A redesigned camera bar

Most of the aesthetic changes for the Pixel 9 line have been reserved for the camera bar-less Pixel 9a and the now much more diverse Pixel 9 Pro (which now comes in two sizes as well as a foldable version). But that doesn’t mean there’s nothing new on the standard Pixel 9.

The most noticeable update is the redesigned camera bar, which Google also added to the Pro. It’s not gone, as it is on its budget cousin, but unlike previous models, the camera bar on the Pixel 9 doesn’t stretch across the whole width of the phone anymore, instead being sequestered to its own little oval. That doesn’t mean much from a functional standpoint, but it does make everything look just a little cleaner, if only because it’s a little smaller and more rounded. It’s also now a bit easier to hold the phone horizontally without also accidentally touching your camera lens.

Credit: Michelle Ehrhardt

Otherwise, the Pixel 9 still uses your typical “candy bar” format. There are no additional buttons; the corners are still rounded; and the dimensions and weight are the same as on the Pixel 8—6 x 2.8 x 0.3 inches, weighing 7 ounces. The speakers on the bottom of the phone have been consolidated into a single hole, but their capabilities remain the same. 

It’s a little disappointing that—as with the Pixel 8 but not the 8a, 9a, or 9 Pro—the back is still glossy, meaning that it looks fancy but is prone to reflections and fingerprints. I tend to prefer matte finishes, but some may like the sheen here.

Colors for the Pixel 9 include Peony (pink), wintergreen (light green), porcelain (white), and obsidian (black). It’s a shame not to see Bay Blue (light blue) returning from the 8 Pro and 8a, but this is still a more robust set of colors than the base Pixel 8 had at launch.

Disappointing AI additions

Google’s Pixel phones are known for their exclusive software like Live Transcribe or Magic Editor, and with the Pixel 9 line, the company is being especially generous by making its biggest additions accessible across Pixel 9a, Pixel 9, Pixel 9 Pro, and Pixel 9 Pro Fold. I’ve already looked at these apps—Screenshots, Pixel Studio, and Gemini Live—while reviewing the Pixel 9 Pro, and they work just as well here.

That said, I only really like one of them. Screenshots uses AI to add descriptions to screenshots on your phone, allowing you to quickly search through them like you would Google Images. It’s great for finding documents like concert tickets or boarding passes at a moment’s notice, and while the descriptions aren’t always strictly accurate, they usually have enough keywords in them to surface the pic you need towards the top of your results. My only issue is that this only applies to screenshots and not photos, although that’s promised to be coming down the line.

There’s definitely a privacy concern here, especially as Screenshots can also read and summarize any text that might be in your captures, although a Google representative told me all the processing for Screenshots is done on-device. It’s just a simple, unobtrusive utility that doesn’t demand I change how I use my phone and does do something I couldn’t before, making it my clear favorite despite its more humble approach.

Credit: Michelle Ehrhardt

A bit more flashy is Pixel Studio, which is essentially an AI image generator baked into your phone. Pixel Studio uses a combination of local and cloud AI models, and allows you to more easily edit and remix images generated by Gemini. Google suggests using it to design things like birthday party invites, but despite limitations at launch, it can go a bit beyond these suggestions too, as it’s finally now able to render both cartoony and realistic humans.

Pixel Studio can also generate copyrighted characters, but in the time since launch, Google has implemented clear safeguards, and in retesting, neither my images of people or characters like Mickey Mouse worked with words like “knife” or “gun.” There’s clearly more care being put in here than with competitors like Grok.

Still, there’s not a lot I could see myself using Pixel Studio for. Like a lot of phone-based AI image generators, it kind of still feels like an evolution of the “make your own greeting card” software from the ‘90s: convenient, but a little hokey, and not very robust.

Gemini Live is also something I don’t see myself using often. It essentially takes Google’s Gemini chatbot and lets you interact with it over voice, with an AI-generated conversation partner in return. The baseline tech here is impressive—Gemini Live sounds friendly, and I was able to cut it off and change the subject often without issue. But the problem is that it still makes mistakes just as often as the regular Gemini chatbot.

I had Gemini Live tell me to carry an umbrella in 80-degree weather, or tell me that Kamala Harris would be debating Tim Walz the night I wrote the original version of this review in October of last year. As with most AI hallucinations, these statements were said with total confidence, making it hard to trust anything Gemini said. I was able to call out the app on hallucinations and get it to walk back mistakes, but if I did this too many times, it would just crash, making Gemini feel a bit like a frustrated child taking their ball and going home.

Outside of Gemini Live, Google is also pushing the standard version of Gemini more strongly across the Pixel 9 line, making it the default replacement for Google Assistant. I used to be a bit more disappointed in this, since past versions of Gemini couldn’t do basic tasks like setting reminders or alarms. Luckily, that’s changed since launch. I still think Google Assistant has more personality, but using Gemini at least doesn’t mean losing functionality anymore.

Beyond the new dedicated apps, Google’s existing features got a few AI upgrades this time around, too. These are most prominent in the Photos app, where you’ll be able to access Add Me and Reimagine.

I was looking forward to Add Me, which uses AI to stitch two photos together so nobody has to be left out of a shot. You just take a photo of your group, hand the phone off to someone else who was in that first group shot, and take a new photo with you in it. Then, the phone intelligently mixes the photos so you’re all there.

Unfortunately, it didn’t really work out in practice, with all results looking noticeably altered. When my fiancé and I tried it, our heights in relation to each other were all wrong; the shadows and lighting didn’t look natural; and it was best for us not to stand close to each other, or else the feature might blend our bodies together while mixing the photos. It’s a cute demo, but not something I would use even for a casual social media post.

Reimagine is a bit of a touchier subject. Essentially, this allows you to use AI to generate fake imagery within your real-life photos. Like Pixel Studio, it has safeguards to prevent you from using AI to photoshop in objects like used needles (although this wasn’t always the case). Still, it is a bit eerie to be so easily able to make convincing photos of things that never happened right on your phone.

But ultimately, while it’s nice to see Google’s new AI features generally available across all Pixel 9 models, they still feel like betas to me. That’s not a great sign about where Google’s Pixel software will head in the future, especially as it continues to explore sensitive subjects like AI imagery.

Cameras that feel pro-level

I loved the Pixel 9 Pro’s camera setup, and the good news is that shots taken on the regular Pixel 9 look almost as good. That’s because these phones have the same wide and ultrawide sensors, so both standard shots and close ups will look identical between devices. Plus, no matter which phone you pick, they’ll rival shots taken on the iPhone 15 Pro. If you’re looking for a reason to get the Pixel 9 over the Pixel 9a, you’ve found it.

If that sounds too good to be true, the catch is that the Pixel 9 has no telephoto lens. Optical zoom maxes out at 2x, and software zoom won’t allow for anything more than 8x. Not that you’ll really want to go past that—photos start to look pretty muddy even before then.