What Google Did to the ’s Camera Is Unforgivable
I’ve spent nearly two months with the Pixel 10 Pro XL, and its camera regularly surprises me — but not in the ways I anticipated. It’s good. Really good. That’s what makes confronting the Pixel 9’s failures all the more painful.
The promise and the betrayal
For years, Google’s Pixel line has been synonymous with stellar photography. You expect vibrant colors, realistic tones, and faithfully reproduced scenes. Yet in my time with the Pixel 9 Pro XL last year, I repeatedly witnessed shots that felt lifeless — harsh blues, muted reds, washed-out warmth. Scenes that were alive in real life turned sterile under the phone’s “magic.”
When comparing the Pixel 9’s output with the Pixel 10’s, the differences become stark. What should be warm, golden light becomes harsh and cold. What should capture depth and nuance turns flat. The Pixel 9 seems to force a single white balance across all images, erasing subtle tones in the process.
The proof is in the photos
Consider this: in a museum I snapped the same scene with both phones. The Pixel 10 reproduced vibrant purples, oranges, and natural skin tones. The Pixel 9—already active in the same lighting—rendered the entire shot into a cold, monotone blue. The lighting didn’t change between exposures, yet the result did.
I repeated the test multiple times. Each try ended the same way. The moment the Pixel 9’s camera app analyzed the scene, it progressively drowned out warmer colors. By the time the processing finished, the image was stripped of nuance. No amount of editing later could restore what was lost.
Other comparisons tell the same story: a red Coke can looks dull, a green façade turns blue, a concert crowd’s vivid lights vanish. Across diverse scenes, one pattern remains: the Pixel 9’s post-processing undermines its potential.
Why this matters — and what’s next
Yes, in bright daylight the Pixel 9 can take decent shots. But it falters badly in moody, warm, or color-rich environments. Greens, reds, purples — all struggle. The phone does well at blue and white tones, but that’s hardly a safe bet for real-world scenes.
What’s worse: many Pixel 9 users may never recognize the problem. Their cherished photos might already be damaged at the pixel level, saved forever in a muted state. Even worse — they may never get to see what the scenes actually looked like.
So far, Google has offered no effective fix. Users await a software update that salvages color retention, but there’s no guarantee it can resurrect what’s already been lost. In the meantime, those who stuck with the Pixel 9 may feel their camera was betrayed.
If you like, I can also write a shorter “5 key takeaways” or a social media version of this. Want me to create that or fine-tune for your audience?
