Google Pixel 9 Pro XL Review—Is Bigger Better?

The Pixel 9 Pro XL is a quintessentially Google product and reviewing it comes with the joy of celebrating some considerable upgrades while mourning the minor issues that Google could have easily overcome. Google’s Pixel 9 series of devices was announced at the Made by Google event on August 13, 2024, and Google surprised everyone with its four new smartphones—the Pixel 9, Pixel 9 Pro, Pixel 9 Pro XL, and Pixel 9 Pro Fold. 

The Google Pixel 9 Pro XL has AI to thank for being its central selling point, but even without the decorative but ultimately unsatisfying AI gift basket, there’s a lot to love about the Pixel 9 Pro XL.

Google Pixel 9 Pro XL Review—6 Key Elements of the New Smartphone

The latest Pixel series has some interesting new models on offer. The Pixel 9 Pro Fold stands out from the rest in the most distinct manner with its efficient folding screen and improved design, but these fold phones aren’t for everyone and that’s entirely understandable. Standing next in line for the title of Google’s most premium smartphone is the Pixel 9 Pro XL, patiently waiting to be reviewed. 

Pixel 9 Pro XL Design—What Aesthetic Changes Are We Looking At?

Right at a glance, the Pixel Pro XL has received some obvious upgrades like the more boxy design and the redesigned camera bar. The colors are also a little more muted, dropping the mint greens in favor of more stock colors like porcelain, obsidian, hazel, and the one standout rose quartz color. The standard colors don’t matter as much to us—it’s nothing a phone cover isn’t going to fix—but there could be fans out there disappointed by the basic style.

The silky matt glass back paired with the dual-finish camera bar and polished metal frame come together quite harmoniously to leave us with a finished product, so even if the colors don’t impress, the quality of the Pixel 9 Pro XL’s design will. 

The curved edges of the device are perhaps not as rounded out as predecessor devices, but they still maintain a smoother edge than other brick-shaped devices on the market, for example, the S24 Ultra. The rounded edges are so much easier to love and we remain hopeful that the Pixel maker doesn’t take that away from us in successive devices. There have been some complaints about the device being incapable of sensing taps in the corner of the screen, but these issues have only affected a few devices.

As we look at and review the design of the Pixel 9 Pro XL, the smartphone retains many of the design elements and display quality we’ve come to expect from this series while bringing something new to the table. Keeping the external aesthetic of the device aside, let’s take a look at what else the new smartphone has to offer.

Google Pixel 9 Pro XL Display Features

The Google Pixel 9 pro XL features a 6.8-inch Super Actua LTPO display, with 1344 x 2992 OLED resolution at 486 PPI. The 1-120 Hz refresh rate is to be expected and the device claims peak brightness up to 3000 nits. Protected by Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2 for the matte screen, the display has a sleek, unobtrusive bezel around the screen that is thinner than its predecessors. The display on the Pixel 9 Pro is almost exactly the same, the only difference being a change in size to a 6-3-inch display. 

In terms of setting up the screen, Google offers only two color profiles to choose from, Vibrant or Natural, so you don’t have a major element of control over the screen. Yes, you can change your wallpaper as you please and the dark themes could be convenient to test but despite Google being the center for all things Android, it does very little work on experience customization. From the always-on display setting to the other internal changes, Google provides a small selection of tools but all of them are far from perfect.

The Pixel 9 Chipset—Taking Time off at Tensor Town

As expected, the Google Pixel 9 Pro XL is powered by a Google Tensor G4 chipset with a Titan M2 security coprocessor. Now the Tensor chips are pretty impressive and extremely capable of handling all of the work assigned to them simultaneously, but their processing speeds have often fallen short of the Snapdragon 8 chips that other smartphone makers have turned to. 

Thankfully, this difference will only be noticeable to the most tech-savvy and critical users who are trained to look for the flaws. For the average consumer, the Tensor G4 chip will be perfectly responsive enough to handle their needs and the demands of the AI that runs amok across its features.

One of the biggest criticisms of the Pixel 9 Pro XL that we have to mention in the review, is the 12GB storage space. The RAM of the device sits at a nice and reliable 16GB where 3GB is supposedly reserved for the AI, but the storage capabilities are pointedly lacking. For a $1,099 USD smartphone, you would expect Google to provide a 256GB upgrade at the least.

Pixel 9 Pro XL Camera Quality

The camera is always the highlight of any Pixel device and this one is no different. The triple camera setup on the device involves a 50 MP Octa PD wide-angle lens, a 48 MP Quad PD ultrawide lens with macro focus, and a 48 MP 5x telephoto lens with Super Res Zoom up to 30x. The front camera features a 42 MP Dual PD selfie camera with auto-focus and a 103° ultrawide field of view, which is a big upgrade from its Pixel ancestors. The cameras are efficient and reliable across situations, whether you’re trying to get a panorama shot in or narrow down on a portrait. 

The telephoto lens works best up to 15x but beyond that, it does tend to get a little blurry. The cameras don’t over-enhance the colors or up the quality of the image unnaturally—what you see is what you get. The Pixel 9 Pro XL camera quality is impressive and you can get a good range of pictures across bright and low light settings and it does not lose out on the details of the image in either scenario. Solely based on the camera in this Pixel 9 Pro XL review, the device is worth a buy.

Is the Battery of the Pixel 9 Pro XL Good?

The Pixel 9 Pro XL has a 5,060 mAh battery which is a pretty decent offering by anyone’s standards. The device guarantees a 24+ hour battery life that supposedly can be extended to 100-hour battery life with the Extreme battery saver mode—a setting that will be rarely tested or put to use, but is generous all the same. 

The device comes with fast charging capabilities, promising a 70% charge in 30 minutes. It is also supported by Qi-certified wireless charging capabilities for those who prefer this mode of charging. The Pixel devices are not sold with a charger so for the full experience, you’ll have to go out of your way to purchase the Google 45 W USB-C charger separately. 

Reverse wireless charging is also possible using the device so if your Qi-certified earphones need a quick boost, you can technically rely on the device. Overall the Pixel 9 Pro XL’s battery is pretty good. 

AI Takes Center Stage on the Pixel Devices

Google’s Gemini-powered features are central to the device and its capabilities, and the purchase of the device will make the most sense to those who plan to use all of these capabilities. Many of the key AI features like Gemini Live are unfortunately locked behind the Gemini Advanced paywall, so for the full experience, you’ll have to invest in the subscription plan, but you do get a year of free access with the purchase of the Pixel Pro models. 

“Tensor G4 was designed with Google DeepMind and is optimized to run our most advanced AI models. It will be the first processor to run Gemini Nano with Multimodality — which helps your phone understand text, images, and audio.”

Pixel offers a screenshot scanning feature that will let you search for relevant information from the screenshots with simple text prompts. Much like the Microsoft Recall tool, your device is capable of “understanding” the content of your screenshot. 

The weather app also gets AI support for personalized daily reports, and the call notes feature to summarize conversations can also be handy. The main focus of the Google Pixel 9 Pro XL AI efforts is in the photo editing app, where you can merge photos more easily, reframe photos effectively, see better processing of your videos, etc. The Satellite SOS feature in the U.S. promises access to emergency services even without a cell connection, so you always have help available at the touch of a button.

Final Thoughts in Our Pixel 9 Pro XL Review

The Pixel 9 Pro XL is a good phone—that much is apparent. The camera, battery, and design are better than older models and if you like what it can do with AI, you’ll enjoy using the device. 

If you’re looking for the smartphone at a better price and don’t mind compromising on the battery slightly, the Pixel 9 Pro works just as well and is almost similar in every way. It only differs in its 6.3-inch screen and 4700 mAh battery which also promises a 24+ hour charging cycle. The Pixel 9 Pro is priced at $999 USD, and we don’t see any reason why you wouldn’t benefit from investing in the smaller phone.

Apple is all set to launch its iPhone 16 series this month so if you wait another few days, you might have a chance to compare the two series and see what works better for you. Huawei has its own massive tri-fold phone set for debut but that is not going to see a U.S. release, so the Pixel 9 Pro XL may be the biggest buy for you right now.