Excellent cameras, with a facet of Gemini AI

This yr, Google determined not solely to replace the design of its Pixel telephones but in addition put its AI options entrance and middle. The Pixel 9 Professional and 9 Professional XL are the primary Pixels which have swapped the Assistant for Gemini. With its newest flagships, Google continues to enhance its cameras, by upgrading its major sensor and increasing its suite of enhancing instruments. And to energy all these new AI methods, the corporate has geared up the gadgets with its latest Tensor processor, designed to deal with on-device Gemini duties. For the primary time, too, the Professional-branded Pixel is obtainable in two sizes, with a smaller model becoming a member of the household. Higher but, in case you go for the Pixel 9 Professional, you’ll be getting a largely equivalent telephone to the pricier 6.8-inch Pixel 9 Professional XL. Please observe: no digicam compromise right here, Apple.

However this isn’t simply one other flagship Android: it’s a concerted effort to get you hooked on Google’s AI-powered picture enhancing, e-mail help and extra. The Pixel 9 Professional delivers on all these elements, with various levels of success.

Design and show

As I opened the field, I knew this was probably the most premium Pixel but. The Pixel 9 Professional has softer curved corners than its predecessor, whereas the sides have been flattened. It additionally felt in some way acquainted — like my iPhone. I needed to double-check, and so they weighed the identical, all the way down to the gram (all 221 of them). That’s not dangerous: the iPhone Professional is the de facto telephone to beat. The Pixel 9 Professional has the same matte satin end.

I do not know if the flattened sides make it simpler to grip than the Pixel 8 Professional, however I discovered the substantial digicam module did assist with stability, often resting on my finger or thumb throughout photographs. The ‘cyclops bar’ is gone, changed with a extra typical — however simply as substantial — digicam array. The temperature sensor is, for some purpose, nonetheless right here, though a Thermometer app replace coming this week will let it save the stuff you’re most repeatedly measuring and even supply some AR steerage to make sure you’re the best distance away from the item you’re scanning.

With out the digicam bar, which felt a bit a lot, the Pixel 9 Professional doesn’t really feel like Google attempting to make an aggressive design assertion. The digicam module is big, nevertheless.

Like final yr, Google has saved the show nearly totally flat. The Pixel 9 Professional XL’s 6.8-inch display is 0.1 inches larger than final yr’s Pixel 8 Professional and brighter, too, peaking at 3,000 nits. It is sensible for Google to make its larger professional Pixel even bigger to match the XL in its identify, however just like the iPhone 15 Professional Max, the Professional XL is somewhat too large for me. My not-exactly-small arms struggled to achieve the search bar or dropdown menus within the prime corners. (Sidenote: I can transfer the Chrome handle bar to the underside of the display on my iPhone, however not on Android? What offers?)

In the meantime, the Pixel 9 Professional’s 6.3-inch panel is roomy sufficient to see loads of traces of textual content without delay, with out me having to nearly sprain a finger to achieve its edges. Each Pixel 9 Professionals have Gorilla Glass Victus 2 on their shows in addition to throughout the satin-finish backs, like final yr’s flagship telephone, that means they’re about as sturdy as earlier than.

With the XL, you’re consciously deciding you desire a Massive Telephone – that is S24 Extremely territory. Happily, it’s one other brilliant, vivid display from Google, with variable refresh charges from 1-120Hz for easy scrolling when wanted.

The XL Pixel Professional’s decision of 1,344 x 1,992 interprets to a pixel density of 486 ppi, which is decrease than the Pixel 9 Professional (495 ppi). However good luck discerning that in actual life. Google continues to lean in the direction of extra understated colour tones on its screens, in comparison with rival telephones from Samsung and Apple. Nonetheless, I believe it fits the shades of Android’s Materials Design palette, in addition to this yr’s {hardware} colour choices. Each Pixel 9 Professional sizes arrive in black, white, hazel and rose quartz. I used to be despatched the hazel model, which is delicate to the purpose of wanting nearly grey. My colleague Cherlynn Low is infatuated with the rose quartz Pixel 9 Professional she’s examined.

Cameras

The Pixel digicam remains to be the perfect smartphone digicam. Final yr, we known as Pixel 8 Professional “the most powerful smartphone camera on the market,” and Google has tried to carry on to that place. {Hardware}-wise, the sensors are the precise decision because the Pixel 8 Professional, other than the leap to a 42-megapixel front-facing digicam, up from 10.5 megapixels final yr. Google has additionally improved the autofocus, and it takes surprisingly first rate crisp photographs and video.

However we’re all right here to debate the triple digicam array on the again. There’s a brand new 50MP major digicam, a 48MP ultra-wide, and a 48MP telephoto digicam with a 5x optical zoom. The upgraded {hardware} doesn’t lead to noticeable enhancements over the Pixel 8 Professional in many of the images I in contrast… till I began utilizing the telephoto sensor. There, I noticed enormous enhancements to element and colour. Google has addressed a number of the Pixel 9 Professional’s video-recording weaknesses too — I didn’t discover any overheating points with the brand new Tensor chip, even when recording a number of video clips at most decision.

New digicam software program options

Google has as soon as once more augmented its cameras with software program options that stroll the road between gimmick and game-changer.

Add Me might be the latter for me. Because the man with the most recent smartphone in my friendship group and household, I’m normally the one taking candid and group photographs for everybody. However which means there usually aren’t many images of me. Add Me is a brand new digicam mode which mixes Google’s computational images experience with augmented actuality to scan and body an space and group of individuals. When you’ve taken the primary photograph, you commerce locations with another person, the Pixel 9 Professional will ask that particular person to align the body, and take a second shot.

It’s somewhat just like the Finest Take characteristic from final yr, which may swap out faces to make sure everybody’s giving their greatest smile, the Pixel then processes and combines these two pictures collectively. It’s a simplified Photoshop clone instrument, positive, however it seems to be good. I might be utilizing this on the subsequent birthday/wedding ceremony/christening/future fortieth birthday celebration. (Ed. observe: We get it, Mat, you’re fashionable.)

The Pixel 9 Professional arrives with a number of options initially teased a yr in the past, together with Zoom Improve and Video Enhance. Zoom Improve is fairly self-explanatory, utilizing AI to extend each element and sharpness in your most aggressively zoomed images. The outcomes will be combined. It’s not as egregious as Samsung’s super-imposed moon images, however Zoom Improve does its greatest work on shapes, constructions and patterns, sharpening up brickwork, foliage and extra. It nonetheless normally makes a large number with people.

There are use instances for Zoom Improve (it does a terrific job sharpening up London’s Tower Bridge) however I’m undecided it’ll rescue your live performance pics from the again of the venue. Not except you desire a nightmarish imaginative and prescient of Taylor Swift’s face massaged by AI. Notably, Zoom Improve is among the digicam AI options that’s processed on-device.

With Video Enhance, the Pixel 9 Professional information video in a particular mode (that you’ll have to toggle in settings earlier than recording) and people clips are mechanically uploaded to the cloud for server-side processing. What’s new for the Pixel 9 Professional is you could shoot movies with as much as 20x zoom or create boosted movies with 8K decision. You’ll have to document at 1080p to create 4K movies, and seize in 4K to make 8K clips. That is upscaled 8K, so whereas clips appear crisper in locations, don’t anticipate 8K footage that’s akin to what you’ll get with devoted cameras. Video Boosted 8K appears extra like a spec boast for Google reasonably than a characteristic you’ll use with any regularity.

Having stated that, Google has improved Video Enhance considerably because it first launched, including smoother transitions between focal lengths and totally different digicam sensors. With Video Enhance, leaping from a regular huge view to 5x zoom is much much less jarring, and Google has fastened the colour imbalances between its trio of sensors — it seems to be very like it was filmed on a single-lens digicam. It additionally gives a lift to any video captured in low mild. It received’t make pitch-black footage seen — I did attempt — however does enhance the colour and element of dim video clips. It’s also possible to punch in to 20x digital zoom in case you’re utilizing Video Enhance for surprisingly useful footage.

When you’ve taken your images, an upgraded Magic Editor brings the identical content-aware fill options as final yr, able to deleting undesirable objects and folks out of your images. This yr, Google provides extra generative AI energy. First up, Autoframe will let the Pixel attempt its hand at enhancing your photograph’s composition, cropping and even extending your images, producing backgrounds and including parts, generally efficiently.

Reimagine places Google’s generative AI abilities to make use of with extra inventive duties, permitting you to pick backgrounds, gadgets or different areas of your photograph, and create dreamy composite pictures. I used to be in a position to swap out my front room for a Hawaiian sundown, make the ground lava in a close-by park and extra. Get too particular together with your wording, although, and the outcomes aren’t fairly as spectacular. However that’s the state of smartphone generative AI, for now.

The professional digicam controls, launched with the Pixel 8 Professional, are nonetheless right here. They allow you to manually tweak publicity, shutter pace, and ISO, and are nonetheless tremendous helpful for individuals who know what they’re doing.

Software program

On the Pixel 9, you might discover a number of shock apps that you just by no means put in. However this isn’t fairly bloatware: they’re Google’s new Pixel Screenshots and Pixel Studio. As a substitute of including extra complication to the Images app, these have been made into standalone apps, which I’m very glad to see.

For now, you’re unable to edit images with folks in Pixel Studio, which dampens numerous the enjoyable. If you need commonplace generative-AI cartoon pictures and renders, Pixel Studio can oblige, though my creations aren’t fairly as cohesive because the examples proven. Whereas Pixel Studio gives the flexibility to title your designs, most instances that textual content will get became the same old AI-generated squiggles, defeating the aim of creating most issues with this app.

It’s somewhat too early to attract conclusions on Pixel Screenshots, too. It makes use of AI to parse by all of your screenshots, making data like costs, reservations and dates searchable. Nonetheless, the Pixel 9 doesn’t populate your screenshots mechanically, nor may I discover a method to pull my current screenshots (years of them!) from my Google Images backup, which looks as if a miss. The Images app already silos them as screenshots, so there have to be a method to switch them throughout. Is that this a privateness concern? We’ve requested Google.

This implies the instrument supplied restricted utility throughout my first week of testing. What may be extremely helpful is how Gemini AI can step by step study to establish what’s captured within the screenshots past merely studying the textual content. Screenshots on the whole are simply smarter on the Pixel 9 Professional. I captured some journey itinerary emails, and earlier than I even needed to open an app, the Pixel urged including my lodge keep to Google calendar. These are the touches I really like. (After all, I may maintain the facility button to summon Gemini and ask it to take action equally.)

Each Pixel 9 Professionals get a yr’s subscription to Google One AI Premium, a bundle of 2TB storage in addition to using Gemini Superior. The latter lets the AI straight dabble in apps like Gmail and Google Docs, to summarize textual content, PDFs and e-mail conversations, though I didn’t spot it in my very own Gmail app. I used to be nonetheless in a position to take a look at this in a Chrome tab elsewhere, because the subscription extends to each gadget you employ with Google merchandise. There’s additionally entry to Gemini Reside, a conversational mode that’s nearly totally voice-based. I’m undecided how a lot I’d use this mode, nevertheless. I choose to kind my particular requests.

Gemini Reside will tick alongside within the background as you employ different apps, which provides to the utility, and shops all of your requests and outcomes on the primary Gemini display. I used to be in a position to barrel by about 15 totally different voice requests for exhibits I wished to see at this yr’s Edinburgh Fringe, and it may already parse showtimes and venues, quicker than I may manually discover them. It struggled with some names and couldn’t establish some notable comedians in any respect. Google has made AI-assisted search a useful a part of how I take advantage of my telephone.

It’s been enjoyable seeing what Gemini Superior is able to. After taking an obtuse photograph of a number of skyscraper buildings in central London, I requested Gemini Superior to establish the place the photograph was taken. The AI initially stated it might be New York, suggesting one of many buildings was One Vanderbilt.

Then I stated that was incorrect and that it was taken in London. Gemini Superior circled again, figuring out not solely one of many buildings but in addition the handle, which was roughly 100 toes away from the place I took the photograph. The sheer seamlessness of the expertise on Android was what impressed me most, however that is a part of Gemini Superior and after the one-year trial ends, Google expects you to pay $20 a month to maintain your entry. At a time when all my funds for Netflix, Spotify and extra are climbing, Google isn’t providing sufficient to make me add one other subscription to the pile.

Efficiency and battery life

Together with 16GB of RAM, the Pixel 9 collection options the Tensor G4, Google’s newest slice of silicon, designed to breeze by AI duties and generative AI requests. However When you’re a cellular gamer this isn’t going to blow you away. The G4 is extra highly effective than the Tensor G3, positive, however it doesn’t fairly match the smoothness of the newest Snapdragon chips from Qualcomm. Tensor G4’s improved skills are put to make use of most with new AI duties: for instance, Google says its Add Me characteristic faucets into augmented actuality software program together with 15 totally different on-device AI fashions.

We haven’t fairly acquired to the purpose the place we will examine the speeds and efficiencies of generative AI duties. For probably the most half, the Pixel 9 Professional behaves like a typical flagship telephone. Chrome is unlikely to stutter, and the Pixel 9 Professional appears able to dealing with heavy video enhancing and processing with ease, in addition to new Magic Editor options to your images. These options nonetheless take a second, however the truth that so many AI instruments work on-device, with no connection wanted, impresses me.

The Pixel 9 Professional XL’s 5,060mAh battery is nearly equivalent to the Pixel 8 Professional (5,050mAh), and it delivered over 22 hours in our looped video rundown take a look at. The Pixel 9 Professional, in the meantime, managed to run for nearly 25 hours. Nonetheless, most cost wattage differs between the 2 Professionals too. The Pixel 9 Professional prices at 27W, lower than the Pixel 8 Professional’s 30W, whereas the brand new Pixel 9 Professional XL prices at 37W. This implies the XL ought to cost quicker than the bottom Professional. Google says the Pixel 9 Professional can rise up to 55 p.c in half-hour, whereas the XL will attain a heady 77 p.c in the identical time, utilizing the corporate’s personal 45W charger. My Pixel 9 Professional confirmed related figures, speedily recharging to over 50 p.c in underneath 25 minutes.

Wrap up

The Pixel Professional has by no means regarded higher and feels just like the premium gadgets Google’s all the time wished to make. Naturally, there’s a premium price related. Provided that final yr’s 6.7-inch Pixel 8 Professional was $999, the $1,099 Pixel 9 Professional XL is $100 costlier, whereas the Pixel 9 Professional, with the identical cameras, storage, processor and AI hooks, however a smaller display, prices the identical $999. Nonetheless, in comparison with rivals like Samsung’s Galaxy S24 Extremely ($1,300), the Pixel 9 Professional gadgets stay competitively priced.

The Pixel 9 Professional is a showcase for Gemini, Google’s AI assistant, and it’s been given an enormous alternative to shine as Pixel 9 Professional house owners take pleasure in a yr of free entry to the extra superior mannequin. It’s early days for a number of the new software program options, like Pixel Studio and Screenshots, nevertheless.

Competitors from Apple and Samsung over the previous couple of years might have chipped away on the competitiveness of Pixel options like Evening Sight, however Google continues to enhance the Pixel’s imaging prowess additional. The Pixel 9 Professional cements the Pixel collection’ standing as the perfect smartphone digicam. It’s so good that I don’t thoughts that chonky digicam cutout — it modified my thoughts.

A few of these new options are crucially ones I’ll repeatedly use, like Add Me. Elsewhere, Google faucets into cloud processing to beef up your video with the may of its server community. On the identical time, the Pixel retains lots of its computational images methods on-device, with the temperamental Zoom Improve out there with out the necessity for an web connection.

All of it culminates in a telephone with distinctive methods and unimaginable battery life, no matter which dimension you go for. It is so good that my iPhone must go with out its SIM for somewhat longer: the Pixel 9 Professional might be my primary telephone for only a bit extra.