Pixel 9 phones: The Gemini AI stuff, reviewed

Enlarge / I asked Gemini to "reimagine" the background of this Pixel 9 group shot (originally on beige paper) as "science fiction moonscape," and then used "Auto frame" to expand the initially tight shot. Maybe that explains why this moon surface has another moon visible? (credit: Kevin Purdy / Gemini AI)

Google made its AI assistant, Gemini, central to its pitch to reviewers and the public—it's what makes Pixel phones different from any other Android phone, the company says. In fact, you have to go 24 minutes into Google's keynote presentation, and cringe through a couple of live AI demo failures, before Pixel hardware details are even mentioned.

I've been using a Pixel 9 Pro as my daily phone for about a week. There is almost nothing new about the Pixel 9 that is not linked to Gemini in some way, minus the physical design of the thing. So this review will look at how Gemini performs on the Pixel 9, which is Google's premier platform for Gemini at the moment. While some of the Pixel 9's AI-powered features may make it to other Android-powered phones in future Android releases, that's not a certainty. AI—as a free trial, as a custom Google-designed chip, and as an OS integration—is something Google is using to set Pixels apart.

I wrote a separate review of the three main Pixel 9 devices. But considering the Pixel 9 as a hardware-only product is strange. The short version is that the phones themselves are capable evolutions of the Pixel series and probably the best versions Google has made yet, and they're sold at prices that reflect that. If you love Pixel phones, are eager to upgrade, and plan to ignore Gemini specifically and AI features generally, that might be all you need to know.