Google recently launched its most advanced smartphone so far, the Pixel 9 Pro XL model.

What’s new and great about Pixel 9 Pro XL:

  • New design and premium build. In terms of quality, the phone feels more premium than ever. Not only that, but its ergonomics have been improved, in a manner to attract even the most sophisticated users, the disillusioned iPhone users (new iPhone model brings nothing to the table).
  • Excellent screen. ​​Superb screen display with top specifications and a very bright image. Looks phenomenal.
  • Top-notch software. Android is a very mature environment, so obviously it’s going to perform almost flawless. You can expect no problems, error, hangs or anything. Things just move smoothly, quickly and without fault. It comes with Android 14 on it.
  • The best cameras. The cameras and photo experience remain some of the best on a mobile phone. Videos look extremely sharp in this version.
  • Useful AI features. I’m one of those that think AI is over-hyped. I have to admit though, Pixel adds some useful AI features in terms of photo/video editing. Unblur, Zoom Enhance, Best Take, Magic Editor are just a few that I found myself using frequently as a Pixel user.
  • New Ultrasonic Fingerprint Sensor. It doesn’t feel faster than the optical one on previous models, but it is definitely more accurate.
  • New selfie camera. This new selfie camera has a wider angle that allows group photos much easier.
  • Autonomy. Pixel 8 was an ok-ish one in terms of battery, lasting up to 1.5 days in normal use. However, Pixel 9 Pro XL has raised the bar, it frequently lasts more than 2 days between loads under normal use. If you feel like stressing it, you can rely on a full 24 hours of intensive use.
  • Excellent case. The out-of-the-box case it comes with is excellent. I don’t feel the need of paying for a custom one, this does the job very good.

What’s not so great about Google Pixel 9 Pro XL:

  • Price. In here it costs around $1,350. Quite expensive, my ideal smartphone budget is around $500 so Pixel 9 Pro XL is way over it for me. But for users looking for a high-end model it might suite just fine. Also, Pixel 8 Pro was at least $100 cheaper than this when it launched. Not to mention that now you can get a new one for like $600 with 80% off the Pixel 9 Pro capabilities on it.
  • Storage. Even at that high price, Pixel 9 Pro XL comes with basic storage of only 128 GB. Why not more for this price? Sure, you can pay extra for more but that’s not fair. Also, the storage type is UFS 3.1, which has a lower speed standard compared to other modern top-of-the-range phones on the market.
  • Charger. The charger is mediocre at best. Doesn’t support high-speed charging, as it takes up to 1.5 hours to fully charge it. My older Motorola G82 is fully charged in 30 mins or so, and it was a fraction of the price.
  • Missing AI features/apps. Not all AI features are available in here. So depending on where you are, you’ll have access to AI features that aren’t available for anyone. For instance Pixel Studio or Pixel Screenshots are not available in Eastern Europe.

Google Pixel 9 Pro XL – HARDWARE & SPECS:

  • Dimensions: 76.6 x 162.8 x 8.5mm
  • Weight: 221g
  • Construction: aluminum frames, glossy / Gorilla Glass Victus 2 matte glass for the back / Gorilla Glass Victus 2 front glass
  • Display: 6.8 inches diagonal, QHD resolution (1344 x 2992 pixels high format 20:9 (486 ppi), Dynamic LTPO AMOLED, adaptive refresh rate 1-120 Hz, HDR10+, 3000 nits (maximum brightness)
  • Processor: Google Tensor G4 (4nm) – 1×3.1 GHz Cortex-X4 & 3×2.6 GHz Cortex-A720 & 4×1.92 GHz Cortex-A520
  • GPU: Mali-G715 MC7
  • RAM: 16 GB
  • Storage: UFS 3.1, 128 GB / 256 GB / 512 GB / 1 TB
  • Battery: 5,060 mAh Li-Ion
  • Charging: 37W Wired (PD 3.0), 23W Wireless (Qi/PMA)
  • Front camera: 42MP, F2.2, 17mm, 4K@30/60fps
  • System of 3 photo-video cameras: Main camera: 50 MP, f/1.7, 25mm (wide), 1/1.31″, 1.2µm, dual-pixel PDAF, Laser AF, OIS; Ultra-wide-angle camera: 48 MP, f/1.7, 123˚ (ultrawide), 1/2.55″, 1.4µm, Dual Pixel PDAF; 5X telephoto camera: 48 MP, f/2.8, 113mm (periscope telephoto), PDAF, OIS, 5x optical zoom
  • VIDEO: 8K@30fps, 4K@30/60fps, 1080p@30/60/240fps, HDR10+
  • Operating system: Android 14
  • Sensors: Under-display ultrasonic fingerprint sensor, Accelerometer, Compass, Gyroscope, Proximity, Thermometer
  • Connectivity: 5G, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/6e/7, tri-band, Wi-Fi Direct, hotspot, Bluetooth 5.3, A2DP, LE, aptX HD, USB typeC 3.2, UWB support

Other features worthy of mentioning:

  • Ultrasonic fingerprint sensor, under the screen
  • Stereo speakers: one on the base, one hidden in the ear speaker slot
  • IP68 water and dust protection
  • Thermometer which, this time, is also certified to take the temperature of the human body
  • Colors: Porcelain, Rose Quartz, Hazel, Obsidian

Google Pixel 9 Pro XL – DESIGN & ERGONOMICS:

The design is probably the biggest change since Pixel 8. Not only that, but it also significantly increased the level of construction quality. Straight and sturdy metal edges, flat screen, flat back and a camera module that looks like Data’s glasses (Star Trek fans will understand). Quite different compared to the previous three generations where it had a (metal) band from one edge to the other.

In terms of construction, a Google Pixel has never felt better, more robust, more premium than it does now. From the flat screen with symmetrical edges, to the tactile buttons, to the camera island, everything feels premium.

Ergonomically speaking, Pixel 9 Pro XL is not as good as its predecessor. It is a bit heavier and has straight, lumpy edges make it feel less comfortable in hand than the previous model. If you’re an iPhone user, you might like that though, as iPhones are somehow similarly shaped. I’m sure that this was part of Google’s plan too, focusing its design on making it attractive and familiar to iPhone users.

The new official case that Google released (but sells separately) for the Pixel 9 models is very nice. Wraps around the phone perfectly and is resistant to fingerprints or other marks.

Google Pixel 9 Pro XL – SCREEN:

The screen on the Google Pixel 9 XL is probably one of the best LTPO OLED displays on a smartphone EVER. Not only does it have all the top specs (high resolution 1344 x 2992 pixels, 486 ppi, high adaptive refresh 1Hz-120Hz), but it’s also very bright, reaching a peak of 3,000 nits (compared to the previous one which reached “only” 2,400 nits).

What’s not that perfect though is the auto-brightness setting on Pixel 9 Pro XL. Sometimes it lowers the level a lot more than I would have liked, more than the previous model did. Otherwise, the screen on the Pixel 9 Pro XL is a superb one.

Google Pixel 9 Pro XL – SOFTWARE:

In the past, Google phones (especially in the days of the Nexus models) came with the basic Android on them – a system generally stable, robust, but very simplistic. With the transition to the Pixel generation, Google began developing the base Android into an increasingly complex, coherent system with clear and distinctive design touches.

I have never felt Google’s Android more competent and better than during the test period of the Google Pixel 9 Pro. Even if it’s the Android 14 version (Android 15 will be released in October), the experience on the Pixel 9 was flawless.

It gives you the possibility to set customizable colors and accents, stylized icons and the “Material You” design can be seen in every effect, touch, and gesture. If you add to that the stability we’ve had in recent days, it’s hard not to fall in love with the Android experience on Pixel 9.

Then there are all kinds of cool features that make the Pixel pleasant to use: an useful Always-On mode, Always Listening that identifies the songs playing around you, the Voice Recorder that automatically transcribes in realtime all your recordings, Circle to Search (you search directly for whatever you circle on the screen you are viewing), the Google Assistant virtual assistant, which is still probably the best on market and the Gemini AI engine that allows you to have direct conversations with it on any topic… just take that with a grain of salt as it’s still over zealous in terms of politically correctness.

The AI part needs its own dedicated section. Google, as many other companies, added a lot of AI functions and gimmicks, some even useful.

The phone is hardware ready for AI processing (it has dedicated RAM memory specifically for this), and compared to last year’s model, it moves faster on the processing side, with many of the AI ​​functions relying more on software.

Here are some of the AI ​​features on the Pixel 9 Pro XL smartphone, starting with those exclusive to the Series 9:

  • Add Me. A new feature that allows the photographer to also take part in the group photo. With “Add Me” the phone takes the group picture, and then another person can come and take the phone while the original photographer also goes into the frame. The phone remembers the framing, sketches it on the screen so it can be easily reproduced, and at the end of the two pictures taken, the phone produces a single one, as if everyone was in the frame from the beginning. In practice, the only problem is that in order to keep the frame, the phone sometimes cuts out perhaps too aggressively from the frame, and in the end you wake up with a group picture in which, for example, the legs are a little cropped. But it’s something promising that can only be perfected with time. I leave an example below:
  • New features in Magic Editor. The AI-powered Magic Editor has been around since the Pixel 8 series, but now it’s getting new features. Beyond the classic options to move or remove objects in the frame, the editor now allows you to change the background entirely to something imagined by the AI, or re-imagine certain surfaces or selected areas. For example, you can select the background of a photo and ask the AI ​​engine to rethink it as the middle of the ocean with a stormy sky. Or select the bench some people are sitting on and ask the AI ​​engine to replace it with a boat. Most of the time the results are really surprising.
  • Video Boost. It can be activated from the camera app before taking the videos. What it does is this, after you shoot a video clip, it uploads that to the Google cloud and uses all the processing power in the cloud to enhance the footage. It is done in the background, and sometimes the results are very good (stabilization, lighting, low noise, etc.).
  • Zoom Enchance. Another cool new function is Zoom enhance, a function that improves the quality of pictures taken with high zoom. The feature also uses AI methods to fill in images with missing details, sometimes inventing shapes, letters or objects where the information (pixels) is too little. All in all it’s a cool feature, sometimes with very good results.

Sure, some AI features are nice, but in the end they’re just gimmicks that you might not use very often. Others (like Unblur), I find extremely useful.

Google Pixel 9 Pro XL – PHOTO & VIDEO:

It is no surprise that Google’s Pixel phones excel in the photography department. It’s already a tradition and the only thing is that you can barely see any difference in terms of camera quality between Pixel 9 and Pixel 8. There is a slightly better color calibration and balance between the three cameras on the back in Pixel 9 compared to the previous version, as well as better results on the zoom camera at high magnifications (over 10x).

Other than that, pretty much the same good and consistent results that we already know from the Pixel family: excellent pictures, real colors without being too saturated, excellent detail retention in highlights and a very good level of detail. The camera application is relatively simple, with easily accessible settings.

On the video side, not much of an improvement over last year’s model. The Video Boost function is cool, even if it is something software-controlled, and it’s done in “post production”. Overall, the Pixel 9 video part doesn’t feel like it comes with anything impressive, but rather acceptable for this level.

Google Pixel 9 Pro XL – BATTERY & CHARGING:

Google Pixel 9 XL comes with almost the same capacity as last year – a 5,060 mAh battery (compared to 5,050 on the 8 Pro), but the new phone actually has significantly better battery life. So if the battery is the same, then it means the components consume less.

It seems that the new Tensor G4 processor is much more efficient and makes the phone easily last two full days or even better between charges in case of less intensive use.

Conclusion

Google Pixel 9 XL is Google’s best phone so far, and probably one of the best Android smartphones available right now on the market.

It comes with a new design, most likely done this way to entice even more iPhone users than Android users. Add to that a premium build and a much-improved software experience compared to past models, and what you’ve got is something that will be at the top of the high-end Android smartphone arena.

Some specs are top-notch, while others seem more like compromises (small and older-class base storage, modest charging, poorer graphics performance than the competition), but overall the end result is very powerful. An excellent screen, a very good battery and a set of cameras that are difficult to match, all make the Google Pixel 9 Pro XL an excellent choice for Android users.

On top of that, you get access to the latest AI gimmicks even if many of those are still not fully developed and finished.

Now, the question that remains is this, is Pixel 9 Pro worth buying? It depends on your budget. In my case, I’d still opt for the very powerful and still high-end Pixel 8 Pro, which you can get for half the price. Performance wise though, Pixel 8 will give the user largely the same experience – it’s not that Pixel 9 isn’t very good, it’s the fact that Pixel 8 still does 80-90% of what Pixel 9 Pro does.