Google’s Pixel 9 Pro XL blends gaming, photography, design and AI into it’s most confident smartphone so far.
Even from the initial debut of Google’s Pixel range, it’s always felt as though the tech giant was immediately onto a winner. That feeling has only grown stronger with each passing upgrade, but after spending a couple of weeks with the Google Pixel 9 Pro XL, it’s clear that the company has easily delivered its most confident device yet. The Pixel 9 Pro XL expertly manages looks, power and functionality – easily making it one of the best Android devices on the market.
Taking my Pixel 9 Pro XL out of the box, the phone is immediately stunning. I’ve always been a fan of the Pixel’s design, but it truly feels as though Google went above and beyond this year – focusing on small touches that make big differences. The rear camera notch for example is less of a visor and more like an extended pill shape, which still retains Google’s clear design language while coming off far more stylish this time around. Meanwhile the 6.8-inch screen is a stunner, can reach up to Up to 3,000 nits peak brightness and has an even bezel this time around which just helps things look and feel a lot cleaner.
The Pixel 9 series as a whole also ditches last year’s more rounded edges for an arguably cleaner, flatter approach that resembles the iPhone’s form factor even more than ever before. From afar it feels like a clever ploy to lure the Apple faithful to Google’s camp, and considering the suite of other Pixel-exclusive features there’s a good chance that plan will work too.
That transition may be further helped along by Google’s underlying software. I’ve always been a big fan of Google’s OS, and its clean, simple nature remains here as opposed to the more cluttersome offering of Samsung. But where Google really wants to place its software focus this year is AI.
The name of the game here is Gemini, and although the crossover between both this newer player and the older Google Assistant can become a little blurry, it’s Gemini that’ll do the heavy lifting for a lot of the Pro XL’s new capabilities. Pixel Studio is a prime example – a new app capable of generating your brain’s wildest visual creations (minus humans) in a matter of seconds from simple prompts. I was genuinely impressed with how quickly the phone was able to use my inputs pump out images, but honestly while it’s initially fun to play around with; it’s hard for me to see it as anything other than a gimmick – at least for the time being.
What I can see using far more frequently in my future on the other hand is Gemini Live. Designed to operate as a natural, free-flowing conversation, you can ask Gemini to plan out a date, create a weekend itinerary, summarise your Google docs and more. The Pixel 9 Pro XL’s ability to respond incredibly quickly makes the conversations feel impressively lifelike, especially with the ability to interrupt the assistant at any point to interject with a response or updated information. The one catch to all this is that this functionality is locked to a Gemini Advanced subscription. New owners of a Pixel 9 Pro XL will be entitled to a year of the service for free, but once that time is up it’ll cost you $33 a month, which for many is likely to be far too steep an investment, so it’s disappointing to be locked behind a paywall.
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Pivoting to something that doesn’t necessarily require a subscription though is gaming. Google might not be pushing its Pixel Series quite as hard as Apple seems to be with its slew of triple-A ports, but thanks to the power of the Tensor G4 chip and 16 GB of RAM it’s certainly no slouch. From rounds of Marvel Snap to Genshin Impact, the 120 HZ 1344 x 2992 OLED made each title a beauty to look at, and I experienced no noticeable slowdown for a buttery smooth performance. Once I slapped on the latest Backbone, even more doors opened up with the likes of GTA SAN Andreas, Hades and Braid Anniversary Edition all performing via Netflix easily. Mercifully the phone didn’t turn into a mini heater either. You should expect things to get a little warm of course, but it was never too drastic, so never became too uncomfortable.
Speaking of comfort though, it’s also worth pointing out that I’m incredibly impressed by Google’s own branded cases. I’ve been rocking the base silicon offering and not only does it fit like a glove, but feels incredibly durable and more premium than Apple’s line-up. The metallic G on the back is a classy touch, and the case’s underlying design does well to fill in the gap left by the sizable camera pill, meaning it can actually lay flat on a table without you fearing it’ll slide away from you to its doom.
Then, finally, we arrive at the Pixel 9 Pro XL’s camera. Featuring a triple-rear camera system, you have a 50 MP wide, 48 MP ultrawide and 48 MP 5x telephoto lens. It’s honestly more power than most people will know how to harness, but the main thing you need to know is that they allow for some truly breathtaking shots, especially in well-lit conditions. I’ve always been a big advocate for the snaps Pixel phones have been able to generate and that doesn’t change here. I’ve been consistently impressed with the level of clarity and colour in all my shots, which also feel a lot more consistent than I’ve been able to achieve with many of the Pixel’s main competitors.
Video doesn’t fare quite as well, meaning the Pixel 9 Pro XL unfortunately can’t quite reach the heights of Apple’s industry leading ways and is a bit more jittery than id like, but it’s still a marked improvement over its predecessors. Oh, and you can also capture in 8K resolution now, just in case you had a burning desire and have oodles of storage space to handle it all.
At the end of the day though Google has absolutely delivered with the Pixel 9 Pro XL. The device has more features than I could continue to rattle off, the battery is respectable and it’s all backed up by a software suite that is smart, reliable and simple. It’s without question my favourite Pixel device yet, and sets a high bar for the incoming iPhone range.
The Google Pixel 9 Pro XL starts at A$1,849 and can be purchased from the Google store here.
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