It’s 2024 Pixel time! Google has 3 variants of their flagship series now (9, 9 Pro, 9 Pro XL), unlike last year’s 2 (8, 8Pro). It kind of mirrors the Apple iPhone line up like 16, 16 Pro and 16 Pro Max and Samsung with their S25, S25 Plus and S25 Ultra series. Google is definitely playing the big game here. In fact, it is their biggest game and bet on the symbiosis between leading edge hardware and a custom “Gemini-powered, Pixel-heavy” user experience. The Pixel 9 Pro XL is their best effort at producing a flagship that is worthy of our hard-earned money. What’s Google’s play this time? Can they join the big league of blockbuster flagships this year? Will this be your phone-to-get this holiday season? Or is it another phone-to-forget? Let’s find out.
Pricing
The Google Pixel 9 Pro XL with 256 gigabytes of storage is currently priced at ₹1,25,000 across multiple major retailers, including Reliance Digital, Croma, and Flipkart. The 512GB variant is ₹1,40,000. All of them have some bank discount or the other. The 256GB variant could be around ₹1,10,000, if you are lucky. It is a good price, considering it comes with freebies, like the one whole year of “AI Premium” plan in Google One, which comes bundled along with the phone. It’s almost 2k per month, for 2TB of Google Drive storage and access to “Gemini Advanced” so around 24k is saved if you opt in for the Google One offer. Overall, it is a good value proposition. As a Google Pixel top-end user, it is also a given that the latest Android updates will keep coming for a long time.
Looks and Feel
A top-end phone requires top-class aesthetics. One of the few phones that looks better than the renders. Flat display, flat sides, a curvature that is familiar and materials that feel rich. Matte frosted glass with a glossy Google logo at the back for the Pros, while the compact 9 gets an inverse glossy finish for its back. It’s an elite touch and feel, something that has been machined with utmost attention to detail. We were quick to protect the 9 Pro XL this case from Caseology. Even without the case, the phone felt solid and grippy enough to inspire a bit of confidence for no-case usage.
“Porcelain, Rose Quartz, Hazel and Obsidian” are the 4 highly unique color options available on the Pixel 9 Pro XL. The one we have is the Hazel variant. We think the Porcelain White variant looks the best, as it carries forward the “Panda” theme that became really popular with the Pixel 2 XL. In terms of how the device feels in the hand, no doubt, it feels heavy and sturdy apart from feeling premium and rich. At 8.5mm of thickness and a weight of 221g, sporting a beefy 5,060 mAh battery, the Pixel 9 Pro XL is definitely on the heavier side of flagships, like the 227g 16 Pro Max and 232g S24 Ultra. We can say, among the flagships, the Pixel is the lightest heavyweight. The Pixel 9 Pro XL is well protected with IP68 dust and water resistance ratings. It’s good to know that resistance does not mean proof.
Screen
The screen on the Google Pixel 9 Pro XL is a 6.8-inch (171 mm) Super Actua OLED display (LTPO) unit, with a peak brightness of up to 3000 nits without HDR and 2000 nits with HDR. In our usage, the display was perfectly visible under harsh conditions, especially when using the camera, which is an angle that’s very hard to maintain visibility for. The aspect ratio is a wide 20:9, with the exact resolution coming in at 1344 x 2992 at 486 PPI pixel density. At 120Hz, the display remains smooth and responsive throughout. Since it is LTPO-enabled which means the display can go to very low refresh rate of 1Hz, using the Always-On display all the time is a luxury we can afford, and it didn’t create a big dent in the battery life. There is full-blown HDR support in all kinds of apps, as expected from a flagship smartphone like the Pixel.
The display quality is surprisingly better than the last year panel, which was already class-leading. The Pixel 9 Pro XL easily has one of the punchiest displays among the flagships. The display is protected by the Gorilla Glass Victus 2, which is currently the top end solution for protection against scratches. Overall, the screen is a top-notch unit with no compromises whatsoever when it comes to creation or consumption of high quality, high value content.
Performance
The latest Google Tensor G4 powers the Pixel 9 Pro XL with all its might. 1 Cortex X4 high performance core at 3.1 GHz (vs 2.9 GHz on the G3) 3 Cortex A720 Premium Efficient cores at 2.6 GHz (vs 4x 2.37 GHz A715 cores on the G3) and 4 Cortex A520 High Efficiency cores at 1.92GHz (vs A510 at 1.7GHz). A total of 8 cores and a whopping 16GB of LPDDR5X RAM, along with the same 3rd generation Tensor cores for Machine Learning, an Exynos 5400 modem and a 4nm fabrication process from Samsung deliver the combined power packed performance for the Pixel 9 Pro XL. The ML cores can do upto 45 tokens per second in terms of raw performance in using the “Gemini Nano” LLM that is pre-loaded on the device, taking advantage of the vast amounts of RAM this time. Handling any kind of heavy application or task is quite easy for the Pixel and maintains a steady performance even when the battery is low. Even if the display is set to a dynamic refresh rate, it barely goes below 120Hz because of the stable throughput of the chip and its power efficiency.
In 3D Mark wild life stress test, it scored 74.9% which is average, but this is better than the Pixel 9’s score of 58%. The temperature increased from 31 to 44 degrees, which is slightly less than the Pixel 9. Now, let’s have a look at the benchmarks to see how it compares with other chipsets in this segment.
When it comes to overheating, which was a big issue in the Pixel 8 Pro, we are glad to see that the issue has largely been fixed, primarily outside the camera department. When using the camera, though, overheating is inevitable due to the sheer amounts of data processing going on while using it. It’s not as bad as the Pixel 8 Pro, which refuses to decrease its heat and continues to heat up while on calls or, sometimes, randomly. No such conditions were observed on the 9 Pro XL. Just when using the camera, that too under heavy usage, the heating of the phone will be noticeable. Beyond that, it’s a marked improvement over the previous generation.
Camera
Google’s Pixel line has long been synonymous with computational photography, and the Pixel 9 Pro XL takes this legacy to new, uncharted territories. On the back of the phone lies a trio of cameras, each with its own distinct duties.
1. The Main Sensor: A 50MP Large Sensor
- Megapixel Count: 50MP
- Aperture: f/1.85
- Sensor Size: 1/1.31-inch
- Special Features: Optical Image Stabilization (OIS), Octa PD (Phase Detection Autofocus)
This is the camera you’ll use most often. It captures detailed images with rich colors and excellent dynamic range, even in challenging lighting conditions. The new color science embedded in the latest HDR algorithm claims to go for more accurate colors. When we compared it to the Pixel 8 Pro, the differences were distinct in how the Pixel 9 Pro XL sees colors. They are much more natural, with tonal contrast more in-sync with reality. The skin colors especially, have gained a big update, as we noticed a lot of accurate white balance estimations in tough scenarios. The large sensor size and wide aperture allowed for exceptional low-light performance and natural bokeh effects. OIS ensures sharp photos and stable videos, while Octa PD enables fast and accurate autofocus. All of this is true in our experience. The main camera is amazing. Both in photos and videos.
2. The Ultrawide Lens – 48 MP!
- Megapixel Count: 48MP
- Aperture: f/2.2
- Sensor Size: 1/2.55-inch
- Special Features: Autofocus, Macro Focus capability
Its 123-degree field of view is significantly wider than the main sensor. The inclusion of autofocus makes it versatile for capturing close-up shots with the macro mode. The higher megapixel count is a gift because almost all the time, we are mostly stuck with low resolution ultrawide cameras, but the Pixel is a class apart. Super high resolution in the ultrawide angle camera is great for landscape shots and even group shots. The new “Add Me” feature might be suggestive of that, in which you can shoot two frames that will be stitched together by AI to fill in new detail from the second frame. For example, you can add yourself in a group photo by asking a friend from the group to switch places and take the second shot in a similar frame. All this is thanks to some quick processing by computational camera magic.
3. The Telephoto Lens: 48 MP!
- Megapixel Count: 48MP
- Aperture: f/3.5
- Sensor Size: 1/2.55-inch
- Special Features: 5x Optical Zoom, OIS, Quad PD
Its 5x optical zoom lens, along with Quad Phase Detect autofocus, takes some of the finest telephoto shots at default zoom. Superzoom is just getting better and better now, with shots that can go up to 30x. Adding the Telephoto lens is one of the toughest engineering problems for a small device like the smartphone. In that sense, Google seems to have achieved its engineering goals and output brilliant results. Although the switching between the lenses is still slightly slower and less smooth than the iPhone, it has definitely gotten much better.
Perfect for Content Creators
The camera unit all-in-all is perfect for content creators. Be it photography with excellent contrast and color science, with the ability to shoot high-res RAW, or the simply amazing videography, with the new HDR algorithms, the Pixel 9 Pro XL has cemented itself as one of the best options in the world for content creators. The video stabilization is top-notch, and all the lenses are wide enough, including the front facing one, with its 42MP high-res sensor, f2.2 aperture and 103 degrees field of view. Surprisingly enough, we are seeing some of the best front facing camera performance ever on a Pixel this time, thanks to the high-res sensor. This is a massive upgrade from the 10.5MP unit on the Pixel 8 Pro, which had a narrower 95 degree field of view. In all kinds of lighting conditions, all the sensors perform admirably well, and the computational photographic prowess is really visible in features like Night Sight and Video Boost, which increases the clarity of your shots to the next level. For vloggers and influencers who like to create a ton of content, the bundled offer of Google One AI Premium plan with 2TB of Drive storage is a great addition to the toolkit.
A few drawbacks were noticed in the course of our usage – no cinematic mode (portrait mode in video) was available for the front camera, as on date. 8K mode requires some heavy-duty processing on the cloud. Video boost is also processing-heavy and requires more time for it to work. A slightly more user-friendly approach would be helpful for content creators to fully take advantage of all the features.
Battery
This time, Google has gone with a similar battery capacity as last year’s 8 Pro, with a 5,060 mAh unit. With the help of the LTPO screen, a new power efficient modem and a new gen chipset, the Pixel 9 Pro XL manages to last longer than the 8 Pro, in our experience. The device will easily last at least half a day for even the heaviest content creator who is using the cameras all the time. Up to 37W, exclusively on the 9 Pro XL, the top end Pixel supports fast charging via the PD standard. Meanwhile, the other models can go up to 27W only. It takes about an hour and a half to fully charge the 5,060 mAh battery, which is considerably quicker but still a bit behind the many Chinese smartphone brands which are able to offer shockingly fast charging speeds of about 40 mins to fully charge the phone with ratings of around 100W. But also keep in mind that the Pixel is a long-term device with 7 years of guaranteed updates, so battery health will be longer with 37W, which is still fast enough for most users. The fast wireless charging speeds are up to 23W. Overall, you can expect a good battery life and fast charging speeds on the Pixel 9 Pro XL, it will not disappoint.
Android and Gemini Advanced
Of course, the Pixel series is blessed with update security and a thriving community of ROM makers who keep it alive much beyond Google’s promised timelines. A whopping 7 years of upgrades, Pixel exclusive feature drops and security updates are guaranteed. Currently, the flagship is running on the latest version of Android with the September security update. As you would expect from a Google Pixel, it is one of the cleanest and most minimal user interfaces in the Android world. It’s sometimes too minimal for a regular user who has already used Chinese brands or even Samsung. Especially for an iPhone user who has experience iOS 18, it will be radically minimal when it comes to design and customization. This also ensures stable performance and smooth animations throughout the UI. Of course, Android is very extendable with its ability to run custom launchers and custom icon sets. The Pixel experience is still, a blank slate though, which is mostly good for long-time Stock Android users.
The star of the show is Gemini, which is Google’s best effort at making an AI model based on the new LLM technology. Initially called as “Bard”, Gemini plays a big role in how a Pixel is experienced. To enable this, without any compromises, Google has gifted 1 year worth of “AI Premium” plan of Google One, with additional 2TB of Google Drive storage, to enable storage of your photos and files. This means “Gemini Advanced” which is a paid version of Gemini, is available for 1 year of literally free usage, and one year later, a monthly charge of 1,950 Rs is applied, which you can opt out of.
There are a lot of use cases for Gemini, which comes on-device with a “Nano” model that powers a lot of the intelligence on the phone. “Pixel Studio” is a new GenAI imaging generation app that is now pre-installed on the Pixels to provide content creators a tool to generate any image other than people, which is a fun playground to have. And it works quite well, mostly because half of its load is off-loaded to the on-board Nano model. Also, available (only with US language set in Assistant settings) is Gemini Live, which is a live chatting version of Gemini, which provides a platform for completely voice-enabled interactions and conversations. This is good for brainstorming of ideas and having a casual conversation that one would have with another person, and it can answer all kinds of questions just like in the normal voice mode, but without much latency. This is direct competition with the advance voice mode of ChatGPT, which offers similar functionality.
Gemini Advanced has a massive 1 million context window, which means it can read documents running hundreds of pages and still remember to answer your question without losing memory. With Imagen, it can create images as well. Meanwhile, Gemini “Nano” which works offline, from the device, can handle “Super summaries, smart replies and image descriptions”. For example, transcription summaries from the recorder app can have multiple people talking and still it will be able to create a report, a summed up report of what the content is. Smart replies reside inside mail apps and messages apps help with text recommendations. Both “Advanced” and “Nano” are great for content creators who like to take the help of these features.
Other Stuff
These are the 5G sub6 bands that are supported by the Pixel 9 Pro XL, which uses an Exynos 5400 modem from Samsung –
5G sub-6: Bands n1/2/3/5/7/8/12/14/20/25/26/28/30/38/40/41/66/71/75/76/77/78/79
The Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.3 with dual antennas work great in our experience, with hotspot capabilities really enhanced. There is also an UWB chip for spatial orientation and close-range sensing. NavIC support is also included. The Pixel 9 Pro XL supports almost all the latest connectivity standards that you can think of, including the mmwave antennas, which are not functional in the Indian unit.
One of the best stereo speakers on a smartphone reside in the Pixel 9 Pro XL. Clarity, separation, good bass frequencies and a loud output ensure that it is one of the best experiences you have on a flagship. It’s great for listening to podcasts and sometimes even music, although it is best that the Pixel Buds Pro or some TWS would naturally be a better companion. For the first time, Google has gone for an ultrasonic fingerprint sensor, which works at least thrice as fast as the absolutely unreliable and shockingly bad optical fingerprint scanner on the previous models since the Pixel 6. The last generation Pixel 8 Pro was seriously panned for having one of the worst experiences when it came to fingerprint scanning, and we are glad to see that this major flaw has been fixed and brought to the big leagues. Without expandable storage or dual SIM slot, it is only possible for adding storage on the cloud and add a second SIM via the eSIM protocol.
Overall
The key features that standout on the Pixel 9 Pro XL are obviously the cameras, and then Gemini. These two are unmatched when it comes to providing value for your purchase. The 3 cameras, in both photos and videos, output high quality results in a class-leading and creator-friendly way. Seriously, if you are a vlogger or a regular high-end content creator, the Pixel 9 Pro XL with its resolved issues from the 8 Pro, might be the best option available. The colors, the quality of stabilization, the texture and contrast, the dynamic range, everything about the cameras will make the Pixel 9 Pro XL a creator favorite gadget that can be useful in every scenario that requires any form of content creation.
There are very few drawbacks to speak of, except may be the overheating that features itself during the use of the camera. Using the camera for a longer time might result in slightly uncomfortable heating issues that are otherwise non-existent. It could be improved after a few software updates. Ultimately, there is nothing like the Pixel 9 Pro XL out here. Only the next generation Pixel can out-compete it, as Google has carefully molded every single exclusive feature on their flagships towards their strengths in computational photography and AI. If you are a content creator who is looking for a flagship camera phone, then the Pixel 9 Pro XL is at the top of our recommendations, closely followed by the iPhone and the Galaxy S Ultra series. This year, Google have done their best.