Last week, Google started selling the Pixel 9 and Pixel 9 Pro XL in India. These are ultra-premium phones, priced accordingly. Their selling price also puts them in competition with the Galaxy S24 and iPhone 15 series. While previously the Google Pixel would be a notch below such phones in terms of its design and hardware, this time it is second to none. In fact, as we found in our India Today Tech review of the Pixel 9 and Pixel 9 Pro XL, the new Google phones are even better in some aspects.

For example, the cameras on the new Pixel 9 phones are fantastic, especially the ones on the Pixel 9 Pro XL. The display is the same – fantastic. And, again, especially on the Pixel 9 Pro XL. In fact, the cameras and displays on the Pixel 9 and Pixel 9 Pro are so good that DxOMark gave them very high ratings just a few days ago.

However, it’s not just about the cameras and displays. The Pixel 9 phones also have a great design. With their clean lines, uniform bezels and flawless build quality they look great and feel great in the hand. With its soft rear glass finish the Pixel 9 Pro XL feels unique and extremely expensive. Battery life is also good, and while the chipset – the Tensor G4 – is a little old in terms of its technology, day-to-day performance is quite good on both the Pixel 9 and Pixel 9 Pro XL. Unlike previous Pixels, the new Pixels also run well.

In other words, the Pixel 9 and Pixel 9 Pro XL are two of the best Android phones you can buy in India right now. They’re priced too high, but so are many other phones. And yet, I suspect we won’t see these phones in the hands of enough users. Pixel phones deserve a lot more love than they’re getting. And that’s a big problem that Google still has to fix.

A big reason we might not see Pixel 9 phones in the market is that there is no good story about them. They exist, but they exist without any myth, without any past and in some ways without any future. They are good phones, but then the market is full of good phones.

In the ultra-premium segment, a phone has to have something more for people to notice and love it. People don’t choose the iPhone because the iPhone is a great phone. They choose it because it symbolizes something: the iPhone is the best thing Apple has to offer, it symbolizes a year of near-flawless after-sales service regardless of where the phone is bought from, it symbolizes software updates that come regularly like clockwork for 4 to 5 years. The iPhone symbolizes Apple’s promise of privacy, Apple’s promise about the quality of the components used in its phones, Apple’s willingness to do everything possible to ensure that it gives consumers what it wants to give, and finally the clarity of Apple’s vision. Sure it’s an expensive vision but it’s also a clear vision.

The iPhone sells despite its high price because it is a fantasy product.

Now, the story of the iPhone, which helps Apple sell it in droves, has been built over time. It’s a much older phone than the Pixel, which only came out in 2016. But 8 years is a long time and yet Google hasn’t been able to build a coherent story around its phones. Even OnePlus, which debuted in 2014, built a better brand story than Google in 5 years. Apart from the camera performance of the Pixel phones, there’s nothing that people can associate with them. And it’s all Google’s fault because there’s a lot more to Pixels than just camera performance.

The problem with Google’s Pixel story in India is that the company is very quiet about it. It tries to create some buzz around the launch and a few weeks after that. But soon it all dies down. Even in the case of cameras, Google doesn’t boast when the Pixel has the best main camera in any phone. Some enthusiasts, who keep track of tech news, get to know about the prowess of the Pixel camera, but the rest of the world still relies on the iPhone or Galaxy camera.

I think with the Pixel 9, Google has an opportunity to start afresh. And there are some signs that it is trying to improve its Pixel story. The company has now opened three Google-exclusive service centers – one each in Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru. However, this could do more to tell phone users that it is indeed taking the Pixel aftersales thing more seriously. It is also expanding the availability of Pixels by adding multiple offline stores to the channel. And on this part too Google could probably do better to inform people.

Of course, all of this will be secondary to the main story, the bigger myth. Just like superheroes need a story and movie to shine in the hearts and minds of people, the Pixel 9 phones need movies of their own. Before, Google might not have had phones that could play the lead role. But now it has. There are aspects of the Pixel 9 phones that will win them praise and users but Google has to figure out a way to tell people about them. And no, full-page newspaper ads or TV promos will not be the way to do it.

More importantly, Google needs to show people what Pixels stand for. Are they the epitome of cutting-edge technology? If yes, why do the Pixel 9 phones use a somewhat outdated chipset? Are they all about the latest software? If yes, why are they shipping with Android 14? Apple would never be caught launching its latest iPhone without the next-generation iOS. Are the Pixel 9 phones all about AI and the Gemini LLM model? If yes, why are these features implemented so clumsily and difficult to understand for anyone who isn’t a 10X Leat engineer? Are the Pixel 9 phones all about privacy and security? Sure, but then why are so many apps asking for so much data access on the phone all the time? Are the Pixel 9 phones all about camera performance? Okay, so where does it click photos? Side note: Apple, despite not having the best camera in their iPhone, often runs “Shot on iPhone” campaigns.

I mean, you get the point. Sure, the Pixel 9 phones are great, but what are they really for? The answer is confusing. And that confusing answer is detrimental to the Pixel 9 devices. As phones, they’re better than any other Android. They’re better than the OnePlus 12 or the Galaxy S24. And yet, I suspect more people will buy a OnePlus and a Galaxy than a Pixel.