Google has launched the Google Pixel 9 series and it’s a pretty impressive lineup. The base Pixel 9 received a major upgrade with a 48MP ultra-wide lens and 12GB of RAM. The Pro models now come in two sizes, so anyone who wants a smaller Pro phone can finally have it without compromising on features. The Pro phones also come with a mighty 16GB of RAM and a powerful triple-lens camera.
Even if you want to start using your new phone right away, there are a few things you should do first. Here are a few suggestions to help you get the most out of your Pixel 9, Pixel 9 Pro, or Pixel 9 Pro XL.
Customize the look of your Pixel 9
I don’t know about everyone else, but when I get a new phone, the first thing I do is change the look of the home and lock screen. Android lets you take this customization even further by changing the clock, colors, and more.
Since Google uses a stock Android experience on the Pixel with the Material You theme, it’s a lot of fun to customize it to your liking. With Android 14, there were some new lock screen clock styles to try out, AI-generated wallpapers that can give you a unique image, themed icons to match the overall color scheme you choose, changes to the lock screen shortcuts, app grid layout, and more. You can also browse the collection of stock wallpapers (some of them look pretty cool) or even use your own photos.
To change the look of your Pixel 9, go to Settings > Wallpaper and style and have fun.
Redeem your free year of Gemini Advanced
AI played a big role in the Pixel 9 event and Google is fully committed to Gemini with the Pixel 9 series, as the entire lineup can use Google’s Gemini Advanced and Gemini Live features. Google even gives eligible customers one year of free access to Gemini Advanced.
However, Google has been a bit clever about who exactly is eligible for this free year of Gemini Advanced offer. Unfortunately, it’s only available to those who purchase a Pixel 9 Pro, Pixel 9 Pro XL, or Pixel 9 Pro Fold. Those who purchase a base model of the Pixel 9 will only be able to try Gemini Advanced for a month, not a full year.
After the trial period, the new Google One AI Premium plan, which includes Gemini Advanced, costs $20 per month. Other benefits of this plan include 2TB of cloud storage that can be shared with up to five people, unlimited use of Magic Editor and Google Photo editing, and more features for Google Meet and Google Calendar. Gemini Advanced also offers tools for Google services like Gmail, Docs, and more.
So if you have a Google Pixel 9 Pro device and want to redeem your free year of Gemini Advanced, open the Gemini app, select your profile picture/icon, choose to upgrade to Gemini Advanced, select Start trial versionand follow the on-screen instructions.
However, the offer for a free year of Gemini Advanced is no longer valid as it expires on October 31st.
Check out the new Pixel Weather app
Google has finally added a true standalone weather app to the Pixel 9 series, aptly called Pixel Weather. This new app is powered by AI and uses Gemini Nano to provide users with a custom-generated weather report.
Not only does Pixel Weather look amazing with its dynamic design and beautiful backgrounds, it’s also customizable. Below the forecast tiles are smaller tiles for metrics like precipitation, wind, UV index, and more. These smaller tiles can be dragged and dropped, allowing you to place the tiles that are more important to you higher up for better visibility.
It’s surprising that it took this long for Pixel phones to have a real weather app, but the long wait was worth it.
Get the most out of your display
The entire Pixel 9 lineup features OLED displays with a 120Hz refresh rate. But depending on which Pixel 9 you have, Google may have disabled this by default to save battery life.
If you prefer buttery smooth scrolling and animations when using your phone, you should turn on the 120Hz refresh rate automatically, even if it means a small drain on the battery. To do so, go to Settings > Display and make sure that Smooth display is switched on.
For Pixel 9 Pro users, there is one more setting you should enable. By default, the resolution for the Pixel 9 Pro is set to High Resolution, which is 960 x 2142. If you want the full 1280 x 2856 resolution, you will need to enable another switch. Go to Settings > Display > Screen resolution and select full resolution. However, this will use more battery and some apps may need to be restarted when you change the resolution.
Turn on Palm Timer for easier selfies
Selfies are a great way to capture special memories, especially now that the Pixel 9 Pro devices have an impressive 42MP selfie camera. But depending on the situation, tapping the record button without messing up the shot can be a pain.
Luckily, Google has a Palm Timer feature that you can enable. With Palm Timer, all you have to do is hold a palm in the viewfinder and once the camera detects it, a three-second countdown will begin to take the selfie. This works best in good lighting, so it can sometimes be tricky to get it to work when the environment is dark. But it’s still a useful feature that makes taking those selfies a lot easier.
To make sure Palm Timer is enabled, open the Camera app, tap the Settings icon Tap on the bottom left Additional settingsand check that the switch next to Palm timer is switched on.
Enable 50MP resolution on Pixel 9 Pro
If you own the Pixel 9 Pro or Pixel 9 Pro XL, you get additional “Pro” settings for your photos.
By default, the resolution for photos is set to 12MP, although the main lens is 50MP. This is achieved through pixel binning, meaning four smaller nanopixels make up a single pixel. However, if you want the highest resolution and level of detail, you can change this resolution to 50MP, although this will also result in larger files.
To do this, open the camera app on your Pixel 9 Pro, select the Photo settings In the bottom left corner, go to Pro Settingsand select 50MP resolutionYou can also choose between RAW or JPEG format and select the lens automatically or manually.
