Finally, the Google Pixel series is officially available here in Malaysia. As the originators of Android, we have to say that we were quite looking forward to what the Google Pixel 9 has to offer. Especially since these phones are well known for their camera capabilities and also Google's latest AI features as well. Does it deliver? Check out our full review of the Pixel 9 and find out.
Design - Doesn't stray far from the current template
In terms of design, it really looks like the Pixel 9 is following the iPhone template closely with flat metallic sides, a flat-screen and rounded corners. The only major difference is the rather large pill-shaped camera hump on the back. Because of this, standing the phone upright from the back really makes it look like an Among Us Character, but the phone is still solidly built and fits nicely in the palm of your hand.
The Pixel 9 has a 6.3-inch Actua display that is bright enough to be seen outdoors
That's a really big rear camera hump
The speaker vent, USB Type-C port and SIM tray are on the bottom
The power and volume controls are on the side
Apart from the rear camera hump, it doesn't stray far from the flat sides and rounded corners template
Our review unit was the Wintergreen colour and had a flat glass backside with just a simple Google logo. The power button and volume controls were on the right, while a USB type C port and the speaker vent were on the bottom. The large camera hump does mean that the phone does not lay flat when put on its side. Also, at 198g and 8.5mm, it is a bit heavier and thicker than the average smartphone of this size.
On the front, the 6.3-inch Actua display is very sharp and clear with a very smooth up to 120 Hz refresh rate. There's a punch-hole on the top for the 10.5MP Dual PD selfie camera, plus a layer of Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2 with a fingerprint-resistant coating on the surface. The fingerprint sensor is beneath the screen as usual.
The silicone case
At least it protects that camera hump
Google Malaysia was kind enough to also provide the official casing (you will probably have to purchase it separately). But we found it to be surprisingly slippery to hold and made the phone look like a small silicone brick. Like other major phone makers, the Pixel 9 only comes with a USB Type-C cable and documentation in the main box, so you'll likely have to source a different charger and casing on your own.
Tech specs and Features - A mix of midrange and upper midrange
Here are the tech specs and features for the Google Pixel 9:
- Google Tensor G4
- 12GB RAM
- 128GB / 256GB storage
- 6.3-inch Actua Display (OLED, 1080 x 2024 pixel resolution, Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2, HDR, up to 120Hz refresh rate, 1800 - 2700 nits brightness)
- Dual rear camera: 50MP wide (f/1.68, 1/131” image sensor) + 48MP ultrawide with Macro Focus (f/1.7)
- Front camera: 10.5MP (f/2.2, autofocus, 95 ultrawide field of view)
- 152.8mm x 72mm x 8.5mm | 198g
- 4700 mAh battery (fast charging, fast wireless Qi charging)
- Features Titan M2 security coprocessor, IP68 dust and water resistance, 100% recycled aluminium body, 7 years of OS, security and Pixel Drop updates, fingerprint sensor, Face Unlock, Audio Noise Suppression, Spatial audio
- Supports USB Type C 3.2 port, Dual SIM (1x nano SIM + eSIM), Stereo speakers, 3x mics, up to WiFi 7 802.11be, Bluetooth v5.3, NFC, Google Cast, 5G
- Android 14 (upgradeable to Android 15)
- Available in Peony, Wintergreen, Porcelain, Obsidian
The SIM card tray only fits nano SIM cards, but you can also use eSIM
Here's what else you can find in the box
Powered by the Google Tensor G4 chipset, 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, the Google Pixel 9 comes with a whole bunch of midrange to upper midrange features. This includes a 6.3-inch OLED Actua display with up to 120Hz refresh rate, HDR and up to 2700 nits peak brightness.
Since the Pixel 9 is using stock Android, there's no bloatware at all. But it also means you'll have to install all your social media apps, like Facebook and Instagram yourself. Given the 12GB RAM and high refresh rate display, scrolling on the screen is super smooth and responsive.
This is as close to "stock" Android as you can get
While there are a whole bunch of Google AI features, such as AI-generated wallpapers, Pixel Studio and Magic Editor in the Photos app, only a few of them have really been integrated that much into the overall operations. This means you can use them if you need to, but you don't have to if you don't want to.
There are also AI-assisted camera features such as Pan Shot, which gives a motion effect like if you were to do a panning shot for a moving object and Long Exposure to intelligently capture light trails and motion shots. Then there's also the signature Add Me, which lets you take a shot and then pass the phone to someone else to add you to the overall photo.
You can remove objects in the Photos app with the Magic Eraser
The Add Me interface
Performance - Works well but is obviously made for Gen AI
Despite rather midrange results in our normal benchmarks, the Tensor M4 chipset does surprisingly well for most daily use and gaming. Running Call of Duty: Mobile and Genshin Impact on high settings with 60 fps quickly resulted in a rather toasty Pixel 9. However, it can still run most games fairly smoothly nonetheless.
The 4700 mAh battery easily lasts about 1 day and a half on normal usage. And with the right fast charger, it can get back up to 100% in about an hour or so. The Actua display does look and feel great, but the 6.3-inch display is a bit small for watching movies. Nonetheless, the speakers are quite loud on maximum volume with no static.
GeekBench 6 and 3DMark scores were upper midrange at best
You can still play Genshin Impact on high settings at 60fps
Asphalt Legends Unite looks good
Thanks to its 48MP ultra-wide camera, the Google Pixel 9 is awesome for macro photography. Getting in close automatically activates the macro mode and photos turned out sharp and detailed. Zoom shots, on the other hand, were not as sharp or detailed, but that's to be expected when the optical zoom only goes up to 2x. We have to admit we were feeling a bit hopeful that Google might have done some post-processing miracle with their 7x digital zoom, but maybe that was being too wishful. Perhaps it may come in the next 7 years of updates.
Trying out the AI-assisted photography features, most of the time you can get by with just following the instructions, but sometimes the Google AI can also be a bit too smart. For example, the Long Exposure mode "intelligently" only takes viable shots, and the duration of each shot can change depending on the AI. This can result in light trail photos that don't capture exactly what you want all the time, which can be frustrating for the more experienced photographer. Check out the samples below.
Auto - Looks like a big golden bump
Auto - Nice landscape shots
Auto - Clear details
Macro mode - Clearly the Pixel 9 is well suited for macro photography
Macro mode - This is in fact a much smaller flower than you might think
Macro mode - Clear close up details
The front camera delivers great selfies too
Long Exposure - light trail or motion shots don't need a tripod or ND filter
Pan shot - The license plate has been darkened but you can clearly see sharp details despite the motion blur
Night Mode - Clear details and reflections
Night Mode - The Pixel 9 can handle most low-light conditions quite well
Night Mode - See all the details?
Add Me - You can see that the extra addition doesn't really fit due to the lighting but it's an interesting innovation nonetheless
Long Exposure - Light trails with all the details at night
This "too smart" feeling is reflected in other AI features, such as the Add Me feature, which can get confusing or hang altogether waiting for you to move into the right position. Thankfully, this doesn't apply to everything as Night Mode and Video Stabilization prompts activate smoothly. The Long Exposure mode also lets you do so without needing a tripod or ND filter. That being said, low-light shots are pretty clear and detailed, while video recordings are well-stabilised unless you really jog about.
Gemini was very fast and responsive on the Google Pixel 9, easily churning out generated images and text. Circle to Search was as useful as ever and the Pixel Studio is basically your own Imagen 3 AI image generator on your phone, delivering generated AI much faster than Gemini on normal non-pixel phones. However, if you're not into Gen AI, we don't think you'll ever use these features on a daily basis aside from Circle to Search.
There's Circle-to-Search, AI Wallpapers and more
Pixel Studio let's you generate AI images quickly
While you can transcribe voice recordings, it isn't always right. Battery life is good
Gemini has only been integrated into the GMail app so far
Unfortunately, Gemini has only been integrated into the Gmail app, so there are no other AI features specifically for productivity despite there being such features in Google Workspaces. Like a few others, you can now automatically transcribe recorded voices. But we have to say that it doesn't always catch what is being said correctly all the time. Hopefully, Google will polish up the buggy portions in future updates.
Conclusion - A bit pricey, but great for Gen AI and macro photography
Overall, the Google Pixel 9 smartphone is an excellent compact phone for the upper midrange. It's very good for normal landscape or macro photography and certainly has an edge when it comes to Google AI features and 7 years of promised updates. Currently going for RM3699 (lower than its RM3999 release price), it's still a bit pricey for a phone of this size and range. But it is the lowest price you can get for an official Pixel smartphone here in Malaysia.
While quite a few reviewers may lament the Tensor G4 chipset's overall performance, it exceeds in areas (like AI) that other chipsets are slow with. Couple that with the Pixel 9's very good camera and it's a good device to stay future-proofed with (7 years of updates is no joke). Other contenders in this range include the RM3159 Samsung Galaxy S24, which is thinner and has AI (minus an AI image generator) with good cameras.
What do you think? Would you buy the Google Pixel 9? Is there any particular feature you're looking forward to in the Google Pixel 9? Share your thoughts in the comments below and as always, stay tuned to TechNave.com.
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