Google emphasized the importance of its AI assistant, Gemini, in its presentation to reviewers and the public. According to the company, Gemini is the differentiating factor that sets Pixel phones apart from other Android phones. Interestingly, during Google's keynote presentation, details about the Pixel hardware are only mentioned after approximately 24 minutes and after enduring a couple of live AI demo failures. For the past week, I have been using the Pixel 9 Pro as my daily phone. With the exception of its physical design, almost every aspect of the Pixel 9 is connected to Gemini in some way. This review will focus on how Gemini performs on the Pixel 9, which currently serves as Google's flagship platform for Gemini. While it is uncertain whether some of the Pixel 9's AI-powered features will make their way to other Android-powered phones in future releases, AI, in the form of a free trial, a custom Google-designed chip, and OS integration, is the tool Google is utilizing to differentiate Pixels from the rest. I have also written a separate review of the three main Pixel 9 devices. However, considering the Pixel 9 solely as a hardware product is peculiar. In brief, the phones themselves represent significant advancements in the Pixel series and are arguably the best versions Google has produced thus far, with corresponding price tags. If you are a Pixel enthusiast, enthusiastic about upgrading, and have no specific interest in Gemini or AI features in general, this may suffice as all you need to know. However, if you opt for a Pixel 9 Pro, Pro XL, or Pro Fold (coming soon), starting at $1, 000 for the Pro, you will receive a free year of Gemini Advanced ($240 per year thereafter) and notice the constant presence of Gemini in every Google-related corner of the device.

Let's delve into Gemini's role as a phone assistant for tasks, an image editor, and a screenshot librarian. Throughout my week with the Pixel 9 Pro, I used Gemini as much as seemed reasonable. I must inform you that I am new to general-purpose AI chatbots and prompt-based image generation, and I have never used an "advanced" model like Gemini Live before. Those more experienced or with pre-existing enthusiasm may derive greater benefits from Google's Gemini tools than I did. Discussions regarding Google's approach to on-device AI and its energy impact will be explored in other articles. Gemini in general: Like having a very efficient blogger working for you During my time testing the Pixel 9 Pro, I had access to the most advanced versions of Gemini, including the "Advanced" model itself (a free one-year trial provided to every Pixel 9 purchaser) and its advanced speech dialogue, "Gemini Live. " Has it been beneficial? To put it simply, it felt as though I had hired a blogger available to me at all times, working diligently, quickly, and with minimal complaints at the press of a button. This blogger is competent but not particularly stylish in their writing. They can swiftly search for information and piece together facts and advice. However, they can also get easily distracted and are not necessarily someone you would blindly trust with important decisions without conducting further research, perhaps into the very sources they reference. I speak from experience, having been a fast-writing, six-posts-a-day blogger during my time at Lifehacker. In my mid-to-late 20s, during the late 2000s, I certainly did not possess all the knowledge and expertise required to confidently write about every topic under the wide umbrella of "technology, " "productivity, " and "little things that can enhance your life with some thought. " Nonetheless, I was adept at searching, reading, and summarizing information from various sites and blogs, providing reasonable suggestions. Depending on one's perspective, I was either an agile writer with broad subject knowledge, a skilled improviser, or some combination thereof.