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2024 has been quite an interesting year for smartphones, especially for brands in the Android segment – Samsung has continued to impress with the Galaxy S24 series, and Google’s new Pixel 9 phones pack some much-needed upgrades. As such, buyers looking for a worthwhile Android flagship might be considering one of these two devices, which undeniably come with the best that Android has to offer.
Now, you might be one of these buyers – if you’re not too familiar with the Galaxy S24 or Pixel 9, then we’ve highlighted some of the best bits of each smartphone and how it compares to the other. Let’s see how they fare in this quick little 1v1!
Display and Design
Both the Galaxy S24 and Pixel 9 come with “minimalist” designs – this means no massive circular camera bumps, no curved displays, and no pleather backs. Instead both phones come with Gorilla Glass Victus 2 on both sides, surrounded by aluminum sides and IP68 water and dust resistance. One big difference however is the camera design, with Samsung opting for a trio of lenses on the back, in contrast to a single window on the Pixel 9.
There are minor differences with display quality – the S24 comes with a 6.2-inch LTPO OLED screen, with a 120Hz refresh rate and a peak brightness of up to 2,600 nits. It’s a great-looking display, although the Pixel 9 manages to slightly outshine it with its larger 6.3-inch display, which also comes with a higher 2,700 nits of peak brightness. With that said though, both phones are rather close in terms of screen specifications.
Performance and Software
Performance is where Samsung gets an advantage. Yes, both phones will be relatively smooth for daily usage, but the S24 has an ace up its sleeve with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip inside, which is an added advantage for people who want to use their phone for regular gaming. Sure, the Pixel 9 comes with 12GB of RAM versus the S24’s 8GB, but in overall performance the 8 Gen 4 easily beats the Tensor G4 inside the Pixel.
For software though, Google offers a cleaner and more streamlined approach thanks to the “Pixel experience” on the Pixel 9. There’s no additional bloatware or third-party apps except the Google essentials like Gmail, the Play Store and whatnot, and you get a ton of handy software features like Call Screening, Spam Message filters, and more.
…the S24’s One UI skin offers users a bit more customization options compared to Google’s more modest approach
Meanwhile, Samsung doesn’t shy away from adding its own software to Android – the S24’s One UI skin offers users a bit more customization options compared to Google’s more modest approach, although you do get several duplicate apps such as ones for email, a music player, a gallery, and so on. As with most items in this comparison, a lot of it will boil down to user preference.
Camera Differences
As for camera hardware, the Galaxy S24 has an advantage as it packs an extra 10MP telephoto camera in addition to its main and ultrawide cameras – that’s one more camera than the Pixel 9 (you’ll have to get a Pro model for the telephoto), making it a potentially more versatile phone for mobile photography enthusiasts.
READ: Google Pixel 9 vs iPhone 15: A Clear Winner!
What the S24 doesn’t have though is Google’s excellent computational photography, which works best for point-and-shoot scenarios. For folks who don’t want to tinker with specific settings on their phone’s camera, the Pixel is a perfect choice, as long as you don’t need an extra zoom lens.
Biometrics and Battery
Two other areas where the Pixel 9 has an advantage is with biometrics and battery capacity. Both phones come with fast and accurate fingerprint sensors as well as face unlock, but only the Pixel 9 comes with “Class 3” face unlock, meaning that you can use face unlock for secure financial transactions and banking apps.
For battery, the Pixel 9 also comes with a larger 4,700 mAh battery versus the 4,000 capacity cell inside the Galaxy S24. The Pixel 9 also features a slightly-faster 27W charging speed versus 25W on the S24. Of course, factors such as the 8 Gen 3’s power efficiency as well as individual usage patterns will need to be taken into consideration as well.
Final Thoughts
Priced at $799, both the Pixel 9 and Galaxy S24 are terrific Android phones, and it all boils down to a matter of what you need and prefer from a smartphone. The Pixel 9 has a cleaner software experience, powerful software-based photography, as well as some advantages when it comes to display hardware.
On the other hand, the Galaxy S24 has a more powerful chipset which is ideal for power users and gamers, better UI customization options, as well as the added advantage of a telephoto lens for photography. In any case you can’t go wrong, and at the end of the day it is ultimately you (and your wallet) who will make the decision.
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