up specs and price-wise, check them out in this link.

To find out more about the tests we conduct and what they relate to, we've jotted them down here.

Benchmark Performance remarks

Although we noticed a slight increase in performance across most benchmarks, the performance of the Tensor G4 in the Pixel 9 Pro is largely similar to the Tensor G3.

That said, we also stand by what we said previously for the Pixel 9 and Pixel 9 Pro XL. From a performance standpoint, the Pixel 9 series isn’t quite so appealing because the numbers don’t justify the ever-increasing prices. The improvement in performance between generations was modest at best.

Battery Life

Our battery benchmark uses PCMark for Android’s Work 3.0 Battery Life test to determine a modern Android-based smartphone's battery uptime in minutes. This controlled benchmark simulates real-world usage with a combination of both web and social media browsing, video and photo editing, parsing data with various file formats, writing (on documents), and more. 

The Pixel 9 Pro has a 4,700mAh battery, and it outperformed the Pixel 9 Pro XL in our battery benchmark test, no doubt thanks to the smaller display area and less battery required to power it. This is further confirmed by the similar uptime offered on the base Pixel 9. Since the cameras weren't tested during our battery test, they should have nearly identical performance with their base version sibling, and they did.

Unfortunately, the Pixel 9 Pro is limited to 27W wired charging instead of the Pixel 9 Pro XL’s faster 37W speeds. A full charge took about 98 minutes, behind competitors offering 45W or even faster charging speeds.

There's also wireless charging available here, although it's slightly slower at 21W compared to the Google Pixel 9 Pro XL's 23W.

Conclusion

We’ve covered why you might or might not want to buy a Pixel 9 series phone before, and those points are just as valid for the Pixel 9 Pro.

Overall, the Pixel 9 Pro is a well-designed Android smartphone that offers flagship features in a compact form factor that fits perfectly into most pockets. The convenience it delivers should not be underestimated.

Thanks to Google's generative AI, the photo-editing features are comprehensive and work well, as before. 

Also, if you’re looking for a phone that’s well-built and has a clean, pleasing Android interface, the Pixel 9 series is one of our top picks. 

Taken together, Pixel 9 Pro mostly nails the aesthetic aspects of a phone: comfortable handling, sharp display, pleasant design, good photos, and clean UI.

However, what you would expect to be a key selling point – Gemini – isn’t exclusive to the Pixel phones. While it’s nice that Google has partnered with other smartphone brands to offer Gemini, it does mean there’s one less unique factor about the Pixel phones, which hurts its overall value proposition.

This is especially true because the Pixel 9 Pro is quite expensive. With prices starting at S$1,459, it's hard not to compare it against competitors like the Samsung Galaxy S24+ – and there's no doubt that the Galaxy S24+ is the more performant phone. This matters when you paying over a grand for a phone.

If you have the cash and are fond of the aesthetic, photos, and UI, the Google Pixel 9 Pro (and other Pixel 9 series phones) might be a decent purchase. However, we would probably recommend waiting for a discount to maximise the value you get out of these phones.

The Google Pixel 9 Pro starts at S$1,459 (128GB). You can buy it online at the official Google Store, Amazon SG, Challenger, Courts, Singtel, Shopee, Lazada, and SprintCass (Airport). It can also be found in-store at Challenger, Courts, Singtel, and SprintCass. 

More purchasing information can be found in our original announcement coverage.