Apart from the launch of the unique Google Pixel cellphone again in 2016, no different launch was as essential because the Google Pixel 6. It ushered in what grew to become the defacto Pixel design language, launched Google’s personal Tensor processor line, and proved that Google might make a very premium cellphone with out the premium value.
It additionally marked the primary time that Google promised 5 years of software program updates, however that promise got here with a catch: it solely assured three years of Android OS updates. Whereas the cellphone will nonetheless see safety updates for an additional two years, the discharge of Android 15 marks the ultimate Android improve the cellphone will ever obtain.
Which leads me to the query at hand: is it time to improve your growing old Pixel 6 or Pixel 6 Professional? As an entire, I do not assume so. It’s best to look ahead to the Pixel 10, however there are a number of eventualities the place upgrading to a Pixel 9 would possibly make sense.
Why it is best to improve out of your Pixel 6
The Google Pixel 9 collection simply got here out, and whereas the brand new, much more premium design actually could be tempting, the true purpose to improve to a Pixel 9 this 12 months is the selection of dimension.
For the primary time ever, Google is providing a smaller Pixel 9 Professional with the identical {hardware} configuration because the Pixel 9 Professional XL. Meaning of us seeking to preserve the wonderful zoom element of their Pixel 6 Professional can improve to a Pixel 9 Professional collection and have a selection between sizes with out sacrificing among the finest elements of a high-end smartphone digital camera expertise.
For the reason that Pixel 6, Google has flattened its cellphone shows and lowered the bezels, that means that large, stunning show could be simply lined with a tempered glass Pixel 9 display protector. Whereas I really like the feel and appear of curved glass, there is not any denying it is a lot tougher to guard than flat glass, particularly when it is bought a tempered glass layer on prime.
Google has additionally additional improved its software program replace promise because the Pixel 6 and now presents seven years of promised working system and safety updates for the Pixel 8 and Pixel 9 collection. Meaning if you wish to maintain on to your Pixel 9 even longer than you probably did along with your Pixel 6, you may nonetheless get the most recent model of Android up till Android 21.
The Pixel 6’s fingerprint scanner was at all times fairly terrible, and whereas Google improved it with software program updates, there is not any denying it is one of many worst in-display fingerprint scanners because the Galaxy S10. The Pixel 8 and Pixel 9 each provide considerably improved fingerprint scanners, however every does it with a distinct know-how.
For me, the Pixel 8 collection has the most effective in-display fingerprint scanners of any Pixel cellphone available on the market. It makes use of optical scanning know-how, which suggests the show will get tremendous vivid beneath your finger so an optical sensor can learn your print. The primary criticism with one of these scanner is, after all, that blindingly vivid gentle should you by accident faucet it in a darkish room, however I discover its accuracy is greater than well worth the trade-off. Most in-display fingerprint sensors use one of these know-how.
The Pixel 9 collection launched with an ultrasonic in-display fingerprint sensor, which many individuals want as a result of it does not use gentle in any respect to learn your fingerprint. As a substitute, an ultrasonic sensor makes use of high-frequency sound waves to learn your fingerprint. However it does not work so effectively for everybody, and other people like me discover them to be irritating to make use of as they repeatedly fail to learn my fingerprints. To date, solely a handful of firms have chosen ultrasonic together with Samsung’s Galaxy S24 collection.
Get Professional options in a smaller dimension with the Google Pixel 9 Professional, the primary fully-featured Pixel cellphone that is extra snug to make use of with one hand. Plus, with seven years of software program updates, you will not must improve for a really very long time.
Here is why it is best to wait to improve
It is not too onerous to discover a handful of causes to improve, however I believe it is value holding on to that Pixel 6 for yet one more 12 months for one large purpose: Google Tensor G5. Earlier than the Pixel 9 was launched, Android Central contributor Brady Snyder wrote about this very matter, because the Tensor G4 contained in the Pixel 9 was rumored to be a reasonably minimal improve over the Tensor G3 contained in the Pixel 8.
It turned out that not solely was he proper, however Tensor G4 truly downgrades efficiency in some classes. As I famous in my Pixel 9 Professional and Pixel 9 Professional XL evaluation, Tensor G4 is slower than the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 processor contained in the Galaxy S22. Contemplating that Samsung will seemingly launch the Galaxy S25 in simply 4 months, the Pixel 9 might be at a considerable drawback.
Some folks have famous that the Pixel 9’s day by day efficiency feels simply tremendous and that extra energy is not needed. Others say that the Tensor G4 is designed particularly to make the cellphone really feel as Google-like as potential, which suggests the processor is designed particularly with Pixel-exclusive options in thoughts.
Whereas I do not disagree with that, I do fear about how the Pixel 9 will really feel in just some years’ time. If it is already as sluggish as a cellphone from 2021, how will it really feel when it receives the Android 18 replace in 2027, not to mention the Android 21 replace a number of years after that?
I additionally need to query Google’s pricing construction this 12 months. It is uncommon that somebody can pay full value when upgrading to a brand new cellphone, whether or not that is as a result of they bought a nice Pixel 9 deal or they bought a whole bunch off by buying and selling of their new cellphone. However Google raised the costs of its Pixel 9 line by one other $100 this 12 months, which stacks on prime of the $100 value hike on 2023’s Pixel 8 collection.
Meaning you are now paying $200 extra for a cellphone that also performs at 2021 cellphone ranges, which is only some months after your Pixel 6 was launched. Day by day efficiency of the Tensor G4 over the Tensor G1 within the Pixel 6 is not a lot better both. Single core efficiency is simply 13% sooner, whereas multicore efficiency is simply 20% sooner.
I can not consider a single different processor that is solely seen a most of 20% efficiency enchancment over 4 generations—most processor upgrades obtain this metric every 12 months—and I believe that is probably the most embarassing half in regards to the Pixel 9’s value hike.
The Pixel 10 is meant to repair this downside with the launch of Tensor G5, a brand new Tensor redesigned from the bottom up and totally designed in-house by Google. Tensor G1 to G4 have all been co-developed with Samsung and undergo from the identical points that Samsung’s Exynos line of processors does.
On to the remainder of the cellphone, charging is quicker than ever, nevertheless it’s nonetheless nowhere close to the pace supplied by telephones just like the OnePlus 12, which totally fees in round half-hour from zero p.c. At finest, the Pixel 9 will do about half that in the identical time interval.
The Pixel 9 collection delivers the most effective battery life on any premium Pixel cellphone to this point, however that does not assist a lot on these events once you might need forgotten to cost earlier than heading out for the day.
The show can also be as harsh as ever, as Google continues to chase specs like max brightness and pinpoint coloration accuracy on the expense of eye well being. Anybody who’s PWM delicate, like me, will discover that the shows on the Pixel 9 collection are tremendous uncomfortable to make use of for a very long time. Should you’re already comfortably utilizing a Pixel, this in all probability will not have an effect on you, nevertheless it’s the principle purpose I not use a Pixel as my foremost machine.
Should you love the spherical edges and cozy curves of your Pixel 6, you might not like Google’s design for the Pixel 9. The aspect rails are utterly flat now, and paired with the flat back and front of the cellphone, they make the cellphone much less snug to carry.
My colleague Harish disagrees with me on this half, although, and the finest Pixel 9 circumstances could utterly resolve these points for you anyway. I do not assume this design will change a lot subsequent 12 months, however I can at the very least hope.
Should you’re planning on maintaining your subsequent Pixel for 3 years or extra, I would advocate ready till the Pixel 10 to improve. Android 15 will nonetheless really feel contemporary till June 2025, when the Pixel 6 receives its final scheduled Pixel Characteristic Drop, and by then, we’ll be totally within the thick of Pixel 10 leak and rumor season, the place you can make the most effective resolution about upgrading. Plus, by then, Pixel 9 costs needs to be at an all-time low.
The Pixel 10 is anticipated to launch with Android 16 until one thing occurs prefer it did this 12 months. The Pixel 9 marks the primary time that Google hasn’t launched a brand new Pixel alongside a brand new model of Android, including extra arrows within the quiver of disappointment for Google’s newest Pixels.
Should you desperately must improve now due to some type of {hardware} concern along with your Pixel 6, I would advocate getting the Pixel 8a as an alternative. Pixel 8a offers from firms like AT&T will get you the cellphone for below $6 a month, and you’ll at all times improve to the Pixel 10 when it comes out subsequent 12 months by utilizing the corporate’s trade-in promos.
The Pixel 8a is the most effective little Pixel the corporate has ever made. With two superb rear cameras, an upgraded selfie digital camera, and the identical Tensor G3 processor as its dearer cousins, the Pixel 8a is a winner and a half at a lowered value.