AH Awards: Best Small Smartphone of 2024: Google Pixel 9

The Google Pixel 9 is a phone with the ideal size for most people.

The definition of a ‘small phone’ has surely changed over the years. Smartphones with displays around 6 inches and thin bezels are considered to be small these days. Luckily, we’ve seen quite a few of them this year, and we’ve decided to award one from Google. The Google Pixel 9 is our pick for the best small smartphone in 2024. Google did a great job with its entire Pixel 9 lineup this year, but when it comes to compact smartphones, the Pixel 9 surely does stand out, for a number of reasons.

The Google Pixel 9 is the ideal size for being small enough, but not too small

The Google Pixel 9 features a 6.3-inch fullHD+ OLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate. The phone measures 152.8 x 72 x 8.5mm, while it weighs 198 grams. In addition to that, its bezels are rather thin, and uniform. All that is kind of important as we’re talking about compact phones here. This device, in our opinion, is ideal for people who don’t want a huge phone. Its display is more than big enough for everything you need to do on a phone, and yet compact enough to fit inside a phone that can be used with one hand… easily.

This handset is made out of metal and glass, and it is quite slippery, but the general build does help with the slippery effect a bit. The fact its frame is flat all around, but slightly rounded towards the edges helps with comfort. The sheer fact the sides and back are flat does help with grip, compared to phones that have a lot more curves. The pill-shaped camera island on the back does protrude a bit. It can also be used as a point to anchor your finger so that you can balance out the phone in the hand. It’s not an ideal placement for that, but it does help at times.

Very capable cameras are included here, along with the latest Android software

Another reason why we chose the Pixel 9 for this category is its price too, of course. It is not as expensive as many phones in the same category, and yet it offers flagship-grade features. There are two very capable cameras placed on the back of the Pixel 9, main and ultrawide ones. Google also included a ton of AI features here, many of which are camera-related. The Pixel 9 does have the same main and ultrawide cameras as its ‘Pro’ sibling, which is always good to see. The periscope telephoto camera is not a part of the package here, though, which is understandable. The front-facing camera is amongst the best in the business in terms of performance.

Android 14 does come pre-installed on the Pixel 9. The moment you power it on, however, Android 15 will be pushed to the device. So, you’re getting the latest and greatest software from Google too. We had plenty more to say about the Google Pixel 9 in our full review, if you’re considering getting the device.