Google Pixel 9 vs Vivo X300 Ultra

Google Pixel 9

The dual 50MP main + ultrawide system is the Pixel 9's headline strength for stills — consistent, reliable and class-leading. Video is its relative weakness versus the S25 and iPhone, and the lack of a telephoto limits zoom to 8x digital.

• The camera is described as simply awesome and a defining reason to buy — Pixel image processing remains a standout.
• 10 months on the Pixel 9 is still one of the most consistent shooters available for stills, even if no longer untouchable.
• Video is where the Pixel 9 shows cracks — slight jitter and weaker low-light detail versus the S25 or even the prior iPhone.
• The base Pixel 9 loses only the dedicated periscope telephoto versus the Pro — zoom is limited to 8x versus 30x on the Pixel 9 Pro — but still shoots RAW.
• Reddit owners across communities repeatedly call the Pixel 9 camera the best in its class — 'the Pixel 9 Pro does have the best camera' and the standard 9 shares the core system.
• Manual video controls are missing — using a third-party app like Blackmagic regains control but loses Google's processing smarts.
• The camera can record up to 4K at 24/30/60fps with stabilization, and Google's Video Boost feature has matured into a genuinely useful tool over the phone's life.

Vivo X300 Ultra

The reason the X300 Ultra exists: a near-1-inch 200MP 35mm main (Sony Lytia 901), a 200MP 85mm periscope, and the best ultrawide sensor on the market, tuned with Zeiss. Reviewers near-universally rate it the best-equipped camera phone of 2026 — with two important caveats: the 35mm default is divisive, and on raw image quality it's only marginally ahead of the cheaper X300 Pro.

• At the center is a 200MP main that's nearly a 1-inch sensor (Sony Lytia 901), backed by a 200MP 85mm-equivalent periscope telephoto — the phone is focused on camera quality and, even more so, video.
• Featuring three extra-large image sensors, the X300 Ultra's uncompromising camera hardware earned a solid rating — but it's hardly better than the cheaper X300 Pro in actual camera performance despite the top-notch hardware.
• I'm not sure I've seen better results from even 1-inch sensors — it's so close to 1-inch and the 35mm focal length makes for more cinematic-looking shots; the 85mm periscope is the sweet spot for portraits.
• It still holds the record for the best portrait-mode photos on a smartphone, especially at 85mm and 135mm; the 14mm ultrawide is sharp edge to edge.

Google Pixel 9

The Tensor G4 with 12GB RAM handles everyday tasks and multitasking smoothly, but it is the consensus weak link — trailing Snapdragon 8 Elite and Apple silicon, running warm under sustained load, and forcing graphics settings down in demanding games.

• The Tensor G4 with 12GB RAM makes everyday multitasking a breeze and animations stay smooth with no performance issues in normal use.
• Compared to Snapdragon-chip phones the Tensor G4 'just doesn't hold up' — the single biggest long-term complaint about the phone.
• To hit high frame rates in Call of Duty Warzone Mobile the settings have to drop to super low, while a Snapdragon 8 Elite S25 ran the same game at medium-high and 90–120fps.
• The phone gets noticeably warm to the touch under sustained video or use because the Tensor G4 has far less headroom than a Snapdragon 8 Elite.
• Reddit users note the Tensor chip is known to underperform versus Snapdragon, a recurring criticism of Pixel hardware.
• After Android 16 the Pixel 9 got significantly better — enough that one long-term reviewer questioned whether the Pixel 10 brings enough to justify upgrading.

Vivo X300 Ultra

Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 plus Vivo's custom imaging silicon delivers flagship benchmark numbers and strong gaming, but the camera-heavy hardware runs hot — sustained stress tests show roughly 60–65% stability and the camera app warms it up fast.

• At the heart is Qualcomm's current flagship Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, supplemented by Vivo's custom VS1 and V3-Plus imaging chips.
• It boots in 16 seconds (vs 21s for the S26 Ultra and 19s for the iPhone 17 Pro Max) and posts an AnTuTu score over 3,800,000, stronger than Samsung.
• In a prolonged stress test it throttled CPU performance to about 60% of peak — in line with other high-powered flagships — and 3DMark stability landed around 63–66%.
• It gets a bit hot after 30–40 minutes of gaming, but with no throttling even past an hour and never uncomfortable to hold; boost mode at max graphics gives around 4 hours of Wuthering Waves on a full charge.
• Native 120fps gaming with smooth/very-high graphics in many titles, with temperature barely crossing 35°C and power draw around 4W in battle-royale modes.

Google Pixel 9

The 4700mAh battery delivers genuinely good, much-improved endurance — 5+ hours of screen-on time is typical. Charging is the catch: 27W wired tops out around 80–100 minutes to full, well behind OnePlus rivals.

• Battery life is much improved over the mediocre Pixel 8 — regularly 5+ hours of screen-on time with 20–30% left at the end of the day.
• Battery-test reviewers confirm Google's longer-battery-life claims hold up in real-world Wi-Fi and 5G scenarios.
• The 4700mAh battery is slightly larger than the Pixel 8's 4575mAh and Google's claimed longer endurance was confirmed by battery testing.
• Charging is slow: roughly 80 minutes wired and over 2 hours wirelessly to full — 27W wired, 12W Qi, 15W on the Pixel Stand.
• Lab charging test: 50% in 28 minutes, 80% in 53 minutes, 100% in 1 hour 44 minutes — peaking around 25W and 36.6°C front temperature, similar to an iPhone.
• Slow charging is a recurring competitive knock — OnePlus rivals charge fully in under 20 minutes versus the Pixel's ~80–100.

Vivo X300 Ultra

Vivo grew the silicon-carbon cell 10% to 6,600mAh while keeping the body the same size. Real-world endurance is strong — ~16h active-use score, ~7h heavy screen-on, 13–14 hour days with charge to spare — and 100W wired refills it in under an hour, with 40W wireless.

• Vivo increased the battery by 10% to 6,600mAh despite the phone being practically the same size on paper.
• In our battery test it earned an active-use score of almost 16 hours; 100W charging took it 0–66% in 30 minutes and a full charge in 46 minutes, plus 40W wireless. A charger is in the box except in Europe.
• On the China version I'm finishing entire 13–14 hour days with 25–30% left; the global version keeps the 6,600mAh cell so battery life should comfortably last 12–13 hours of heavy use.
• Getting nearly 7 hours of screen-on time with very heavy usage from the 6,600mAh silicon-carbon unit, with 100W wired and 40W wireless charging support.
• After a 4-hour heavy-usage simulation the phone still had ~45% battery left, which is solid by today's standards, and 100W wired charging takes about 45 minutes to full.