Pixel 9 bugs have me thinking Google needs lots of tough love

The Pixel 9 and Pixel 9 Pro XL went on sale on August 22 and complaints are racking up against them already.

Many Pixel 9 Pro XL users say wireless charging is hit or miss on their phones, even with Google’s own Pixel Stand. Others say the camera doesn’t stay level, with most experiencing issues when shooting videos with the telephoto lens.

Some less commonly experienced issues include a gap in the camera bar and condensation under the lens.

That is a long list of problems for phones that were released a little under a week ago. And while the optimist in me wants to downplay the complaints, the realist in me has been following Google long enough to know that they will likely only mount.

Google has been in the smartphone industry for nearly ten years. It was one thing for it to get something wrong with its initial phones. Heck, I was also excessively forgiving of the long list of problems that plagued the Pixel 6. It was a fumble on the way to greatness, right? After all, it was Google’s first attempt at an in-house chipset and it would have been overly optimistic of us to expect everything to work in perfect harmony. A few things were bound to go wrong.

Now that Google has been making smartphone SoCs for four years and doesn’t need Samsung to hold its hands anymore, it should start focusing on nailing the core experience instead of relying on buzzworthy features to get ahead of the competition.

While it may sound like I am blowing things out of proportion, the truth is that Google needs to be shown some tough love. Wireless charging is a feature that’s indispensable for many users. Granted, you can always use a wired charger, but what if someone is used to plopping their phone on the wireless mat before going to sleep, safe in the knowledge that their phone will slowly charge all through the night.

Similarly, the last thing you’d want from a brand known for its camera is a crooked view of the scene.

Yes, Google might issue a software update to take care of these problems but they still make you wonder if the quality assurance department is doing its job at all. Besides, only two of the four models in the lineup have been released so far, and already a fair amount of bugs have cropped up. It makes me nervous to even think about the Pixel 9 Pro Fold’s release, since being a foldable phone, it’s potentially the most problematic. 

Perhaps it would have been better if Google had stuck with its usual launch timeframe of October instead of moving the reveal up to August in hopes of stealing Apple’s customers?