Google Pixel 9 Pro review

A Pro set of cameras in a smaller phone

In keeping with its "Pro" moniker, the Pixel 9 Pro gets the exact same camera setup as its bigger Pixel 9 Pro XL sibling. That, in turn, is mostly carried over from the Pixel 8 Pro, with just a minor change on the ultrawide, if the specs are to be believed. The 8 Pro wasn't exactly cutting-edge itself, so a bit more of a hardware upgrade would have been welcome, but Google is a software company, so we get AI instead. The selfie camera is all new, for what it's worth.

The main camera retains the 1/1.31" sensor size, leaving the Chinese makers to battle it out with the 1-inchers. Realistically, though, with both the current top iPhone and top Galaxy at around the same sensor size, the Pixel isn't exactly underequipped from a sheer size perspective.

Adopting the same comparative approach, the telephoto should also be about as good as the Galaxy's and likely superior to the iPhone's if we limit comparisons to sensor size and zoom capability. What's not going to be a match for the Galaxy is the Pixel's minimum focusing distance of around 75cm, as it's not nearly as close as the Galaxy's.

The ultrawide camera is all new. Google decided to trade sensor size for a brighter lens. A 1/2.55" imager replaces the 1/2.0" one (still 48MP), while the optics now have an f/1.7 aperture vs. the f/2.2 of the 8 Pro (AF is still present). It looks like more of a side step than an upgrade, but it's still a Quad Bayer sensor instead of the conventional 1/2.55" sensors used by the competing iPhone and Galaxy.

The selfie camera is also new. It is a 42MP sensor, replacing the previous generation's 10.5MP one. As is the norm with Pixels, there's an ultrawide lens here to get more people in the frame, and there's autofocus.

• Wide (main): 50MP (1/1.31", 1.2µm-2.4µm), f/1.68, 24mm, dual pixel PDAF, Laser AF, OIS; 4K@60fps/8K@30
• Ultrawide: 48MP (1/2.55", 0.7µm-1.4µm), f/1.7, 12mm, multi-directional PDAF; 4K@60fps
• Telephoto 5x: 48MP (1/2.55", 0.7µm-1.4µm), f/2.8, 110mm, multi-directional PDAF, OIS; 4K@60fps/8K@30
• Front camera: 42MP (0.7µm-1.4µm), f/2.2, 18mm, dual pixel PDAF; 4K@60fps

Daylight photo quality

Main camera

The main camera on the Pixel 9 Pro captures excellent photos during the day. There is plenty of detail, and everything is nice and crisp. There is occasional pixelation on certain surfaces, but it's not dramatic. Generally speaking, surfaces aren't overprocessed, nor are they oversharpened. Noise is practically non-existent.

Google Pixel 9 Pro: 12.5MP main camera samples

In typical Pixel fashion, there seems to be a preference for high contrast, which can occasionally leave some of the shadows looking a bit dark. Even so, the dynamic range is excellent. Color rendition is more on the restrained side of things. That is to say, it's not as saturated as on a recent Samsung, but still a bit more lively than a recent iPhone.

Skin tones and facial features are rendered masterfully. Portraits look quite good, though, with its default settings, the Pixel 9 Pro goes a bit overboard with the background blur. Portraits are done at 1x and 1.5x by default.

Google Pixel 9 Pro: 12.5MP main camera portrait samples (1x and 1.5x)

More often than not, the 50MP 1x shots from the main camera are blurrier than the regular ones. There is just a lot less processing being applied, including sharpening, and it shows. We are not convinced that you always get more fine detail with the 50MP mode either. Perhaps in some scenes, but it doesn't seem worth it overall.

Google Pixel 9 Pro: 50MP main camera samples

2x zoom shots on the Pixel 9 Pro are digital crops from the main camera. They look quite well but won't fool anyone if scrutinized at 1:1.

Google Pixel 9 Pro: 12.5MP main camera 2x zoom samples

As was the case last year, there's also a 50MP resolution option at 2x. Even with all the AI at play now, we can't see it come up with enough pixel-level detail to make it make any practical sense.

Google Pixel 9 Pro: 50MP main camera 2x zoom samples

Telephoto camera, 5x

While we wouldn't call the 5x telephoto a class leader, it definitely captures solid all-around photos. It has a decent amount of sharpness going for it, though it still falls short of truly impressive territory. The camera's inability to focus as close as some of the other top cameraphones (Galaxy S24 Ultra included) isn't doing it any favors either when it comes to extracting detail from your subjects. We have no complaints about dynamic range or colors - all is well.

Google Pixel 9 Pro: 12.5MP telephoto camera 5x samples

There is a 50MP mode available on the telephoto as well. Just like with the main camera, you get slightly less-processed photos, which also means a bit softer and less sharpened images. There isn't really more fine detail in the frame from which to benefit.

Google Pixel 9 Pro: 50MP telephoto camera samples

Photos from 10x to 30x look surprisingly decent, with plenty of detail and very little noise.

Google Pixel 9 Pro: 12.5MP telephoto camera 10x and 30x samples

The Pixel 9 Pro seems to be using binning at 10x to 30x zoom levels, as evidenced by the 2.5MP produced DNG files. If you choose the 50MP mode, binning won't occur. Even so, unless you are using the actual DNG files, we would shy away from using 50MP mode since the resulting JPEGs are decidedly softer.

Google Pixel 9 Pro: 50MP telephoto camera 10x and 30x samples

Ultrawide camera

The ultrawide camera doesn't disappoint and captures very good photos. It resolves a ton of detail and processes it organically. Global parameters are also in tune with the established Pixel look.

Google Pixel 9 Pro: 12.5MP ultrawide camera samples

The full-res mode on the ultrawide doesn't bring any further improvement in detail - not to our eyes, at least.

Google Pixel 9 Pro: 50MP ultrawide camera samples

Close-ups (macro)

Since the telephoto can't focus up close, the autofocusing ultrawide is left to pull double duty and capture macro shots. When you're at 1x and have the Macro focus set to auto, if you go beyond the main camera's minimum focus distance, the phone will switch to a zoomed-in view from the ultrawide camera, which can focus really close.

The results are pretty good, though not quite pin-sharp. Depth of field is very shallow at this distance, plus there's plenty of field curvature, so even if you're shooting a flat subject, chances are you will only have a sweet spot of sharp focus in the center of the frame. There's also the fact that you'll likely be throwing a shadow over your subject due to the extreme shooting distance. Overall, we'd very much prefer a nice close-focusing zoom camera, though the Pixel's implementation is better than nothing.

Google Pixel 9 Pro: 12.5MP ultrawide camera macro samples

Selfie camera

We definitely like the new selfie camera on the Pixel 9 Pro. It captures very nice selfies with plenty of detail, sharpness, and true-to-life colors, particularly skin tones. Dynamic range is excellent. The ultrawide lens allows for some extra coverage.

Google Pixel 9 Pro: 10MP selfie camera samples

What we can come up with as a minor complaint this time is the slightly pixelated detail rendition, but it's more of a niggle than a true flaw.

Low-light photo quality

Main camera

The main camera on the Pixel 9 Pro holds up really well in low-light conditions. It captures a good amount of detail without breaking any records. Shadows can look a bit mushy, which seems to be a byproduct of the shadow boost. On a more positive note, exposure looks great with nicely boosted shadows and well-contained highlights and light sources. Saturation is on point. All of these samples were taken with the automatic night mode processing enabled, and it is doing its thing as expected.

Google Pixel 9 Pro: 12.5MP main camera low-light samples

There is some small shot-to-shot variation when it comes to white balance. That is to say, you can get slightly different hues from consecutive photos. It's not a major issue, just something worth noting.

At 2x, the Pixel's results in the dark are okay, though you'd probably be better off limiting your 2x shooting to scenes with a bit more light.

Google Pixel 9 Pro: 12.5MP main camera 2x zoom low-light samples

Telephoto camera, 5x

The telephoto is good at night but not spectacular. While detail is there, it is a bit too broadly re-interpreted and recreated by the algorithms for our taste. On the plus side, the colors and saturation are both on point.

Google Pixel 9 Pro: 12.5MP telephoto camera low-light samples

Ultrawide camera

Overall, the ultrawide does not disappoint in low light. It delivers bright exposures with pleasing tonal development. Dynamic range is good with nicely boosted shadows and well-contained highlights and light sources.

Google Pixel 9 Pro: 12.5MP ultrawide camera low-light samples

When viewed at 1:1, it is fairly easy to notice softness in these photos, but that's hardly a major issue, given the overall quality of the images.

Selfie camera

The selfie camera holds its own pretty well.

Google Pixel 9 Pro: 10MP selfie camera low-light samples

AI: Unblur, Zoom Enhance, Add Me, Eraser, Magic editor

There's a wide array of AI-based image editing functions. The Zoom Enhance will try and come up with details where the camera didn't capture much - it spits out 3MP images, so you'll generally be better off working with crops from your photos rather than the full image - the tool does advise you to do so. Here are a few examples.

AI zoom: Original 30x image • Unblur • Zoom Enhance

AI zoom: Original 30x image • Unblur • Zoom Enhance

'Add Me' is the feature that can help you be part of a group shot when there are no strangers to take a picture of the whole group. You take the first shot of the group and then hand over the phone to someone else, who will guide you to your spot next to the already photographed group shown on screen. Or you can add another you to you.

Add me: Source 1 • Source 2 • Final image

Now that you already have a photo of yourself, you can use Magic Editor to transport yourself to a nicer place.

Magic editor: Source • Reimagined as on top of a mountain peak

You can play with Magic editor just for fun, or come up with creative ideas to extract some practical use (the next few are obviously not that).

Magic editor: Source • Reimagine as 'a house' • Snail removed with Eraser

Magic editor: Source • Reimagined as "a red rose"

Video recording

The Google Pixel 9 Pro can record video up to 4K60 with all of its cameras - the three rear and the front-facing. The rear cameras can also record in 4K at 24fps, not just 30fps, but the selfie camera doesn't get that capability. The main camera and the telephoto add 8K30 to the list of modes as well. There is stereo audio capture at 48 kHz.

There's the usual selection between the h.264 codec for wider compatibility and the more efficient h.265 option. It is worth noting that h.265/HEVC is selected by default. 10-bit HDR recording is another option on the menu.

There's also the Video Boost toggle, which is the AI-enhanced processing for improving HDR, stabilization, and zoom results. It requires backing the files up to Google Photos, and the boosting takes place in the cloud. You get one non-boosted 1080p video for immediate consumption, while the pseudo-raw file for further boosting is in a 4032x2268px resolution.

There's a three-pronged approach to stabilization, with 'Standard' available across all modes and cameras. 'Active' mode locks you into 1080p30 on the ultrawide for action shoots, while 'Locked' is for zoomed-in recording at 2x or 5x (at up to 4K60). You can also disable the stabilization entirely if other measures are in place to ensure steady footage.

Video sample playlist

You can check out the playlist below, which includes multiple video samples.

At 1x, the main camera produces solid footage with plenty of detail and decent, though not perfect, dynamic range. Contrast is a bit too boosted for our taste, and so is color saturation. There is practically no noise, though. 2x videos are noticeably softer, as expected.

Sharpness is regained at 5x zoom thanks to the telephoto camera. We really like how this one captures video. Everything is really detailed. Contrast and saturation are, once again, a bit too boosted, but it's more of a look than something to complain about.

The ultrawide does decently well with its video capture. Detail is alright, given the hardware. Edge-to-edge sharpness is admirable, considering how wide the lens is. Colors are a bit more muted than the main and telephoto cameras, but still close enough overall.

The Pixel 9 Pro holds up well in low-light video capture. Perhaps not quite as well as some of its flagship competitors, but still a very strong showing. Detail is there, dynamic range is perfectly fine with well-developed shadows and light sources, and colors look good.

We can't complain about stabilization - it's thoroughly great. The main camera and the ultrawide deal really well with walking shake, pans are nicely smooth on all cameras, and there's also a remarkable steadiness when just pointing the phone in one direction.