Finally, we get our hands on the Google Pixel 9 Pro XL. To answer the question “Is Google Pixel 9 Pro XL the best pixel ever?” We need to jump right into the phone’s review, let’s learn more about it and where it stands.
Introduction
The Google Pixel is one of the most awaited true Android phones. With its cutting-edge AI technology and stunning photography, the Pixel often remains in the limelight. The Pixel this year had initially launched 2 Pro models, with XL being the larger one. Other than the different screen sizes what more does the Pixel XL bring, let’s find out in our full review.
Features and Specifications
Design and build
The Pixel has a camera bump on the back, an elevated rectangular shape with round corners. It includes a sleek matte glass finish with Gorilla Glass Victus protection on the back and a polished aluminum frame that reminds us of the iPhone. The Pixel phone comes with IP68 water and dust protection.
Display features
The Pixel XL Pro has an LTPO OLED screen with a 120 Hz refresh, protected by Gorilla Glass Victus 2. The screen’s resolution is 1344 x 2992 px with 486 ppi screen density. It also supports Dolby Vision with boosted highlights and it has a color-accurate display of HDR10+.
The brightness varies from 1200 Nits to 2200 Nits in auto mode.
OS and AI features
The Pixel XL Pro runs Android 14. Google promised 7 years of Android updates and it comes with tons of AI features like a circle to search Gemini AI plays a major role in the Pixel series, and you can receive answers to your questions in real-time. Gemini can summarize conversations from calls, texts, and emails and also for YouTube videos. The Gemini Advanced comes with a paid subscription but with Pixel devices you get it for 1 year free. The Pixel Studio lets you reimagine and create new AI-generated images. The Pixel offers to organize the screenshots and enable it to search topics or information that have been saved before.
The Magic Editor provides various tools such as Zoom enhancer, Magic Eraser, and Blur and Unblur. The best take helps you to replace faces or objects and create a better version of them, taken from another shot. The Add Me is another usable AI feature that lets you combine people from separate shots into a single group photo or create a clone of yourself. You can ummarise YouTube videos with Gemini AI. The Boost Video feature helps you add details and upscale video resolution with AI. Video boost takes an hour but boosts video to 4k resolution and enhances details and clarity which works wonders.
Storage
The Pixel XL Pro arrived in India with 3 striking variants that contain 16 GB RAM and 128GB, 256GB, & 512GB storage. The UFS 3.1 storage gives a fast internal file and data transfer rate.
Hardware and Performance
Thanks to the Tensor G4 chip optimization, it has the longest battery life comparable to any previous-gen Pixel lineup. The Tensor G4-equipped Google Pixel is faster than the previous generation not close to the other flagship devices available in the market performance-wise, it runs native apps, games, and third-party apps without any hiccups.
Battery
The Pixel XL Pro has a battery of 5,060 mAh and it performed well in battery tests. The charging rate is improved in Pixel from 37 Watts compared to 27 Watts last year. However, the charger is not included in the box. From a compatible adapter, the Pixel 9 Pro XL went from 0 to 67% charge in half an hour and a full charge took an hour and 18 minutes, which is 5 minutes faster than the Pixel 8. Now, wireless charging and reverse wireless charging are supported by the Pixel 9 Pro XL.
Camera
A new Ultrawide and a selfie camera were presented this year, but the other cameras remained the same, no such changes were found. There is a 50 MP main camera, a 48 MP 5x zoom Telephoto camera, and a 48 MP Ultrawide camera all with autofocus. The main camera takes amazing photos during the daylight. Pictures are crisp, sharpness is appropriate and contrast is high with shadows being a bit dark with great color dynamic range. The captured skin tones appear natural, without excessive brightening. When images are taken in low-light conditions, the main camera captures well-defined highlights without gloomy dark patches. Color saturation is on point.
The telephoto camera performs about right capturing proper details and high lights. At night mode the telephoto camera provides good exposure and color saturation. The main camera’s details were a bit average but it fulfills its purpose. The zoom photos are ok.
The Ultrawide camera gets plenty of detail in daylight and organic-looking retention. Its color and dynamic range were superior to the telephoto and near-to-main camera lens. At low light, the Ultrawide provides bright exposures with proper tonal development, details, and sharpness were found to be average. The selfie camera was the finest improvement to the Google Pixel 9 Pro XL. It has a 42 MP sensor in it.
It gives plenty of detail with vivid colors. With lifelike skin tones and excellent dynamic range. The Google Pixel 9 Pro XL’s cameras can record 4K videos. This year the main and telephoto camera lens also get 8k video recording support. The 4k videos recorded by the main camera lens produce softer videos and not-so-sharp details and a similar result is obtained in low conditions too. The 4k 60fps stabilization is great in this video. Normal walking and movements get smoothed out.
Pros and Cons
| Pros | Cons |
| Stunning photography with all camera lenses. | Soft and underperforming video recording. |
| Brightest display in Android phones. | Less performance delivery compared to other flagship devices. |
| 7 Years of long-term software support | Very costly. |
| Next-generation AI features in software. | Slow charging speed compared to other smartphone charging speeds. |
Conclusion
The Pixel XL Pro is a classy flagship device with a clean great-looking design cutting-edge AI features and super long software support. The display is the brightest around and photos from this camera are great. The video recording does underperform, if you want sharp and crisp 4k video recording then Pixel 9 Pro is not for you. Also, it doesn’t have a powerful chipset compared to other flagship devices. But if you aren’t bothered by these factors then the Pixel 9 Pro XL is a solid, all-around flagship worth considering.
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