Google Pixel 9 series

[limmk]

If there’s one thing I must have in my smartphone camera, it is a robust long-distance zoom that brings me closer to the action. Today’s best Android phones offer a wide range of zoom options, with different zoom levels, lens apertures, and sensor sizes contributing to some rather different capabilities. Just because it has a 5x periscope camera doesn’t mean they’re all the same.

To test what this means for actual photos, I’ve grabbed the Pixel 9 Pro, Galaxy S25 Ultra, OPPO Find X8 Pro, and Xiaomi 15 Ultra to showcase the differences these sensor specs can make. The latter has a huge number of megapixels to work with, while the Find X8 Pro has the longest optical zoom. Flagships from Google and Samsung sit somewhere in between.

Here’s a quick rundown of how each of these phones’ longest-range zoom options compare.

Periscope Zoom	Pixel 9 Pro XL	Galaxy S25 Ultra	Find X8 Pro	Xiaomi 15 Ultra
Aperture	f/2.8	f/3.4	f/4.3	f/2.6
Sensor Size	1 / 2.55	1 / 2.52	1 / 2.51	1 / 1.4
Megapixels	48MP	50MP	50MP	200MP
Focal Length	113mm	111mm	135mm	100mm
Zoom factor	5x	5x	6x	4.3x

On paper, the Xiaomi 15 Ultra looks to have a significant advantage in terms of key specs. It has by far the biggest sensor (albeit split among a greater number of smaller pixels) and the widest aperture of the bunch. The other three have pretty similarly sized image sensors, but the Find X8 Pro has the narrowest aperture, possibly making it the weakest of the group. Perhaps its 6x zoom factor can bridge that gap at long range?
But we’ll let the pictures do the talking. For today’s test, we’re eyeballing the fine details via 100% crops to really help separate the good from the very best.

A “modest” 10x zoom​

Our first semi-macro shot in bright outdoor lighting shouldn’t stress these cameras too much, but it does already reveal a few limitations of pushing these lenses out to 10x. First, note the Galaxy S25 Ultra has a slight halo around the flower’s edge, hinting at either poor lens aberration or multi-frame processing that isn’t stitching together quite right. The camera’s details already look a little splotchy here as well, and there’s some slight noise visible in the transitions between light and dark. The Pixel 9 Pro XL also shows a small amount of noise on the darker elements of our crop, likely where the phone’s HDR algorithm has brightened the shadows, which also explains the lack of contrast. However, there’s nothing too untoward here.

Pixel 9 Pro XL - 10x 100% crop

Find X8 Pro - 10x 100% crop

Galaxy S25 Ultra - 10x 100% crop

Xiaomi 15 Ultra - 10x 100% crop

OPPO’s result is not great on close inspection. There’s clearly some denoise occurring even in these well-lit conditions, which causes the grass and the pot dude and plant bristles to be over smooth. The phone does a good job of providing vivid color saturation and contrast, though, something I can’t say for Google or Samsung, but its white balance isn’t spot on. But anything the OPPO does well, Xiaomi does better. In fact, it’s the only phone to accurately capture the fine bristles on the center blade of grass and plant stems. There’s no discernable noise in the darker parts of the scene either, and there’s no obvious oversharpening. You have to look closely, but this is hands-down the best image of the four.

Take their 10x zoom capabilities to capture more distant details with trickier light and shadow, and the differences become much more evident. The tiny sensor of the Galaxy S25 Ultra, in particular, struggles to extract much detail from the scene below and also shows severe edge aberration. The Pixel 9 Pro performs better in terms of detail, but it’s still not exactly crisp, particularly in the distant trees, and there’s another notable lack of dynamic range.

Pixel 9 Pro XL - 10x 100% crop

Find X8 Pro - 10x 100% crop

Galaxy S25 Ultra - 10x 100% crop

Xiaomi 15 Ultra - 10x 100% crop

 

[limmk]

The OPPO Find X8 Pro performs reasonably well here, with solid dynamic range despite the limited aperture. It also captures far more fine detail than the Galaxy and even the Pixel. However, there’s a heavier reliance on sharpening here, which produces some artifacts along the rooftop tiles. This leaves the Xiaomi 15 Ultra as the clear winner in my estimation; details are robust across all parts of the scene, an excellent level of contrast and color retention, and there’s no real sign of processing. Again, it’s a little underexposed, but that makes it all the more impressive that there’s such a strong level of detail on offer. The fact that it comes out on top, given the 4.3x optical zoom level, is equally surprising. However, the phone is almost certainly pulling 50MP straight from the sensor for an 8.6x “optical” crop rather than relying on digital upscaling, just like Google does for its 10x shots.

Let’s turn the lights down a little to see how the phones perform with less light, but certainly not anything approaching darkness. As we expect, the Find X8 Pro’s combination of a small aperture and sensor produces pretty dubious results here, and the phone is heavily reliant on sharpening and multi-frame processing to make the text barely legible. It’s not a great look. That said, the Pixel 9 Pro XL only looks marginally better; its faults fall on the other side of the noise problem. There’s a high level of noise and grain, which makes much of the smaller text just as illegible as the over-processed result from the OPPO. Even Google’s mighty algorithms can’t make up for the sheer shortfall in light here.

Find X8 Pro - 10x 100% crop

Pixel 9 Pro XL - 10x 100% crop

Galaxy S25 Ultra - 10x 100% crop

Xiaomi 15 Ultra - 10x 100% crop

Samsung’s results are noisy, too, but the distribution is much more even, resulting in a more film-grain appearance than pure digital noise. The text isn’t much more legible than the Pixel’s, but the Galaxy S25 Ultra has redeemed itself after the outdoor picture. Again, the Xiaomi 15 Ultra comes out on top thanks to that larger sensor and wide aperture. It’s not perfectly clean, but most of the text is legible, there’s minimal noise, and certainly no signs of aggressive sharpening or denoise. That’s three for three for Xiaomi, but what about at more extended range?

True long distance​

I took our four phones out all the way to 30x to see just how far those rather short optical formats can stretch, and, as you might expect, the results aren’t great. Why smartphones still attempt to market huge zoom distances remains lost on me.

Our first 30x shot looks entirely at detail without pushing the phones with too much difference between light and shadow, but the Pixel 9 Pro XL still really struggles. The smaller text in the shot below is completely illegible, and the rest of the details are really quite sof. The Xiaomi 15 Ultra is only a little better here in terms of reading the text, but the details of the rest of the scene are also very soft. However’s the only phone to accurately show the embossing on the word “HOUSE.”

Pixel 9 Pro XL - 30x 100% crop

F
Find X8 Pro - 30x 100% crop

Galaxy S25 Ultra - 30x 100% crop

Xiaomi 15 Ultra - 30x 100% crop

 

[limmk]

Surprisingly, the OPPO Find X8 Pro and Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra are the best two at picking out the text here. OPPO’s more aggressive sharpening pass works out well, capturing the edges of the sign well enough and adding some extra refinement to the stone edges. The text is still a bit wonky-looking though. The Galaxy S25 Ultra’s text is also very legible, but its presentation is otherwise overly soft and, again, somewhat washed out. I’m sure you can see that the black paint of the gate is far too bright, while the white of the sign is also slightly clipped, again showcasing the zoom camera’s limited dynamic range.

Let’s turn back to our higher-dynamic range shot of the church to really push these cameras. As before, the Google Pixel 9 Pro XL and Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra are the softest and most washed out, even in bright outdoor lighting. Samsung’s lack of edge sharpness rears its ugly head again, but detail-wise, there’s not a lot to tell it apart from the Pixel. Both are bad on close inspection, but the XL is perhaps marginally better.

Pixel 9 Pro XL - 30x 100% crop

Find X8 Pro - 30x 100% crop

Galaxy S25 Ultra - 30x 100% crop

Xiaomi 15 Ultra - 30x 100% crop


OPPO’s result is better, but not by much. Its heavy reliance on software processing hands in additional details, but the result looks more cartoonish and almost flat than realistic when peering at our 100% crop. Still, the result is a picture with much better-defined edges and minor details than the Pixel or Galaxy, which gives the phone the nudge. Xiaomi’s result is better still, with a more natural appearance to details, solid colors, and not too much distortion. Again, sharpening and denoise are kept to a minimum.

The Xiaomi 15 Ultra isn’t flawless here, though. There’s clearly some multi-frame processing at play, which results in parts of the image containing more detail than others, as you can see across the church and in the tree branches. Still, you’ll only notice this when zooming in, and its 30x result is more naturally sharp than the other three.

And the winner is…​

Undoubtedly, the Xiaomi 15 Ultra is the best of our four phones at long-range zoom. It produces the most consistent results in bright and dim lighting and captures the most vivid detail when operating at extreme ranges. It’s not a hands-down win in every shot I took; a lot of its results come out under-exposed, but it’s by far the best at producing long-range photos you might actually want to share. Given its robust on-paper specs, it’s no shock to declare this handset the winner, but the phone’s 30x capabilities are quite impressive from a modest 4.3x lens.

The OPPO Find X8 Pro is also better than expected, at least in good lighting conditions. Why does the OPPO Find X8 Pro seem to perform better at long distances than the Galaxy S25 Ultra and Pixel 9 Pro, despite its seemingly inferior aperture? Well, a wider aperture might guarantee more light, which explains the OPPO’s weakness in low light, but it doesn’t necessarily result in more resolvable detail. A camera’s real resolvable resolution depends on aberration and diffraction caused by the lens aperture, which can cause the light to spread out over a wider area than a single pixel. This spread is called an Airy disk, and the actual resolvable resolution of a camera is known as its Angular resolution or “Rayleigh criterion.” One of the drawbacks of a wider aperture is that it often results in more diffraction and, therefore, a larger airy disk and lower actual resolvable resolution. Knowledgable photographers will often step down their lens’ aperture a little when aiming for the sharpest possible details.

The Xiaomi 15 Ultra proves that camera hardware still matters as much as software.
​

This is the reason why the industry’s 200MP cameras rarely actually capture vastly more detail than their 50MP or even 12MP competitors, and it might explain why the Find X8 Pro’s camera captures more detail in good lighting conditions than the Galaxy S25 Ultra and Pixel 9 Pro XL. Plus, OPPO appears to rely on aggressive multi-frame processing to infuse extra detail into images at the expense of a more processed appearance.

I’m torn between whether the Google Pixel 9 Pro XL or Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra is the worst of the group. Samsung’s noticeable fringing and aberration are obviously quite bad, but the Pixel performs quite poorly in low light. However, Samsung’s lack of detail at 10x seals its fate as today’s loser.

Now, long-range zoom isn’t everything. If you’re mainly taking pictures of friends, family, and pets, then a zoom lens with a focal length somewhere in the region of 70mm is ideal, which is typically around 3x on most smartphones. Plus, you’ll want a solid main camera to fit more in. Thankfully, the Find X8 Pro, Xiaomi 15 Ultra, and Galaxy S25 Ultra have you covered here as well.

 

[joesph]

what about dxomark?

 

[jeffprobst]

Any pro user experience at times, you will not receive call or unable to call out? have to restart your phone. any fix to it? quite irritating.

 

[Loser]

Any pro user experience at times, you will not receive call or unable to call out? have to restart your phone. any fix to it? quite irritating.

I've been experiencing Whatsapp call not coming through on my 9 pro but came through on my 8 pro. Notification delays across apps too not limited to communication apps.

Cellular calls still haven't experience issues. Very noob that Google cannot fix this basic issue in 2025 lol.

 

[limmk]

Any pro user experience at times, you will not receive call or unable to call out? have to restart your phone. any fix to it? quite irritating.

Moi kena once when on 4G—couldn’t receive or make calls. switch to 5G then okay liao. after updating Carrier Services, no more problem already. sometimes Play Store don’t show app updates—take Messages for example—but if you long press and go to App info, it shows there’s an update

These are some of the first-party apps that Play Store tends to miss:
Post in thread '[Google Play Store / System / services update ] *versions may vary by device' https://forums.hardwarezone.com.sg/...ons-may-vary-by-device.6802754/post-155782038

 

[Loser]

Moi kena once when on 4G—couldn’t receive or make calls. switch to 5G then okay liao. after updating Carrier Services, no more problem already. sometimes Play Store don’t show app updates—take Messages for example—but if you long press and go to App info, it shows there’s an update

These are some of the first-party apps that Play Store tends to miss:
Post in thread '[Google Play Store / System / services update ] *versions may vary by device' https://forums.hardwarezone.com.sg/...ons-may-vary-by-device.6802754/post-155782038

Eh carrier services not even installed on my P9P!?

 

[kEvinErd]

I've been experiencing Whatsapp call not coming through on my 9 pro but came through on my 8 pro. Notification delays across apps too not limited to communication apps.

Cellular calls still haven't experience issues. Very noob that Google cannot fix this basic issue in 2025 lol.

My pixel 9 Pro has the delayed notifications problem too.

 

[limmk]

I've been experiencing Whatsapp call not coming through on my 9 pro but came through on my 8 pro. Notification delays across apps too not limited to communication apps.

Cellular calls still haven't experience issues. Very noob that Google cannot fix this basic issue in 2025 lol.

Check under Settings > Notifications > Notification cooldown and Dismiss notifications across Pixel devices

 

[Loser]

Check under Settings > Notifications > Notification cooldown and Dismiss notifications across Pixel devices

Dismiss notification across pixel devices is off, notification cool down is on by default. Same on my p8p.

 

[tictactor]

Are there better deals than Challenger for Pixel 9 now? 1099 for 256GB

 

[anthonygreenisreal]

Are there better deals than Challenger for Pixel 9 now? 1099 for 256GB

redwhitemobile, $898 for 256gb for pixel 9.

 

[tictactor]

redwhitemobile, $898 for 256gb for pixel 9.

Thanks! Never bought from them before, do you know how their warranty works? Says it's by Google Singapore

 

[anthonygreenisreal]

Thanks! Never bought from them before, do you know how their warranty works? Says it's by Google Singapore

I bought my Pixel 9 Pro XL 256gb from 3rd party store Moby Shop for $1039 last year Nov . The warranty works as per device activation.

 

[tictactor]

Anyone using ibywind TG? I rmb reading on here that it was good for Pixel 7 and got it but haven't seen any (or much) reviews on here for ibywind for the pixel 9, mostly on spigen/ringke (I'm using a Ringke case for my Pixel 7)

 

[limmk]

Google has moved production of its Pixel phones largely to Vietnam and partially to India over the past several years, but the ongoing US tariff situation is reportedly pushing more production over to India.

The Economic Times reports that Google is actively working to shift production of Pixel devices – especially those headed to the United States – from Vietnam over to India, with discussions ongoing with its partners over the past couple of weeks in particular. The report says:

Alphabet Inc has initiated talks with its local contract manufacturers—Dixon Technologies and Foxconn—to shift a part of the global production of Google Pixel smartphones to India from Vietnam, especially devices headed for the US.

The main focus, it seems, is on localizing more components of Pixel to India, where many of the parts are currently imported from other regions. Parts that Google is apparently aiming to move to India include chargers, batteries, fingerprint sensors, and the enclosure of the device.

The company has also shared plans with the contract manufacturers on localising some components in India, such as enclosures, chargers, fingerprint sensors and batteries, the executives said. Currently, most components for made-in-India Pixel phones are imported.

The ongoing tariff situation levies a 145% tariff on goods from China – though smartphones are excluded, for now – while a 90-day pause pushed back a 46% tariff on goods from Vietnam. India, by comparison, sees a 26% tariff, likely spurring Google’s conversations to shift some of its production efforts.

The report brings out that, as it stands today, Google’s manufacturing partners in India are producing “43,000-45,000” Pixel phones per month, largely focusing on the India market in particular. Prior reporting had suggested Google was planning to export “most” of the Pixel devices made in India to other markets.

 

[Loser]

Google has moved production of its Pixel phones largely to Vietnam and partially to India over the past several years, but the ongoing US tariff situation is reportedly pushing more production over to India.

The Economic Times reports that Google is actively working to shift production of Pixel devices – especially those headed to the United States – from Vietnam over to India, with discussions ongoing with its partners over the past couple of weeks in particular. The report says:



The main focus, it seems, is on localizing more components of Pixel to India, where many of the parts are currently imported from other regions. Parts that Google is apparently aiming to move to India include chargers, batteries, fingerprint sensors, and the enclosure of the device.



The ongoing tariff situation levies a 145% tariff on goods from China – though smartphones are excluded, for now – while a 90-day pause pushed back a 46% tariff on goods from Vietnam. India, by comparison, sees a 26% tariff, likely spurring Google’s conversations to shift some of its production efforts.

The report brings out that, as it stands today, Google’s manufacturing partners in India are producing “43,000-45,000” Pixel phones per month, largely focusing on the India market in particular. Prior reporting had suggested Google was planning to export “most” of the Pixel devices made in India to other markets.

 

[limmk]

Dismiss notification across pixel devices is off, notification cool down is on by default. Same on my p8p.

Summary​

• Several Pixel owners are facing issues with delayed notifications after installing the April 2025 update.
• The problem does not appear to be widespread, affecting only a handful of users.
• Delayed notifications are a common issue on Pixel phones.

Google Pixel phones frequently run into weird issues and bugs after updates. Over the last few months, Pixel users have faced several frustrating issues — from inconsistent display brightness and alarms not going off as scheduled to a dark theme bug that appeared after the March 2025 Feature Drop. Now, there's another addition to the list, with Pixel owners complaining about notifications not coming through or being delayed after installing the April 2025 update.

On Reddit (2), several Pixel owners report facing issues with delayed or missing notifications, including those from email and messaging apps, when their phone's screen is locked. The problem appears to have started after installing the recent April 2025 security patch. They receive a flood of notifications as soon as they unlock the phone.

Worryingly, the problem even affects VoIP calls from WhatsApp, leading many to miss important calls. Turning off background battery optimization for affected apps does not seem to make any difference.

Given the handful of reports on Reddit, it seems the problem is not affecting a wide range of Pixel users. But if you're facing a similar problem, drop a comment in one of the Reddit threads, as the official Pixel Community account appears to be monitoring the issue. After that, you can try some common troubleshooting steps for notification problems on Android to see if that improves the situation.


Google's official release notes for the April 2025 update only mention bug fixes and improvements related to the fingerprint scanner, camera, and UI/UX.

Notification delays won’t leave Pixel users alone​

• 
• 
• 
• 

Delayed notifications are among the most common complaints from Pixel users. The issue has affected almost all Pixel phones in the past and every major Android release. Over the years, Google has made several improvements to address this problem, yet it persists.

Coincidentally, Pixel Watch users also complained about delayed notifications after installing the March 2025 update. There were several other bugs in the initial build, leading Google to pull the firmware. It only got around to re-releasing an update for the Pixel Watch addressing all the reported issues earlier this week.

 

[Loser]

Summary​

• Several Pixel owners are facing issues with delayed notifications after installing the April 2025 update.
• The problem does not appear to be widespread, affecting only a handful of users.
• Delayed notifications are a common issue on Pixel phones.

Google Pixel phones frequently run into weird issues and bugs after updates. Over the last few months, Pixel users have faced several frustrating issues — from inconsistent display brightness and alarms not going off as scheduled to a dark theme bug that appeared after the March 2025 Feature Drop. Now, there's another addition to the list, with Pixel owners complaining about notifications not coming through or being delayed after installing the April 2025 update.

On Reddit (2), several Pixel owners report facing issues with delayed or missing notifications, including those from email and messaging apps, when their phone's screen is locked. The problem appears to have started after installing the recent April 2025 security patch. They receive a flood of notifications as soon as they unlock the phone.

Worryingly, the problem even affects VoIP calls from WhatsApp, leading many to miss important calls. Turning off background battery optimization for affected apps does not seem to make any difference.

Given the handful of reports on Reddit, it seems the problem is not affecting a wide range of Pixel users. But if you're facing a similar problem, drop a comment in one of the Reddit threads, as the official Pixel Community account appears to be monitoring the issue. After that, you can try some common troubleshooting steps for notification problems on Android to see if that improves the situation.


Google's official release notes for the April 2025 update only mention bug fixes and improvements related to the fingerprint scanner, camera, and UI/UX.

Notification delays won’t leave Pixel users alone​

• 
• 
• 
• 

Delayed notifications are among the most common complaints from Pixel users. The issue has affected almost all Pixel phones in the past and every major Android release. Over the years, Google has made several improvements to address this problem, yet it persists.

Coincidentally, Pixel Watch users also complained about delayed notifications after installing the March 2025 update. There were several other bugs in the initial build, leading Google to pull the firmware. It only got around to re-releasing an update for the Pixel Watch addressing all the reported issues earlier this week.

Glad that this has gotten attention from major news outlet.