I would kick myself for buying any other phone while the Pixel 9 Pro is at its lowest price ever

The Pixel 9 Pro is a masterpiece in my opinion, but don’t just take my word for it — you can tell even Google itself thinks it’s peak design, judging by how all the Pixel 10 leaks look practically identical to the current-generation model. Now, an incredible deal has brought Google’s magnum opus down to its lowest Amazon price ever, making it the phone to buy this Prime Day, if you ask me.

I’ve owned my Pixel 9 Pro since launch day, and I feel like it’s been worth every penny even though I paid an extra $250 on top of what you could buy it for today. The camera system simply can’t be beat if you’re in the market for an Android phone, and all of Google’s AI tools come together to make a genuinely helpful software experience. It’s one phone where the whole is truly greater than the sum of its parts.

Why I think the Pixel 9 Pro is the phone to buy this Prime Day

The software experience on a Pixel is as good as it gets on Android. Samsung’s One UI definitely has more bells and whistles, but Google’s flavor of Android is less duplicative and feels like it has more focus. Google has absolutely nailed the AI aspects — and it’s not just the cutting-edge Gemini features, it’s the culmination of years of helpful machine learning additions like the Call Assist suite, transcription tools, and so many more.

Speaking of Gemini, the Pixel 9 Pro comes with a full year of Google’s AI Pro plan, free of charge. This means you’ll get to try the viral Veo 3 video generator and Flow filmmaking tool, unlock more access to Gemini’s best models, and have 2TB of cloud storage to save files in Google Photos, Drive, and Gmail.

If you’re a parent, the Pixel 9 Pro is hard to beat. Google’s camera system is second to none when it comes to quickly capturing moments, and the 9 Pro’s telephoto lens lets you snap sharp pics of your little one from across the playground. And some call it a gimmick, but the built-in thermometer gets a ton of usage around my house since one of us spends about eight hours a day in the local germ factory elementary school.

The only drawback I can think of is battery life, but only in comparison to the Pixel 9 Pro XL. I get about the same screen-on time on a single charge as I did on the larger Pixel 8 Pro, but I know if I had gotten the 9 Pro XL, it would be even better. Still, battery life is excellent for a compact flagship, and the extra pocketability has been more than worth any tradeoffs.