Google Pixel 9 Pro XL Review

Pixel devices have intrigued me for a while and I have had a couple in the past which I have enjoyed using. So with the new Google Pixel 9 Pro XL being out, I decided to give it a go and have it as my Android Phone to run alongside my iPhone 16 Pro Max. And because I opted for the XL Google threw in a pair of Pixel Bud Pro 2 for good measure worth over £200 (this is something you don’t get from Apple).

So with using it for coming up to a month now (I know a bit late to the game) and I have some thoughts about the device and its design. So let’s dive into the Google Pixel 9 Pro XL in more detail.

Design & Build:

Across the Pro series, we have seen a significant design change compared to the 8 series all of which have grown on me and have made the Pixel 9 Pro XL a phone that certainly stands out from the crowd. The hardware on this year’s model is just beautiful but Let’s touch on a couple of the key design changes.

Frame:

The Frame or Chassis as some people might refer to it as has gone from boxes/squared corners to rounded corners. Some say this makes it look more like an iPhone I think in terms of shape but it’s still very unique thanks to the camera system which I will touch on shortly.

In terms of the material it’s made from aluminium and has a sturdy premium feel to it. The sides are very shiny (technical term I know 😂 ) and do pick several fingerprints which can be said about most phones.

Camera Bump:

The Pixel has had a distinctive camera bump for a number of iterations now and this is no different in that respect. This year rather than having a whole camera system across the whole width of the phone and warping around the sides it’s more of a pill shape.

Although it has changed it is still very Pixel. The camera bump is slightly raised which I thought would be irritating but it’s not, especially when you put a case on it. Another benefit of this camera set up is that your phone is flat when you lay it on a table it doesn’t wobble.

Display:

The Google Pixel 9 Pro XL has a 6.8” screen which is flat again this year which is nice but I do miss the curved screens a bit. The biggest change I would say on this display is that it now packs a whooping 3000 nits. This means that the screen gets super bright so when you are out in the sun you are going to be able to see what is on your screen nice and clearly.

The Display is made with Gorilla Glass Victus 2 which is tough and should protect from scratches but to be on the safe side it’s always worth putting a screen protector on as these are expensive devices. One thing that I have noticed is the amount of dust that this screen picks up compared to my iPhone and I find that I have to clean the screen a lot more than my other device.

Fingerprint Scanner:

One of my favourite things about Android Phones is the multiple ways that you can authenticate your phone. My favourite has been the FingerPrinter Scanner and this has certainly improved with the Google Pixel 9 Pro XL. The Pixel Pro 9 XL comes with an upgraded ultrasonic fingerprint scanner and it’s been great to use. It unlocks my device quickly every time, I have not experienced any misses to date. I wish that Apple would bring this to the iPhone lineup as it’s a great alternative to Face ID.

You do also have Face unlock but this is not something that I have tried. It’s nice to have but I just prefer using the FingerPrint Scanner because of the speed and how consistent it is. And if you don’t like either of those options you can of course set a password/pin or a pattern to unlock your device.

Camera:

The cameras on the Google Pixel 9 Pro XL are great Pixels have always taken nice photos with a lot of people prefer what comes out of a pixel camera to the likes of Apple and Samsung. This year’s model comes with a triple rear camera system supporting a 50 MP main camera and 48 MP Telephoto and Ultrawide lens. This is a camera that performs when in low light so you will be able to capture those important shots at any time of the day.

An area that has seen a big improvement is the front-facing camera. The 48 MP front camera gives you great selfie shots and also offers a wider angle so you can get more in the shot compared to other front-facing cameras. I am not a photographer so I am not going to the finer details but there is a Pro features for those of you that like to be able to take RAW photos and make the most out of these cameras.

In terms of video, the quality is also good. You will not be disappointed by the videos that the Pixel takes. I would say that the transition between the lenses is not the greatest but again if you are not someone who is using their phone to create video content for the likes of Insta and YouTube this is not going to be an issue.

Battery Life:

I have been impressed with the Battery life of the Google Pixel 9 Pro XL. I am easily getting to the end of the day and still have about 30-40% battery life. There is no battery anxiety when it comes to this phone and I have even not bothered charging it overnight on some occasions to be a little bit kinder to the battery health of the device.

This has not been an issue as the Google Pixel 9 Pro XL comes with fast charging and can charge to around 70% in 30 minutes now let me point out that you need to be using a 45-watt charging plug for those speeds. But even with a less power charging plug you can still top up pretty quickly and be on the road again in no time, oh and it also has fast wireless charging (Qi-certified).

Performance:

I have heard and read a lot about the Tensor G4 chip that comes in the Google Pixel 9 Pro XL and that it’s nowhere near the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 and Apple A18 Pro Chip. I personally have not found the performance of this phone to be slow at all, it is smooth and I have not seen any lagging at all.

I think if you are an everyday user and not someone that’s going to be gaming then you will not notice that in theory, the Tensor G4 chip is not as powerful as the other flagship phone chips on the market.

Android Software:

Google phones have always had good software and the Google Pixel 9 Pro XL is no different. It comes with the latest version of Android which at the time of writing this is Android 15. Having stock Android is great and is by far my favourite although Samsung One UI is not too bad at all either.

For someone who comes from an iPhone, this is the easiest OS to get used to when switching. There are some things that I find it does better than iOS such as the app drawer. I like the fact that it’s organised alphabetically and easy to navigate, unlike the Apple App Library.

Notifications are another thing that just seems to work better on Android and the Pixel. They are better to see at a glance so I don’t always have to go into the notification to see what it’s about. Clearing down notifications is so much easier with a simple clear-all function. Then there is of course the fact that you can customise this as much as you want, you can add different launchers to change up the look if you want.

One thing that I am not keen on is the files app. I occasionally need to access files and it’s a bit clunky, in terms of file management the best by I have tried is on the s24 Ultra.

Google AI:

I am not going to harp on about Gemini which is Google AI mainly because AI is not something that I use on my phone a whole lot. There are some nice features like the add me features in the camera area you can also ask Gemini to create images for you which actually come out pretty well.

You can also have a conversation with Gemini for instance I asked about the top niche to blog about in 2024. It came back with a list and you can also ask additional questions or interrupt to add more context or revise your question. Some other little things like having an AI weather report in the weather app. I like this as I can get a summary at a glance for the day.

This is certainly an area that I need to spend some more time getting into as this is more and more the area of development for these companies. Please let me know in the comments if you would like more dedicated blog posts around AI developments.

Final Thoughts:

I have really enjoyed using the Google Pixel Pro 9 XL more than I expected to. It’s just a nice phone to use, it feels great in hand and compared to other pixels that I have used in the past the quality has gone up significantly. The new design is lovely and makes this such a unique and attractive phone that is packed with all the smartphone features that you would expect.

This is the flagship phone from Google and with that comes a flagship price. The Google Pixel 9 Pro XL is going to set you back a pretty penny at £1,099 for the base 128 GB model and for the 256 GB model you will need to fork out an extra £100.

But the question is it worth spending all that hard earned cash? And with all flagships, you get what you pay for a great device. So yes I think this is worth taking a look at if you are an Android or Pixel user looking to upgrade or an iPhone user looking to jump over the fence and try something new.

I would love to hear your thoughts on this device so why not leave me a comment in the comments section 😊