CNET’s key takeaways
Android phones often get a bad rap for being overly convoluted. And to be fair, that’s often well justified. Samsung’s Galaxy S25 range, for example, has deep menu systems for messing about with nearly every aspect of the phone, along with features such as the Edge Panel sidebar and a variety of Samsung’s own AI tools. You even get Samsung’s version of some apps, so you end up with two apps for photos, two apps for web browsing and so on.
For many Android users, the deep customizability of the OS has always been a selling point over the more simplistic iOS found on Apple’s iPhones. But just because you want an Android phone, doesn’t necessarily mean you’re a fanatical tech nerd who wants to tinker with menus all day.
The Pixel 9 Pro is the easiest Android phone I’ve ever used, and there’s a number of key reasons why.
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My experience with the Pixel 9 Pro
First, it’s Google’s own phone, meaning there’s no secondary manufacturer software skin over the top of the operating system. It’s pure, uncut Android. Google’s interface is clean, easy to read and uncluttered. Naturally, it uses Google’s own apps by default. Samsung, meanwhile, loads its phones up with its own browser, email client and photo gallery, all of which sit beside Google’s Chrome, Gmail and Photos apps, meaning you already have duplicates of each tool.
Samsung is not the only phone-maker to do this. Almost all Android phone companies load their phones up with at least their own browser and gallery app, while some companies, like Samsung and Honor, go as far as making their own email clients and calendars.
I recently reviewed the Honor 400 Pro, and one of the big issues I found with that phone was how much unsolicited stuff comes pre-loaded as standard. Third-party apps from TikTok, LinkedIn, WPS office, Temu and a variety of others are all right there as soon as you turn it on for the first time, making the phone feel cluttered, bloated and complicated before you’ve even had a chance to install one app of your own. The Pixel has none of this.
It’s the same with AI tools. Samsung has its Bixby assistant, plus a huge variety of its own AI functions. The Honor 400 Pro packs a bunch of AI features for real-time translation and transcription, as do the OnePlus 13 and various other recent Android phones. But they all come with Google’s Gemini Advanced, too, along with Circle to Search. The Pixel doesn’t need to pointlessly double up. If you want to use AI with your phone, its tools are baked into the heart of the phone experience without you needing to also activate and sign into a third-party service.
This simple approach extends to the camera, too. Open the default camera app and you’re met with a neat interface, comprised mostly of the shutter button and zoom levels, with other shooting modes found alongside. It doesn’t try to overcomplicate things here, instead letting you quickly shoot images without messing about with settings.
It’s an approach that works here, and as a result, the Pixel 9 Pro takes some of my favorite automatic images from a phone camera, doing a great job of balancing exposure and colors. I love the Xiaomi 15 Ultra’s camera, but to get the best from it, you need to shoot in Pro mode, taking manual control of the settings, which makes it more suited to advanced photographers who want to fine-tune their images.
The camera’s simple software makes it easy to take photos with little effort on your part.
The Pixel does offer deeper control if you want it, conveniently hidden behind a small settings icon, rather than requiring you to switch completely into a “Pro” mode. For those of you wanting to take manual control of your white balance to warm up a beautiful sunset, the Pixel 9 Pro offers an easy way in.
The specs
- 6.3-inch LTPO OLED display, 2,856×1,280 pixel resolution, 1-120Hz adaptive refresh rate
- Google Tensor G4 processor
- 16GB RAM
- 4,700-mAh battery
- 50 megapixel main camera, 48 megapixel ultrawide, 48 megapixel telephoto zoom
CNET’s buying advice
Google has clearly taken notes from Apple’s approach in making the Pixel range. Apple’s phones may be derided by Android fans for their lack of customization and “locked down” nature, but iPhones are famously more simple to operate. They have integrated hardware, software and services that make them easy to understand whether you’re new to smartphones or a veteran gadget obsessive.
Apple’s “you do things our way” approach is a big part of the phone’s success, and the Pixel 9 Pro feels like the closest approximation of the Apple experience you can find on Android. If you’re looking for a clean experience with a smartphone that doesn’t try and get in your way with needless extras, the Pixel 9 Pro is certainly worth a look, especially with it currently being $200 off.
Watch this: Google Pixel 9, 9 Pro and 9 Pro XL Hands-On
