Google Pixel 9 vs Pixel 6

73 out of 100
Google Pixel 9
VS
60 out of 100
Google Pixel 6

Here we compared two flagship smartphones: the 6.3-inch Google Pixel 9 (with Google Tensor G4) that was released on August 13, 2024, against the Google Pixel 6, which is powered by Google Tensor and came out 2 years and 11 months before. On this page, you will find tests, full specs, strengths, and weaknesses of each of the devices.

Select the amount of RAM to evaluate performance and value for money more precisely
Memory

Key differences

An overview of the main advantages of each smartphone
Reasons to consider the Google Pixel 9
  • Delivers 164% higher peak brightness (2220 against 841 nits)
  • 58% better performance in AnTuTu Benchmark (1561K versus 990K)
  • Better camera quality (According to DxOMark rating)
  • Shows 19% longer battery life (22:26 vs 18:55 hours)
  • Higher display refresh rate – 120 Hz
  • Has 50% more RAM: 12GB versus 8GB
  • Newer Bluetooth version (v5.3)
  • Compatible with Wi-Fi 7 wireless networks
  • The phone is 2 years and 11 months newer
  • The front-facing camera can record video at 4K

Review

Evaluation of Google Pixel 9 and Pixel 6 crucial features
Display
Screen quality, color accuracy, brightness
Camera
Photo and video recording quality
Performance
CPU and memory performance (apps, system)
Gaming
Capabilities for playing modern games
Battery
Battery life, charging type and speed
Connectivity
Networks, ports, data transmission
DeviceFacts Score
Final comparison evaluation
Select your primary usage scenario to get a more accurate DeviceFacts Score
📱 Primary usage:

Value for money (Beta)

Should I update?
No 79% Yes
Yes, we think most users will notice the upgrade.
Updating from Google Pixel 6 to Google Pixel 9 makes sense and should feel noticeably better in daily use.
Main improvements: display, performance, and camera.

Tests and specifications

Comparison table of technical specifications and tests
Phone:
vs

Display

Type OLED OLED
Size 6.3 inches 6.4 inches
Resolution 1080 x 2424 pixels 1080 x 2400 pixels
Aspect ratio 20:9 20:9
PPI 422 ppi 411 ppi
Refresh rate 120 Hz 90 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate Yes (60-120 Hz) No
Max rated brightness 2700 nits 500 nits
Max rated brightness in HDR 1800 nits 800 nits
HDR support Yes, HDR10+ Yes, HDR10+
Screen protection Gorilla Glass Victus 2 Gorilla Glass Victus
Screen-to-body ratio 87.1% 83.3%
Display features - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display
- DCI-P3
- Always-On Display
Display tests
RGB color space 99% 99.8%
PWM 120 Hz 397 Hz
Response time 1 ms 5 ms
Contrast ∞ Infinity ∞ Infinity
Peak brightness test (auto)
Pixel 9 +164%
2220 nits
841 nits
Sources: NotebookCheck [3], [4]

Design and build

Height 152.8 mm (6.02 inches) 158.6 mm (6.24 inches)
Width 72 mm (2.83 inches) 74.8 mm (2.94 inches)
Thickness 8.5 mm (0.33 inches) 8.9 mm (0.35 inches)
Weight 198 g (6.98 oz) 207 g (7.3 oz)
Waterproof IP68 IP68
Rear material Glass Glass
Frame material Metal Metal
Colors White, Black, Green, Pink Black, Blue, Yellow
Fingerprint scanner Yes, in-display Yes, in-display
Repairability Good (3.5/5) -
Drop resistance Excellent (A) · 270 drops -
Screen-to-body ratio
Pixel 9 +5%
87.1%
83.3%

Performance

Chipset specifications of Google Pixel 9 and Google Pixel 6
SoC
Chipset Google Tensor G4 Google Tensor
Max clock 3100 MHz 2800 MHz
CPU cores 8 (1 + 3 + 4) 8 (2 + 2 + 4)
Architecture - 4 cores at 1.92 GHz: Cortex-A520
- 3 cores at 2.6 GHz: Cortex-A720
- 1 core at 3.1 GHz: Cortex-X4
- 4 cores at 1.8 GHz: Cortex A55
- 2 cores at 2.25 GHz: Cortex A76
- 2 cores at 2.8 GHz: Cortex-X1
L3 cache - 4 MB
Manufacturing Samsung Samsung
Lithography process 4 nanometers 5 nanometers
Neural processor (NPU) Yes Tensor Processing Unit
GPU
Graphics Mali-G715 MC7 Mali-G78 MP20
GPU shading units 896 640
GPU clock 940 MHz 850 MHz
FLOPS ~1684.4 GFLOPS ~1085.4 GFLOPS

Benchmarks

Benchmark comparison of Google Pixel 9 and Google Pixel 6
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Pixel 9 +19%
1707
1438
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Pixel 9 +31%
4431
3372
Compute Score (GPU)
Pixel 9 +3%
7536
7318
Compute Score (GPU) 7536 7318
Single-core score 1707 1438
Multi-core score 4431 3372
Sources: Geekbench [3], [4]
AnTuTu Benchmark 11
Pixel 9 +58%
1561427
990213
CPU 576617 381525
GPU 410060 162416
Memory 210177 178605
UX 364573 267677
Total score 1561427 990213
Samples [4 tests] [11 tests]
3DMark Steel Nomad Light
Pixel 9 +49%
1047
704
Stability 74% 63%
Graphics test 8 FPS 5 FPS
Graphics score 1047 704
3DMark Wild Life Extreme
n/a
1907
Stability - 60%
Graphics test - 11 FPS
Graphics score - 1907
Sources: 3DMark [5], [6]
PCMark 3.0
Pixel 9 +24%
12789
10273
Web score 10043 7877
Video editing 7463 6652
Photo editing 21077 18508
Data manipulation 13349 10427
Writing score 15810 13858

Recent User Tests

The latest benchmark tests that have been submitted by users
Google Pixel 9
DateBenchmarkResult
📘 2026-09-18 -> Oleg 16 cmAnTuTu 111423579
📘 2026-06-13 (Plotwa)CPU Throttle82%
📘 2026-04-14 (LymXT)AnTuTu 111577137
📘 2025-12-09 (enigma)AnTuTu 111519937
📘 2025-11-28 (W1TRAY)AnTuTu 111561427
Google Pixel 6
DateBenchmarkResult
📘 2026-09-13 (Vladi♂️Slave♂️)AnTuTu 121281085
📘 2026-08-17 -> Paranoid _AntostAnTuTu 11930801
📘 2026-04-05 (Ethan Winters)AnTuTu 11927237
📘 2026-02-25 (Adora)AnTuTu 11933576
📘 2026-01-29 (Stormchasing)AnTuTu 11990213

Memory

RAM
RAM size 12 GB 8 GB
Memory type LPDDR5X LPDDR5
Memory clock 4200 MHz 3200 MHz
Channels 4 4
Storage
Storage size 128 GB 128 GB
Storage type UFS 3.1 UFS 3.1
Memory card No No

Software

Operating system Android 14 (Can be upgraded to Android 17) Android 12 (Can be upgraded to Android 17)
ROM Stock Android Stock Android
OS size 19 GB 17.6 GB
OS updates 7 years -
Security updates 7 years -

Battery

Capacity 4700 mAh 4614 mAh
Max charge power 27 W 30 W
Battery type Li-Ion Li-Ion
Replaceable No No
Wireless charging Yes (12 W) Yes (21 W)
Reverse charging Yes, (wireless) Yes, (wireless)
Bypass charging No -
Fast charging Yes (55% in 30 min) Yes (41% in 30 min)
Full charging time 1:25 hr 1:53 hr
Battery cycles 1000 cycles -
Battery life tests
Web browsing 10:01 hr 07:07 hr
Watching video 13:38 hr 13:13 hr
Gaming 05:41 hr 05:02 hr
Standby 98 hr 85 hr
General battery life
Pixel 9 +19%
22:26 hr
18:55 hr

Main camera

Matrix 50 megapixels 50 megapixels
Image resolution 8160 x 6144 8192 x 6144
Zoom Digital Digital
Flash LED Dual LED
Stabilization Optical Optical
8K video recording No No
4K video recording Up to 60FPS Up to 60FPS
1080p video recording Up to 60FPS Up to 60FPS
Slow motion 240 FPS (1080p) 240 FPS (1080p)
Angle of widest lens 123° 114°
Lenses 1) Standard: 50 MP
2) Ultrawide: 48 MP
1) Standard: 50 MP
2) Ultrawide: 12 MP
Camera features - Bokeh mode
- Pro mode
- RAW support
- Bokeh mode
- Pro mode
- RAW support
Standard lens
Image resolution 50 MP 50 MP
Aperture f/1.7 f/1.9
Focal length 24 mm 25 mm
Sensor Samsung GNK Samsung GN1
Sensor size 1/1.31" (≈ 0.76 inch) 1/1.31" (≈ 0.76 inch)
Pixel size 1.2 micron 1.2 micron
Autofocus Laser autofocus Laser autofocus
Stabilization Optical Optical
Ultra-wide lens
Image resolution 48 MP 12 MP
Aperture f/1.7 f/2.2
Focal length - 17 mm
Sensor - Sony IMX386 Exmor RS
Sensor size 1/2.55" (≈ 0.39 inch) 1/2.9" (≈ 0.34 inch)
Pixel size - 1.12 micron
Stabilization Digital Digital

DxOMark main camera tests

Photo quality
Pixel 9 +18%
161
136
Video quality
Pixel 9 +13%
150
133
Generic main camera score
Pixel 9 +22%
154
126
Bokeh 75 65
Preview 83 65
Zoom 132 79
Samples Photo samples of Google Pixel 9 from DxOMark Photo samples of Google Pixel 6 from DxOMark

Selfie camera

Megapixels 10.5 megapixels 8 megapixels
Image resolution 3648 x 2736 3840 x 2160
Aperture f/2.2 f/2.0
Focal length 20 mm 24 mm
Sensor CMOS CMOS
Sensor size 1/3.1" (≈ 0.32 inch) -
Pixel size 1.22 micron 1.12 micron
Autofocus Phase autofocus No
Stabilization Digital Digital
Video resolution 2160p (4K) at 60 FPS 1080p (Full HD) at 30 FPS
Depth sensor (TOF 3D) No No
DxOMark front camera
n/a
129
Photo - 130
Video - 127

Connectivity

Wi-Fi standard Wi-Fi 7 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax/be) Wi-Fi 6E (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax)
Wi-Fi features - Dual Band
- Wi-Fi MiMO
- Wi-Fi Direct
- Wi-Fi Hotspot
- Wi-Fi Display
- Dual Band
- Wi-Fi MiMO
- Wi-Fi Direct
- Wi-Fi Hotspot
- Wi-Fi Display
Bluetooth version 5.3 5.2
Bluetooth features LE LE, A2DP
USB type USB Type-C USB Type-C
USB version 3.2 3.1
USB features - Charging
- USB-Storage mode
- OTG
- Charging
- USB-Storage mode
- OTG
DisplayPort Yes -
GPS GPS, GLONASS, Galileo GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo, QZSS
NFC* Yes Yes
Infrared port No No
Network
Number of SIM* 1 1
Type of SIM card Nano Nano
eSIM support* Yes Yes
Hybrid slot No No
LTE Cat* - 20
5G support Yes Yes

Sound

Speakers Stereo Stereo
Headphone audio jack No No
FM radio No No
Dolby Atmos No No
Speakers test
Max loudness
Pixel 9 +2%
87.7 dB
86.3 dB

Other

Category Flagship Flagship
Announced August 2024 October 2021
Release date August 2024 October 2021
Launch price (MSRP) $799 $600
Successor - Google Pixel 10 - Google Pixel 10
SAR (head) 0.99 W/kg -
SAR (body) 1.4 W/kg -
Sensors - Barometer
- Proximity sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient light sensor
- Compass
- Fingerprint
- Barometer
- Proximity sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient light sensor
- Compass
- Fingerprint
Bundled charger Not included Not included
*Disclaimer! NFC, GSM network support, and some other specs can be different depending on the country.

Conclusion

After analyzing all the data, we think that the Google Pixel 9 is definitely a better buy.

Cast your vote

So, which phone would you choose?
39 (54.2%)
33 (45.8%)
Total votes: 72

User opinions

You can share your opinion or ask a question in the comments below
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Avatar
User November 10, 2024 at 12:40 AM
Pixel 6 is already upgraded to android 15.
0 Reply
Serhii November 11, 2024 at 09:09 AM
Thank you, it useful.
0 Reply
Avatar
User August 25, 2024 at 12:34 PM
The Pixel 6 doesn't support Dolby Atmos.
0 Reply