I think the crux of the matter is, what defines "basics"?
Pixel 9 series is offering 20% more battery, better and brighter screens, better modems, more RAM for not just AI but multi-tasking and future-proofing, premium design (aesthetics is relative, but this is definitely flagship level material and look), two size options for the Pro model, decent color options, major upgrade to selfie camera, ultra-sonic FPS, some decent software features for phone calls (like transcribing notes)... To me, these are the basics.
Google is stepping up their game on these fronts. Will they hit it out of the park? Let's see. Only time will tell. We've been here before where Google releases new hardware and then we see a litany of bugs and/or hardware issues shortly after release. And while we know stuff like this isn't exclusive to Google's hardware only, it has been a rather big point of contention for the past couple of years.
So yes, Google can improve, and yes, we should call them out on this, but this specific article does not accomplish this.
If anything, it seems like the Pixel 9 series is poised to get exactly the basics right.