Pixel 4 vs Note 9 : Is the new Pixel really an upgrade?

October 23, 2019155

Many smartphone industries have risen in the past decade with constant improvements every year making the smartphone business extremely competitive. The leading companies like Samsung, Apple, Huawei, Oneplus and Xiaomi are battling for the flagship smartphone every year. Today’s article features, Pixel 4 vs Note 9.

Back to our main question, is it really an upgrade?

As a short answer, yes, but the long answer is a no. No, because it is not a significant enough upgrade. Check why we think this below.

With constant upgrade, it is difficult for your average consumers to choose which smartphone is best for you. Many Questions may arise like, Is it worth it to upgrade? Is it safe? Is it future proof? Are there any bugs?

Table Of Contents hide

1. Pixel 4 vs Note 9 Specs

2. Pros and Cons of Pixel 4:

3. Pros and Cons of Note 9:

4. Pixel 4 vs Note 9 3.5mm Headphone Jack Controversy

5. Pixel 4 vs Note 9 pictures or videos?

6. Which is better for gaming? Pixel 4 vs Note 9?

7. Pixel 4’s 2800 mAh enough to last a day?

8. Securities and Updates

9. Which is the bang for the buck, Pixel 4 or Note 9?

10. If you already own a Note 9, should you upgrade to pixel 4?

11. Our verdict?

Pixel 4 vs Note 9 Specs

	Note 9	Pixel 4
Processor	Qualcomm SDM845 Snapdragon 845 (10 nm) Exynos 9810 (10 nm)	Qualcomm SDM855 Snapdragon 855 (7 nm)
OS	Android 8.1 (upgradable to 9)	Android 10
Battery	4000 mAh	2800 mAh
RAM	6 GB or 8 GB	6 GB
Storage (Expandable?)	128 GB or 512 GB (Yes)	64 GB or 128 GB (No)
Camera	8MP, 12MP + 12MP	8MP, 12.2MP + 16MP
Display	1440 x 2960 pixels, Super AMOLED, 60hz	1080 x 2280 pixels, P-OLED, 90hz
Color Variants	Metallic Copper, Lavender Purple, Ocean Blue, Midnight Black, Pure White, Alpine White	White, Black, Orange
Protection	Gorilla Glass 5, IP68 dust/water resistant	Gorilla Glass 5, IP68 dust/water resistant
Price	Checkout the latest price here!	Checkout the latest price here!

	Note 9	Pixel 4
Chipset	Qualcomm SDM845 Snapdragon 845 (10 nm) Exynos 9810 (10 nm)	Qualcomm SDM855 Snapdragon 855 (7 nm)
OS	Android 8.1(upgradable to 9)	Android 10
GPU	Adreno 630	Adreno 640
CPU	Octa-core (4x2.8 GHz Kryo 385 Gold & 4x1.7 GHz Kryo 385 Silver)	Octa-core (1x2.84 GHz Kryo 485 & 3x2.42 GHz Kryo 485 & 4x1.78 GHz Kryo 485)

	Note 9	Pixel 4
Antutu Benchmarks	250064 Score	Unavailable
Battery Life	97hr endurance rating	Unavailable
Audio Quality	Voice 71dB, noise 74dB, ring 80dB	Unavailable

	Note 9	Pixel 4
Supports	GSM / CDMA / HSPA / EVDO / LTE	GSM / CDMA / HSPA / EVDO / LTE
SIM	Single SIM (Nano-SIM) or Hybrid Dual SIM (Nano-SIM, dual stand-by)	Nano-SIM card & eSIM
WLAN	Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct, hotspot	Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct, DLNA, hotspot
Bluetooth	5.0, A2DP, LE, aptX	5.0, A2DP, LE, aptX HD
GPS	Yes, with A-GPS, GLONASS, BDS, GALILEO	Yes, with A-GPS, GLONASS, BDS, GALILEO
NFC	Yes	Yes
USB	3.1, Type-C 1.0 reversible connector	3.1, Type-C 1.0 reversible connector

	Note 9	Pixel 4
Type	Non-removable Li-Ion 4000 mAh battery	Non-removable Li-Po 2800 mAh battery
Fast-Charging	15W	18W
Wireless	Qi wireless charging	Qi/PMA wireless charging

	Note 9	Pixel 4
Size	6.4 inches, 103.2 cm2 (~83.4% screen-to-body ratio)	5.7 inches, 80.7 cm2 (~79.8% screen-to-body ratio)
Resolution	1440 x 2960 pixels, 18.5:9 ratio (~516 ppi density)	1080 x 2280 pixels, 19:9 ratio (~444 ppi density)
Protection	Gorilla Glass 5	Gorilla Glass 5
Type	Super AMOLED	P-OLED

	Note 9	Pixel 4
Sensors	Iris scanner, fingerprint (rear-mounted), accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass, barometer, heart rate, SpO2	Face ID, accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass, barometer

	Note 9	Pixel 4
Dimensions	161.9 x 76.4 x 8.8 mm (6.37 x 3.01 x 0.35 in)	147.1 x 68.8 x 8.2 mm (5.79 x 2.71 x 0.32 in)
Weight	162 g (5.71 oz)	162 g (5.71 oz)
Protection	Front/back glass (Gorilla Glass 5), aluminum frame	Front/back glass (Gorilla Glass 5), aluminum frame

	Note 9	Pixel 4
RAM	6GB , 8GB	6GB
Storage	128GB , 512GB	64GB , 128GB
Expandable Slot	microSD, up to 1 TB (uses shared SIM slot) - dual SIM model only	none

	Note 9	Pixel 4
Front	8 MP, f/1.7, 25mm (wide), 1/3.6", 1.22µm, AF	8 MP, f/2.0, 22mm (wide), 1.22µm, no AF TOF 3D camera
Rear	12 MP, f/1.5-2.4, 26mm (wide), 1/2.55", 1.4µm, dual pixel PDAF, OIS 12 MP, f/2.4, 52mm (telephoto), 1/3.4", 1.0µm, AF, OIS, 2x optical zoom	12.2 MP, f/1.7, 28mm (wide), 1/2.55", 1.4µm, dual pixel PDAF, OIS 16 MP, f/2.4, 45mm (telephoto), 1.0µm, PDAF, OIS, 2x optical zoom
Video	[email protected] (no OIS/EIS), [email protected], [email protected]/60/240fps, [email protected], HDR, dual-video rec., stereo sound rec., gyro-EIS & OIS	[email protected], [email protected]/60/120fps, [email protected] (gyro-EIS)

	Note 9	Pixel 4
LoudSpeaker	Stereo Speakers	Stereo Speakers
Headphone Jack	Yes	No

Some specs are identical while others have differences. Lets discuss on the advantages and disadvantages before we dive in to the details.

Pros and Cons of Pixel 4:

Pros	Cons
+ CPU and GPU are the latest + 90hz refresh rate + Amazing software optimized camera (DXOMARK of 112)	- No 3.5mm headphone jack - Battery is only 2800 mAh - No expandable micro SD card slot - No 8 gb RAM variant - No wide angle lens - Huge notch

Pros and Cons of Note 9:

Pros	Cons
+ Super AMOLED screen + 4k video at 30/60 fps + DXOMARK of 103 + 4000 mAh battery + 8GB RAM variant + 3.5mm headphone jack + Upgradable Storage	- Previous generation CPU and GPU - Bloatware Applications - Slow updates - 60hz refresh rate

Buy micro-SD cards, here!

Pixel 4 vs Note 9 3.5mm Headphone Jack Controversy

Loud Speaker’s of both phones are on equal footing but with external device connectivity, Pixel 4 falls behind. Most users have not migrated to Bluetooth headphones/earphones making 3.5mm headphone jack a necessity.

The pixel 4 does not consist of the 3.5mm headphone whereas Note 9 retains its headphone jack. There are not many manufacturers making USB-C compatible headphones and earphones, so your options are limited and your old headphones may be wasted.

Buy a USB-C to 3.5mm headphone jack converter!

Therefore, if you need the 3.5mm headphone jack, Note 9 is the way to go.

Pixel 4 vs Note 9 pictures or videos?

The camera quality on both devices are amazing as both feature similar specifications. Google has went towards the software to improve the quality of pictures and videos. Note 9 is more inclined towards the hardware part.

The DXOMARK suggests that Pixel 4 is the better overall camera. The pictures are better on the pixel 4 due the software and hardware properties. However, if you need a 4k 60fps video then only Note 9 supports it.

You decide, which is more important? Pictures or Videos?

Which is better for gaming? Pixel 4 vs Note 9?

For the performance user both phones are amazing but talking about specifications Pixel 4 has newer generation of CPU and GPU making it faster and efficient unlike its counterpart.

However, pixel 4 does not consist of an 8GB variant which can be a huge let down for a heavy graphic user. On the other hand, Note 9 leads ahead on its screen resolution and 8GB variant which makes this phone future proof for a couple more years.

Both of the phones can handle any games like a breeze but what inclines us more towards the Pixel 4 is because of the 90hz refresh rate making your screen and game-play smooth as butter, especially for FPS games.

For a gamer this means faster reaction time which can make the difference between winning and losing. Pixel 4 is the better overall phone for a graphic intensive user.

Pixel 4’s 2800 mAh enough to last a day?

Battery capacity is important to most users as it determines how long a phone can last without charging. Pixel 4 has decided to go with 2800 mAh battery capacity which is enough for most users to last a day but if you are constantly on your phone and run demanding applications then it is likely that this battery capacity is not enough for you.

Tackle this with a high-capacity power-bank.

Note 9 leads in the battery department with an astonishing 4000 mAh battery which is more than enough to last you for a day while playing games. Unless you do not mind having to carry around the chargers and power-banks all the time, Note 9 is the way to go.

Securities and Updates

Security and updates are a huge concern for technology enthusiasts. Pixel 4 comes with Android 10. Since the OS itself is developed by Google, OS updates and security patches comes faster in Google phones keeping them up to date and secure.

Whereas, Samsung are known to be slow on updates. A possible disadvantage of Note 9 could be lack of support on OS after a couple of major updates. Whereas, Pixel 4 still has many years of updates to come as it has just been released. It is clear that if you want the newest features and security updates then Pixel 4 is the way.

Which is the bang for the buck, Pixel 4 or Note 9?

The Pixel 4′ s current prices are starting at $799 whereas the Note 9 costs only $679. Note 9 should not be considered inferior while comparing the specifications because the slight increase in specs of Pixel 4 is difficult to notice.

It’s just a question of whether you are willing to pay an extra $120 for the little extra improvement or not. Therefore, Note 9 is the bang for the buck because it is outstanding in parts where Pixel 4 is lacking.

Get a new note 9 for the cheapest rate here.

If you already own a Note 9, should you upgrade to pixel 4?

Let’s say you already own Note 9 and you are considering transferring to the Pixel 4 and you are not sure, you have come to the right place.

Pixel 4 has its pros and cons just like the Note 9. So lets weigh them, Pixel clearly leads in CPU, GPU, frame rate, updates and pictures whereas Note 9 leads in battery capacity, screen resolution, videos, headphone jack, RAM and expandable storage.

For the regular user, these upgrades are minor as it will not be visible to the plain eyes. However, it might seem tempting to power users due to performance and frame rate but it comes at huge cost of losing battery capacity, 8GB RAM and expandable memory slot.

Our recommendation? You should wait at least a year before upgrading because the Note 9 is more than capable of handling anything you throw at it for at least a few years.

Still want to upgrade to Pixel 4? Check out the latest deals here!