Google Pixel 9 Pro XL Smartphone Review – The Google Pixel 9 Pro XL was announced in August 2024 and went on sale a week later. The new smartphone has been launched globally in many regions and will soon expand to more countries. It launched with a new design that is drastically different from previous Pixel phones. Samsung’s flagship Android phones are preferred by users all over the world due to their elegant and sophisticated design.
Google wants to change that with the Google Pixel 9 Pro XL, which sports an equally impressive design. The internals of the phones are just as good as the design and include an even better 5G modem from Samsung, which should deliver better 5G performance with lower power consumption. Let’s begin with a detailed review of the Google Pixel 9 Pro XL smartphone and find out if this smartphone is worth purchasing.
Table of Contents
Google Pixel 9 Pro XL Smartphone Review
Highlights
- The Google Pixel 9 Pro XL smartphone features a 6.8-inch LTPO OLED display with support for a 120Hz high refresh rate.
- The phone is equipped with the newly released Tensor G4 5G SoC, which is capable of reaching clock speeds of 1×3.1 GHz.
- The Google Pixel 9 Pro XL arrived with Android 14 OS.
- The smartphone has a 50MP triple rear camera system with a 42MP selfie camera.
- The phone has a 5060mAh battery with 37W wired and 23W wireless fast charging support.
Design and Display
The Google Pixel 9 Pro XL features a gorgeous new design that is different and yet all too similar to previous Pixel phones. Instead of a curved design, Google went all in with the flat design that was first featured in iPhones. The flat design honestly looks quite good, especially with the rounded corners.
Even with the new design, the Pixel 9 Pro XL looks familiar and that’s because it retains the horizontal visor but it is a bit shorter and rounded on the sides. However, the new horizontal visor made the design more elegant. We love the new Pixel design, but long-timer OG Pixel fans may not feel the same way. After all, designs are subjective, and not everyone will like the same things.
As for the build quality of the body, the side and the mid-frame are made of Stainless Steel, while the rear panel is made of glass with a frosted finish on the surface. This choice of build materials made the smartphone a lot more premium to the touch and also more durable. Both the front and the rear glass are protected by the Gorilla Glass Victus 2. The smartphone is also protected against dust and water with an IP68 rating.
The Pixel 9 Pro XL will be available in Porcelain, Rose Quartz, Hazel, and Obsidian color options. As for the display, it has a 6.8-inches LTPO OLED display with support for a 120Hz high refresh rate. This panel comes with a 1.5K resolution and is capable of displaying HDR10+ content, which will lead to superior picture quality. The display brightness can reach as high as 3000 nits under sunlight, so you won’t find any issues when using the phone outdoors.
Memory and Internal
The Google Pixel 9 Pro XL is equipped with the latest Tensor G4 5G chipset, which is capable of reaching a clock speed of 1×3.1 GHz. The Tensor G4 5G chipset is designed by Google itself, which offers better synergy between the hardware and the Android operating system. This is the secret behind the smooth performance of the Pixel smartphone. All apps and programs launch quickly and run smoothly.
Even the gaming performance is quite good and can easily run games, such as PUBGm, Summoners War, Black Desert Mobile, CODm, and Genshin Impact with High graphical settings at decent framerates. Even though the gaming performance is quite good, it is not as good as the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 inside the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra and other flagship smartphones of 2024.
The Google Pixel 9 Pro XL has a new 5G modem from Samsung, which should not only improve the 5G connectivity but also decrease the 5G power consumption, which should help with the battery life. It also comes with Android 14 with a clean Android experience. Since it’s a Pixel phone, we were expecting it to come with Android 15 out of the box but that’s not the case.
Google may believe Android 15 is not yet fully ready and may ruin the Pixel experience, and if that’s the case, Google is right to launch the phone with Android 14. As for memory and storage, the Google Pixel 9 Pro XL is available for purchase with 16GB of RAM and 128GB to 1TB of UFS 3.1 internal storage.
Camera
The Google Pixel 9 Pro XL is equipped with a 50MP triple rear camera setup. The primary 50MP rear camera can capture some great shots with high detail levels and saturated colors. However, there’s a bit of a processed look to the images that are not there in other flagship smartphones from Samsung and Apple. Some users may love it, while others may not. The overall picture quality is similar to other top flagships.
The 48MP periscopic camera was extremely good. It is just as impressive as the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra or even better in some scenes at the 5x zoom levels. However, if you zoom past the 5x optical range, Samsung reigns superior. The third camera has the 48MP ultra-wide camera, which is also just as good as the primary camera but with a 123Ëš wide field of view.
The phone delivers some great stellar night photography, which Pixel phones are known for. The camera optimization combined with OIS and Night Mode algorithm, allows for some extremely well-lit pictures that look quite good and have a decent amount of details in them. On the front, the phone has a 42MP selfie sensor, which can capture some fantastic selfies with natural skin tones.
When it comes to video recording, the rear camera can shoot videos at up to 8K@30FPS, but the selfie camera can only shoot videos at up to 4K@60FPS. The videos from the rear camera are stabilized with OIS and gyro-EIS, so the footage will be stable. However, the same can’t be said for the selfie camera.
Battery and Others
The Google Pixel 9 Pro XL is equipped with a 5060mAh battery that can provide at least 1 – 2 days of battery life depending on the usage. With light to medium usage that includes using the camera, music, texting, and a bit of social media, getting 2 days of battery life won’t be impossible. This is possible due to the use of a large battery and the use of a more efficient 5G modem.
However, if you play a lot of games, the battery will drain a lot faster and won’t last a full day. Thankfully, the phone supports both wired and wireless fast charging. Its 37W wired fast charging can fully charge the smartphone in under 1 hour and 30 minutes. It also has a 23W wireless fast charging but that should take around 2 hours to fully charge the smartphone.
Apart from that, the smartphone has support for tri-band Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.3, an under-display fingerprint sensor, stereo speakers, NFC, Satellite SOS, Ultra Wideband (UWB), and a USB Type-C connector for charging. The smartphone will start at $1099 (Rs 92,199 in India) approx.
Google Pixel 9 Pro XL Pros and Cons
Google Pixel 9 Pro XL Specifications Detail
Down below you can see the full specifications of the Google Pixel 9 Pro XL smartphone.
| Specifications | Google Pixel 9 Pro XL |
| Network | 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G |
| Announced | August 2024 |
| SIM | eSIM |
| Dimensions | 6.41 x 3.02 x 0.33 inches |
| Weight | 221 g |
| Size | 6.8 inches |
| Display | LTPO OLED 120Hz HDR10+ 2000-3000 nits brightness 20:9 ratio ~486 PPI density Always-on display |
| Protection/Others | Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2 IP68 dust/water resistant |
| Resolution | 1344 x 2992 pixels |
| OS | Android 14, up to 7 major Android upgrades |
| Chipset | 4nm – Google Tensor G4 |
| CPU | Octa-core 1×3.1 GHz Cortex-X4 3×2.6 GHz Cortex-A720 4×1.92 GHz Cortex-A520 |
| GPU | Mali-G715 MC7 |
| Card slot | No |
| RAM | 16GB |
| Internal | 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, 1TB UFS 3.1 |
| Camera | 50 MP (wide), dual pixel PDAF, OIS 48 MP (periscope telephoto), dual pixel PDAF, OIS, 5x optical zoom 48 MP (123Ëšultrawide), dual pixel PDAF Multi-zone Laser AF, LED flash, Pixel Shift, Ultra-HDR, panorama, Best Take, Zoom Enhance Max – 8K@30fps, gyro-EIS, OIS, 10-bit HDR |
| Selfie | 42 MP (ultrawide), PDAF Auto-HDR, panorama Max – 4K@30/60fps |
| Loudspeaker | Yes (stereo speakers) |
| 3.5mm jack | No |
| WLAN | Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/6e/7, tri-band |
| Bluetooth | 5.3, A2DP, LE, apt-X HD |
| GPS | GPS (L1+L5), GLONASS, GALILEO, BDS, QZSS, NavIC |
| NFC | Yes |
| Infrared port | No |
| Radio | No |
| USB | USB Type-C 3.2 |
| Sensors | Under display fingerprint, accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass, barometer, thermometer (skin temperature) Ultra Wideband (UWB) support Satellite SOS service Circle to Search |
| Battery | Li-Ion 5060 mAh 37W wired, PD3.0, PPS 23W wireless (w/ Pixel Stand) 12W wireless (w/ Qi-compatible charger) Reverse wireless |
| Colors | Porcelain, Rose Quartz, Hazel, Obsidian |
| Expected Price | $1099 (Rs 92,199 in India) approx |
Conclusion
The Google Pixel 9 Pro XL is designed to provide a flagship experience and it achieves that. Everything from the design & display to the performance & camera is excellent and may even beat other flagship phones at the same price. However, is it better than the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra? That would be a no.
The Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra is an excellent smartphone, which cannot be beaten by the Google Pixel 9 Pro XL except for two things, night camera performance and AI. Pixel phones always have been great at night photography and that didn’t change here. The phone also has a lot of AI features that are quite good and exceed the performance of AI in other phones.
If you want an alternative phone to the Google Pixel 9 Pro XL, then you should look at the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra, which costs a little more but has better performance, display, battery and build quality. However, the final decision is up to you, so it is better to choose a smartphone based on your needs and requirements.
