5 ways the Google Pixel 9 Pro is a serious Apple iPhone 16 Pro rival

The Google Pixel Watch 3 has a new life-saving feature that’s a competitive advantage over the Apple Watch Series 10

The Google Pixel 9 Pro (Image credit: Max Buondonno)

• 📐 Two sizes for the Google Pixel 9 Pro – finally

• 🤳 Upgraded 42MP selfie camera shows promise

• 🪄 AI magic tricks that make sense like Add Me

• ⚡ Much faster charging with 45W charger (9 Pro XL only)

• 🤖 Free year of Google Gemini Advanced AI ($240 value)

Our hands-on Google Pixel 9 Pro and 9 Pro XL review won’t get a final score until the new phones launch next week, but the Made By Google launch event taught us a lot about how seriously Google is taking its latest Android smartphones.

This is a very different Pixel experience than when I first started reviewing Google’s phones ten years ago – back when it was the Nexus program and then when Google outsourced Pixel manufacturing to LG and HTC. Google not only owns the hardware, but it’s rivaling Apple one month ahead of the expected iPhone 16 event.

Based on my hands-on time at the launch event, here’s why the Google Pixel 9 Pro and 9 Pro XL are a serious threat to Apple in 2024.

Google Pixel 9 Pro in two sizes (Image credit: Max Buondonno)

1. Two sizes for the Google Pixel 9 Pro – finally

We finally have options. The 6.8-inch Pixel 9 Pro XL and 6.3-inch Pixel 9 Pro offer the same core specs, making it easier for me to recommend Google’s new phone. Too many people I talked to liked the Google Pixel 8 Pro and its telephoto camera, but didn’t want the large 6.7-inch display. The smaller Pixel 9 Pro is for them.

The Pixel 9 Pro has just about everything the Pixel 9 Pro XL has. The screen is smaller and more one-hand-friendly, the battery capacity isn’t quite as large and its 45W charging speeds are a bit slower, but everything else is the same.

“Two sizes” is the unofficial theme of this year’s Made By Google event. As seen in our hands-on Google Pixel Wath 3 review (full review coming soon), the company’s smartwatch also finally comes in two sizes: 45mm and 41mm.

(Image credit: Google)

2. 42MP selfie camera shows promise

I still have to test the 42MP Google Pixel 9 Pro selfie camera, but on paper, the specs show that it’s a major upgrade over the Pixel 8 Pro’s 10.5MP front camera. Not enough companies are paying attention to this camera we use daily.

It offers 30% better light sensitivity than last year’s Pixel 8 Pro selfie camera and a wider 103° field of view (Pixel 8 Pro was 95°). That means you’ll have an easier time capturing full group selfies as well as the background you’re posing in front of.

Google’s Add Me feature is AI that’s actually useful to consumers (Image credit: Google)

3. AI magic tricks that make sense like Add Me

Every tech company is shoving AI into their smartphone in 2024 – from Galaxy AI, as seen in our Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra review and Galaxy Fold 6 review, to Apple Intelligence, coming to iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro Max in October. The jury is out on how truly useful their AI features are for consumers.

Google’s Add Me on the Pixel 9 series is actually useful. It uses AI to insert a person into a composite photo. This is great if you’re often the photo taker and unable to be in group or family photos. Google’s AI offers a solution like it fixed our worst poses with its head-swapping Best Take feature on the Pixel 8, 8 Pro and even the Pixel 8a.

If you have a 45W charger or better, even one from a laptop, you’ll get great charging speeds, especially from the Pixel 9 Pro (Image credit: Google)

4. Much faster charging with a 45W charger

This is a Google Pixel 9 Pro XL feature only (likely due to thermals), but worth noting if you happen to have a 45W charger: the phone’s battery can go from 0% to 70% in just 30 minutes. These are speeds we usually only see from phones out of China.

Compare that with the Pixel 9 and 9 Pro, which get to 55% in the same 30 minutes with a 45W charger – an improvement but not on the same level as the Pixel 9 Pro. And we haven’t really seen Apple focusing on charging speeds with the iPhone.

Gemini AI Advanced (Image Credit: Google)

5. Free year of Google Gemini Advanced AI

You can try Google’s Gemini Advanced AI, a $20-a-month rival of ChatGPT-4o for free with the purchase of any of the Google Pixel 9 Pro phones (including the Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold). The offer lasts for 12 months, so you’re saving $240 in the end.

The Pixel 9 Pro at $999 and Pixel 9 Pro XL at $1,099 have a hefty upfront cost, but this helps justify splurging for one of them over the Pixel 9 – and so does the $200 Best Buy or Amazon gift card pre-order incentives.