Why You Can Trust CNET Pixel 9 Pro Cameras: Better Selfies, New AI and More
The Google Pixel 9 Pro and 9 Pro XL's cameras are surprising, but not in the way you'd expect.
- Shortlisted for British Photography Awards 2022, Commended in Landscape Photographer of the Year 2022
The Pixel 9 Pro and 9 Pro XL.
Google's Pixel 9 Pro and 9 Pro XL are here, packing a variety of upgrades including a refreshed design and a new Tensor G4 processor -- not to mention a whole new size option. But Pixel phones have always impressed us with their camera skills, so what's new in these phones for photography lovers? Let's dive in.
On paper, the cameras don't appear to have seen much attention since last year's Pixel 8 Pro. Both the old and new models have 50-megapixel main cameras, alongside 48-megapixel ultrawide cameras and 48-megapixel telephoto cameras. The 5x optical zoom is the same, as is the aperture of the main camera and the physical size of the main image sensor.
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So, not a lot has changed from a hardware perspective, which is disappointing. Companies like Xiaomi have wowed us this year with phones like the Xiaomi 14 Ultra, which packs a much larger 1-inch type image sensor, making it capable of taking some of the best images I have ever seen on a phone. Still, we won't know exactly how the 9 Pro's cameras compare to the 8 Pro's until we're able to put them side by side.
The camera hardware hasn't really changed much over the Pixel 8 Pro.
The bigger updates to the cameras are on the software side, and it won't (or, perhaps, shouldn't) surprise you to know that Google is talking a lot about AI in its image production. There are a variety of new photography-focused AI tools, including the new "Add Me" function, which lets you combine multiple images into one so the photographer can appear in group pictures.
Then there's the use of generative AI to expand the canvas of your images, giving more scope for reframing and cropping to create more artistically-pleasing images. Using generative AI, you'll also be able to use Magic Editor to tap on an area of an image and type what you'd like to see -- a snowman, for example -- and that prompt will be brought to life in the image.
While these tools won't appeal much to pro shooters simply looking for the best image quality, they definitely sound like fun ways to play around with your imagery, and I'm looking forward to seeing how they work.
Video tops out at 4K at 60 frames per second, but Google's Video Boost tool can upscale the video to 8K resolution. The company also claims it's made further enhancements to low-light video shooting.
The front-facing camera on the Pixel 9 Pro has been bumped up to 45 megapixels.
The front-facing camera has seen a significant upgrade, going from 10.5 megapixels to a whopping 45 megapixels. Couple that with the wider-angle lens, and you should be able to fit more of your grinning mates in each shot, safe in the knowledge that every bit of your embarrassing face pulling will be captured in pristine detail.
While it's disappointing not to see any major hardware upgrades for this year's cameras, I'm looking forward to seeing how they perform out in the real world. Hopefully the fun new AI features, which include Add Me and the reframing tool, will help make up for the apparent lack of hardware innovations.