Google’s Pixel 9 Pro XL is finally here and I’ve been excited for it after using the Pixel 8 Pro for nearly an entire year. There’s always ongoing competition to see which are the best phones around, but the Pixel 9 Pro XL gains new upgrades that make it a superb contender.
On top of the usual hardware upgrades, Google continues to focus heavily on artificial intelligence — proving to me that the Pixel 9 Pro XL is the AI phone to beat. But not everyone’s sold on Pixel 9 AI features unless they use them religiously, which is why it’s important for successive devices to always make iterative improvements around battery life, display brightness, and much more.
If you’re thinking of upgrading to the Pixel 9 Pro XL, or switching from another phone, I’ll tell you if it’s worth it to buy or skip the Pixel 9 Pro XL.
Google Pixel 9 Pro XL: reasons to buy
New AI features
There's no question what's best about the Pixel 9 Pro XL — it's the new AI features. I’ve tried several of them, and I really like how they help save me time, especially with how well the phone works as a photo editor.
For example, the new Magic Editor features are impressive, like being able to reimagine photos the way I want them to look by choosing what I like and don’t like — and then using a text prompt to change it.
Another neat AI addition is Pixel Studio, which lets me create custom images and sketches by just typing a description of what I want. I gave Pixel Studio a few prompts, and so far it works pretty well. There may be some nuances in what it generates, but at least I get options to choose from.
And then there’s Pixel Screenshot. It does require more managing on my part to remember to take screenshots, but it works exactly as advertised by analyzing details that let me recall information from them — like reminding me about tracking numbers for packages I’m expecting.
A smarter assistant
Another perk to the Pixel 9 Pro XL is that it comes with a year’s worth of access to Gemini Live: a new, smarter assistant for the phone. Think of Gemini like Google Assistant, but you can talk to Gemini Live more casually. For example, I can ask follow up questions while Gemini Live is still speaking — or if I mess up mid-sentence, it’s smart enough to still understand my response.
Later on this year, Gemini Live will add full multimodal capabilities, meaning it’ll handle more than just voice interactions with Gemini. For example, Gemini Live could tap the phone’s camera to do things like find details about a location or help find shopping deals on stuff you’ve taken photos of.
I also want to mention that this year’s worth of Gemini Live also comes with 2TB of Google One storage.
Blinding display
Google wasn’t kidding when they said that the Pixel 9 Pro XL has the brightest screen in any Pixel to date. While Google claims a peak brightness of 3,000 nits with the 6.8-inch Super Actua display, our testing actually reveals it got up to 2,469 nits — which is crazy good and beats out many of the other flagship phones we’ve tested.
In fact, it blows away the Pixel 8 Pro, which got up to 1,526 nits when tested last year. And not only is it bright, but it’s also vivid and colorful. With this record setting achievement, the Pixel 9 Pro XL puts pressure on other devices — looking at you, iPhone 16 Pro models — to not come up short.
Longer battery life, faster charging
The Pixel 9 Pro XL gains a slightly larger 5,060 mAh battery, versus the 5,050 mAh power pack in the Pixel 8 Pro. That said, you might think it wouldn't be any better in the battery life department — but it is thanks to the power efficiency of the Tensor G4 chip. In our testing, the Pixel 9 Pro XL averaged about 12 hours and 54 minutes in our battery benchmark test while the Pixel 8 Pro averaged 9 hours and 46 minutes.
If that’s not enough, the Pixel 9 Pro XL also has faster charging courtesy of its 37W wired charging — up from last year’s 30W charging This resulted in it getting to 63% charged in 30 minutes, while the Pixel 8 Pro got to 59%.
Improved selfie camera
I was always happy with the quality with the selfie camera in my Pixel 8 Pro, but Google betters it with an upgraded 42MP front camera for the Pixel 9 Pro XL. This is up from the 10.5MP one on last year's model.
However, what really makes the front camera nicer is that it has auto-focus, so it can better isolate faces from the background, which works better with portrait photos. I also notice the improved sharpness and clarity the Pixel 9 Pro XL's front camera offers.
8K video recording
I’m big into video, so having more resolution to work with is always better for me as a video editor. The Pixel 9 Pro XL gains 8K recording, which gives me the extra room to play around with in post to do things — like digital pans and zooms — without sacrificing too much on image quality. I can also crop the 8K video down for quick jump cuts if needed, although 8K video recording is locked to 30 fps.
Google Pixel 9 Pro XL: reasons not to buy
128GB starting storage
I think 128GB of storage is downright terrible, and I can’t believe Google has continued to offer it as the base capacity in its premium phone. Both the iPhone 15 Pro Max and Galaxy S24 Ultra come with 256GB of storage at the minimum, so I’m puzzled why Google doesn’t upgrade the storage in its phones. I know I can quickly fill up 128GB shooting a ton of video, so it would’ve been nice to see the base model move up to 256GB already.
Not a huge camera upgrade
If you look close at the camera specs of the Pixel 9 Pro XL, you might notice how it’s very similar to the Pixel 8 Pro. This turns out to be a 50MP main camera, 48MP ultrawide, and 48MP telephoto with 5x optical zoom.
I snapped several photos, and while the comparison with last year's model leans toward the Pixel 9 Pro XL in every situation, I don’t think it’s an incremental upgrade that’s worth the jump from a Pixel 8 Pro. A phone's value is contingent on how much improved it is in the camera department, which unfortunately for the Pixel 9 Pro XL isn't enough to justify an upgrade from recent Pixels.
It's even more expensive
And finally, the Pixel 9 Pro XL costs more than its predecessor. I don’t understand Google’s reasoning behind the price hike for the Pixel 9 Pro XL. This would be the second consecutive year that the largest Pixel is getting an increase in price, since last year’s Pixel 8 Pro also got a $100 increase, bringing its starting price to $999. (That's what you pay for the smaller Pixel 9 Pro these days.)
For the same sized phone as the Pixel 8 Pro, you’ll need to pay $100 more for the Pixel 9 Pro XL because of its $1,099 starting cost. Undercutting the competition in price has always been a quality I’ve loved about the Pixel line, but not anymore.
Google Pixel 9 Pro XL: Bottom line
As much as I love these new AI features on board the Pixel 9 Pro, I have a feeling that Google will eventually roll them out to the Pixel 8 Pro — just look at what Samsung has done with its phones.
For me, the cameras aren’t enough to convince me to buy the Pixel 9 Pro XL, especially when the improvements from the PIxel 8 Pro are minor at best. Yes, the new phone lasts longer and has a brighter screen, but the extra $100 it costs now to buy it makes for a tough sell.
If you're holding onto a phone that's more than 2 years old, I think it's worth getting the Pixel 9 Pro XL just to give you a taste of what AI can offer. However, if you're holding onto last year's model, I don't think it's worth shelling out the extra money for Google's latest.
More from Tom's Guide
- Forget Google Pixel 9 — the cheaper Pixel 9a may have just leaked
- I took 250 photos with Google Pixel 9 Pro XL vs iPhone 15 Pro Max — here's the winner
- Google TV just got a big upgrade with new free channels — what you can watch now
