The leaks are over, the cellphone is official, and the opinions are out — the preliminary hype across the Pixel 9 Pro XL has lastly settled. It has been almost a month since Google launched the cellphone, and I’ve spent the previous 4 weeks testing the smartphone myself. Now that the mud has settled, how does the Pixel 9 Professional XL actually maintain up? Is it actually as spectacular because it appeared at launch? And are the brand new AI options truly helpful in on a regular basis life?
After utilizing it for a couple of month, this is what I really like and do not like about this machine.
I used to be unsuitable concerning the Pixel 9’s design
It is good
When the leaks got here out (and even in the course of the official keynote), I wasn’t positive I preferred the brand new design of the Pixel 9 Professional XL.
I used to be genuinely dissatisfied with the renders; it was a drastic shift from earlier Pixel designs, with Google switching to flat sides and a distinct digicam visor — and man, these renders regarded unhealthy. Folks have been saying it regarded identical to an iPhone — even Daniel Bader stated as a lot in our Pixel 9 Pro XL review.
However this was a traditional case of “do not decide a guide by its cowl.” The second I took the Pixel 9 Professional XL out of the field, I noticed I had judged it too harshly. Now, I genuinely like it. Whereas Google has moved away from the preliminary Pixel design, and as somebody who primarily makes use of an iPhone, I may see myself shopping for a Pixel this time.
The design feels acquainted, but superbly refined. The delicate curves alongside the sides and the rounded corners make it extra comfy to carry than an iPhone — the perfect half is that it does not dig into your hand. The load has additionally been managed so nicely that it does not really feel like a heavy cellphone, though it is related in weight to the iPhone 16 Professional and Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra.
When you’re skeptical concerning the Pixel 9 Professional XL’s design, go on the market and take a look at the cellphone as soon as. For me, this is not simply one other Android smartphone, it is proper up there with the best-designed Android flagships on the market.
It isn’t simply concerning the AI with this cellphone
It gives top-of-the-line Android experiences
As with each Pixel launch, the Pixel 9’s focus was extra on software program than {hardware}, particularly the AI options. The Pixel 9 Professional XL is full of AI, together with an much more highly effective Magic Editor in Photographs, Add Me in digicam, Pixel Studio for creating AI-generated pictures, Pixel Screenshot for retaining a tab on issues for later, Gemini Dwell for deep conversations with the AI assistant, and extra.
However the extra I’ve used this cellphone, the extra I’ve realized that, whereas these AI options are spectacular, just a few are literally helpful each day (no less than for me). For instance, some right here at Android Police contemplate the Pixel Screenshots app a game-changer, however for me, it’s simply one other app. It is useful in sure conditions, however I not often discovered myself utilizing it past the primary week.
What I do respect about its AI options are the smaller, considerate integrations all through the machine. I really like how the on-device Gemini provides a cinematic impact to the wallpaper and the way the brand new Climate app gives a concise abstract, serving to me shortly put together for the day with out scanning by a full web page of the climate app.
The brand new Add Me feature within the digicam app is nice, too, permitting a bunch of buddies to simply get a photograph with out asking another person to seize it. The AI options in Photographs have additionally been fairly helpful, such because the Magic Editor, permitting me to take away undesirable objects from photographs, Video Enhance for bettering the standard of my movies for social media, and Auto Frame for getting the proper angle of my photographs after I seize them.
However these are options you utilize sometimes, not essentially day by day. The core of your each day smartphone expertise is the Android OS, which Google has perfected on the Pixel 9 Professional. To be clear, the Pixel 9 Professional XL is extra than simply its AI; it is an excellent Android smartphone with a consumer expertise that is unparalleled in comparison with different smartphones I’ve utilized in 2024.
Now, some could argue that the cellphone coming with Android 14 — and never the newest Android 15 — just isn’t what they need from a brand new Google Pixel, however contemplate this: would you moderately have a steady, bug-free model that is been refined over the previous yr, or a brand new Android model with some out-of-the-box bugs which may compromise the brand new cellphone expertise? I might select the previous any day.
There are lots of small upgrades that make the complete expertise stand out
It is a full overhaul
But it surely does not cease on the Android expertise. It looks like Google has labored on this smartphone from the bottom up, making it massively higher than the Pixel 8 Pro, though they’re simply 10 months aside. Take, for instance, the show. Whereas the shows may appear almost an identical on paper — the Pixel 9 Professional XL’s is simply 0.1-inch bigger than the Pixel 8 Professional’s — the improved brightness makes a noticeable distinction in real-world use.
It is a related case for the Tensor G4 and Exynos 5400 modem. One of many frustrations with earlier era Pixel smartphones has been the processor that overheats and a modem that struggles with sign reception. To my shock, I did not have such points with my Pixel 9 Professional XL unit — no less than nothing out of the bizarre.
Over the previous month, I have never skilled any important overheating points. It sometimes will get heat, however to not the extent that you must set it apart to chill — I might say it is on par with my iPhone by way of warmth administration. Equally, mobile points appear to have been mounted this time round, with no zero-signal reception in my space — one thing I could not say for the Pixel 8a.
Whereas the Pixel 9 Professional XL nonetheless can’t run video games at full throttle for so long as some Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 smartphones, perceive that it’s not made for that. Google is concentrating on informal customers who take photographs and movies for social media and wish an important multimedia expertise, all whereas having a formidable design, a helpful construct, and dependable software program help — and it nails all of this.
Battery life is one other space through which Google has clearly made enhancements. Whereas there is no main improve on paper in comparison with the earlier era, the Pixel 9 Professional XL lasted the complete day on a single cost day by day for the previous month, and most of the time, with about 20% battery left.
There wasn’t a single day the Pixel 9 Professional XL died on me, which is saying one thing for an influence consumer like me. Would I like to have quicker charging? Sure, however I consider the battery expertise lastly makes up for it.
The Pixel 9 Professional XL is not the default alternative simply but
Each smartphone has its shortcomings
So, what’s holding me again from recommending this to everybody? First, whereas Google has made an enormous leap this yr, subsequent yr’s Pixel 10 is predicted to be an even bigger upgrade. It could lastly settle these efficiency points as soon as and for all, as Google is predicted to modify to a brand new producer (TSMC) for the chipset, which ought to massively enhance efficiency and effectivity.
Secondly, there’s the value. At $1,100, the Pixel 9 Professional XL is the direct successor to the Pixel 8 Professional and about $100 costlier. Going again two generations, it is over $300 greater than the Pixel 7 Professional. Whereas this smartphone does justify its price ticket to a sure extent, it is onerous to say if it is value a $300 enhance in simply 24 months for the reason that Pixel 7 Professional’s debut.
That stated, with the best deals currently available and the vacation season simply across the nook, the Pixel 9 Professional XL may simply grow to be my default advice for the remainder of 2024.
Google Pixel 9 Pro XL
The Pixel 9 Professional XL carries the identical function as final yr’s Pixel 8 Professional, with related specs and a well-known footprint. The brand new Pixel 9 Professional, nevertheless, is a smaller flagship choice. The 9 Professional XL gives a bigger display, quicker charging, and an even bigger battery, together with all of the digicam and AI options of the 9 Professional.