With its Pixel 9, Google is moving upmarket again and now ticks all the boxes of very high-end, versatile and high-performance Android smartphones. Enough to increasingly overshadow Samsung.
“I don’t like iPhones, which Android smartphone do you recommend? For a long time, the answer of the majority of respondents was to say: a Samsung Galaxy. The high-end phone market then seemed to be limited to just two players: Apple and Samsung. Behind the duo, a host of Chinese manufacturers quick to play the party poopers in turn (Huawei, then Oppo, Xiaomi, Honor, Vivo, etc.).
Depending on each person’s affinities and budgets, the answer may have varied in recent years. But a new player, far from being a complete unknown, could well shake things up and quickly chart his course to the top.
If we exclude the attempts with other manufacturers (HTC, LG, Motorola, etc.) initiated in 2008, it has been eight years since Google decided to play solo with its own smartphones, designed from A to Z – from hardware to software – to try to establish itself in a market that is nevertheless extremely competitive. Where the simple sale of its Android system, which equips the vast majority of devices, seemed to be enough for its financial happiness, the Mountain View giant is determined to show that it is the king under its OS.
A step-by-step learning process
After three first iterations that did not arouse the enthusiasm of the crowds, but allowed to create a small community of followers and to introduce smartphones to AI, the Pixels aroused a first real interest with the Pixel 4 and especially the Pixel 5. A neat design, less plastic, a more complete photo proposition with artificial intelligence and an interesting autonomy: the first more solid recipe was established.
Stripped of unnecessary frills (gesture controls in front of the selfie sensor to animate a Pokémon on the screen, for example), the Pixels ended up looking more for new functions that are used on a daily basis. And it is true that since 2020, the Pixels have all the makings of an upgrade. The Pixel 6 and Pixel 7 have significantly improved the photo and AI. Pixel 8 et Pixel 9 have brought the manufacturer into a new era of which it now appears to be the leader, that of AI Phones.
Everything breathes the future. But worse than that for the competition, everything is now perfectly executed and there is almost no more criticism to be made of the Pixel 9 (perhaps still the autonomy, its Achilles heel better treated).
Because Google has learned from its past mistakes and understood where its added value was. Like Apple, the brand manages its product from start to finish. When you design hardware and software, it is easy to make the two communicate, understand each other and work together. iOS does this wonderfully on iPhone. Android is never better than on Pixel. Obviously, Google is now reserving the first look at its flagship features, particularly in photo editing or for Gemini and its advances in generative AI to help with everyday life. Samsung, thanks to a cleverly signed partnership, also benefits from this first, but the AI functions are never as optimized as for Pixels.
Do everything yourself to achieve flawless results
The range expanded this year with a Pixel 9, capable of performing in all, and two Pixel 9 Pro or Pixel 9 Pro XL models to go even further in photography and AI – the same device in two sizes (6.3 and 6.8 inches). Choice for everyone, with also the Pixel 9 Pro Fold, for fans of the foldable, and the Pixel 9a later for tight budgets (the Pixel 8a showed that it had little to envy its elders, as the minor concessions are worth the price drop).
Google’s intelligence is now to no longer make major differences between its representatives in their possibilities. Recommending a Pixel is easier than ever and it is the budget that is the law (from 550 euros for the Pixel 8a, 899 euros for the Pixel 9, 1099 euros for the Pixel 9 Pro). The Pixel 9 is less expensive than the Pro, because it is slightly less well equipped in terms of photos, but quite efficient.
After the approximations of the first models, Google’s processor can also compete with the best, even if the chip remains dedicated to well-defined functions and is not there for a power outburst. But what it does, it does well, including carrying the home-made artificial intelligence.
The photo component remains the other strong point of the proposal. Of course, the photo relies heavily on AI for its rendering, but there is no false note, day or night, in portrait, close-up or zoom. On the Pixel 9 Pro, Google now offers three sensors (wide angle, ultra-wide angle and telephoto). With this configuration, the American manufacturer establishes itself even more as the best in photography, including ahead of Apple.
In addition, Google understood that its photo AI could be a hindrance despite extremely useful functions like Best Shot (to have group photos with the best face of each person) or Add Me (which allows you to add people to a photo already taken by taking a new photo in the same frame). The American had the good idea of pulling out a Pro Mode, made of manual settings on its Pixel Pro, which counteracts the idea that “real” photographers cannot have a Pixel.
Capable of everything, efficient in everything
The strength of the Pixel 9 is undoubtedly that it wants to tick all the boxes. They are equipped with a USB-C 3.2 port, already compatible with Wifi 7, obviously 5G, and support eSim. The Oled screen is good, offers top quality (120 Hz adaptive, very bright, anti-glare), but Samsung or Honor still have a little head start.
Powerful inside, versatile in photography, capable of providing AI functions to make everyday life easier, the Pixel has also taken care of the design this year. We could criticize it for being a little too similar to the iPhone, with its metal chassis and straight edges. But isn’t the goal to make the best and most attractive smartphone under Android?
Another obstacle that can scare newcomers who have not tried it: Google’s propensity to go a little too far in AI, which could have something frightening, like a Frankenstein of photo editing whose limits of potential photo manipulation unrelated to the original are unknown. But rest assured, there is still a long way to go before the smartphone completely takes over its owner, especially in Europe where several functions remain unapplied.
In the meantime, the Pixel continues to rack up good points year after year. It can do everything, for a long time with its very long-term updates (7 years of Android and security). A smartphone that will last, improve with time and additions, an Android that is easy to use and intuitive, small functions that are very simple, but so well thought out.
If it weren’t for its price, which had the bad idea of soaring, it would definitely have everything it needs to bury the competition. It is closer than ever to a faultless performance, whereas its rivals have not yet managed to line up all the arguments at once.
