I don’t like black phones. That was and always will be my personal death knell, so if you see me with a black phone in my hand, know that I had no other choice.

That’s why the early Android days were very disappointing for me. I came from the world of colorful Nokia Lumias and found nothing but drab gray and black Android phones. After my dark gray HTC Desire Z, I settled on a white Samsung Galaxy S3 and then a white LG G3, a nice break from the darkness of the tech world. And as the years went by, I slowly started to like the great new colors that came out for Android phones. But there’s one color that I unconsciously drew the line at: pink.

Growing up, I was never a girl who wore pink. I ran with the boys, I played basketball, I hated wearing dresses, and I tinkered with technology. Pink was an often-maligned color in my eyes – too girly, too Barbie, too soft or too flashy. Basically, not me.

But over the years I have come to terms with the colour. It is only one colorand a beautiful one at that. It can be soft and muted like the new Google Pixel 9 Pro phones, or direct like the pink t-shirt below that I wear once a year and look incredibly striking in. Even before the 2023 Barbie movie phenomenon, I had slowly come to terms with pink. Except for phones. After all, technology is supposed to be serious business, right?

Well, when the first Google Pixel 9 leaks came to light, my eyes immediately fell on the pink color of the Pixel 9 Pro. Would I dare? For several months, I agonized, asking myself back and forth: “That’s a cool color.” “It’s pink!” “So what?” “A pink phone, really, Rita?”

Ultimately, Google’s decision was made for me, as there were only four color options for the Pixel 9 Pro, and three of them weren’t for me. (My personal favorite color is green, so I would have gone for that shade of green if Google had made it available on the Pro and not just the base model of the Pixel 9.)

• Black was out of the question – see the first sentence in this article.
• Porcelain looked good, but I had worn a Pixel 7 Pro in white for 12 months in 2022-2023 and had a lot of white phones already, so I wasn’t ready to go back to that color yet.
• Hazel looks good too, but my husband wears a Pixel 7 Pro in hazel and we already have too many phones in the house to cause any more confusion. And if I’m being honest, the shade Google went with on the Pixel 9 Pro is more gray than green.
• Rose quartz, also known as pink.

So it had to be pink. And it was pink. And it is pink.

And it looks stunning. Sleek and sufficiently desaturated (though I wouldn’t have minded a more saturated hue), elegant and sophisticated – just absolute perfection. I loved my blue Pixel 8 Pro, but this? This is better. The polished materials and design certainly help.

Plus, it reflects light in a perfect way. Sometimes, when there’s a faint warm light around me, it feels more like rose gold. At other times, outdoors and in bright sunlight, it looks more silver.

And when my Philips Hue smart lights change to funky pink and purple tones, this is the result. Judge for yourself.

TL;DR: The “Rose Quartz” Pixel 9 Pro is absolutely gorgeous no matter the lighting or situation. And while I never thought I’d ever carry a pink phone, I have this particular pink phone in my hand, in a clear case, to show it off and enjoy its design and color. If you’re still wondering which color to choose, this is the one.