WED, NOV 27
NimishAndAkriti
Google released four Pixels this time, and the one that kind of just went a little under most tech radars was the one that hit the market last: the Pixel 9 Pro. Is it then worth a rather stuff price tag of Rs 1,09,999? Here's a Quick Look at it.
Let's get one thing straight - if you liked the Pixel 9, you will like the Pixel 9 Pro. This is because he phone is pretty much a carbon copy of it dimension and size-wise. Which means that it is relatively compact (152.8 mm tall) and at 199 grams is only one teensy gram heavier that the non Pro Pixel 9. You get those straight shiny sides that are iPhone-ish, and the thick horizontal camera capsule on the back as well.
A closer look will show up very slight differences, though. The back is slightly smoother on the Pixel 9 Pro and the camera bar has three cameras in it rather than two. Still, by and large, the phone can easily be mistaken for the Pixel 9, especially in its black and white avatars (the pink and green ones are more restrained on the 9 Pro and brighter on the 9!). The phone is SO identical to the Pixel 9 that cases, covers and screen protectors for the Pixel 9 fit it perfectly.
Of course, beneath those similar surfaces lurk very different tech waters. The Pixel 9 Pro runs on the same Tensor G4 chip that the Pixel 9 runs on, but that's about it. The display is of the same size, but is brighter, has a higher resolution (2856 x 1280 as compared to 2424 x 1080), and while it has the same maximum refresh rate ion 120 Hz, can adjust all the way from 1 Hz to 120 Hz, instead of just flipping between 60 Hz and 120 Hz on the Pixel 9. RAM also stands at 16 GB here as compared to 12 GB on the Pixel 9 - and that will count when you are in AI mode!
Perhaps the biggest point of difference, however, is in the camera department. Whereas the Pixel 9 had only two cameras, the Pixel 9 Pro comes with three cameras that are an exact copy of the ones on the Pixel 9 Pro XL - 50 MP main with OIS, 48 MP telephoto with 5X optical and special 30X super res zoom and 48 MP ultrawide with special macro focus, Even the selfie camera gets upped to a massive 42 megapixels. And yes, you get all the special photography features on the 9 Pro XL here, including 8K video support, zoom enhance and video zoom, This thing is perhaps the best compact camera phone out there alongside the iPhone 16!
It looks like the Pixel 9, but the Pixel 9 Pro is actually a shrunk version of the Pixel 9 Pro XL, and its performance is significantly superior to the Pixel 9, especially when you are using AI. The cameras are way more versatile and the extra RAM does come in handy when in AI edit mode, where the Pixel 9 can sometimes stumble and stutter. The one place where we wished the Pixel 9 Pro did NOT resemble the Pixel 9 is in battery - it too has a 4700 mAh battery and that brighter, higher resolution display means that you will just about get through a day of usage on it, which is kinda decent but not in the zone of some of its rivals. Again, no charger in the box and the charging speed is the same as the 9 - 27W, and not the 37W of the Pixel 9 Pro XL - although wireless charging is supported, again at a slightly slower rate than the 9 Pro XL!
So is the Pixel 9 Pro worth it at Rs 1,09,999? Well, it gives you most of the performance of the 9 Pro XL at a lower price - the 9 Pro XL costs Rs 1,24,999, remember! That said, some might like the larger display of the 9 Pro XL, especially for video edits, and the bigger Pixel does have better battery life. In short, pun unintended, this is the Pixel for those who want the best of the Pixel but in a smaller form factor. We still find ourselves leaning towards the Pixel 9 Pro XL - that big display and bigger and faster charging battery are important when one uses lots of AI and does multimedia aplenty - but if you want a compact phone with genuine Android magic onboard, go for this one. It looks like the Pixel 9 and performs like the 9 Pro XL at a lower price! That's quite a proposition.