Google Pixel 9 Pro XL Review: A Capable Smartphone with Impressive AI Features

Find it irresistible or hate it, AI options on a smartphone will solely develop in quantity with time. And if it is any indicator of how occasions are altering, even Apple, which has prevented taking any massive strides for years (be it foldables, tremendous high-resolution cameras, sooner charging), has jumped aboard the AI (Apple Intelligence) prepare this 12 months with iOS 18. I’ve been utilizing Google’s latest member of the Pixel household, the Pixel 9 Professional XL, for a number of weeks, and I need to admit that its tackle AI is spectacular and beginning to make some sense. Google’s push for operating AI fashions additionally ends in some much-needed {hardware} upgrades that now we have been asking for years. Because of this, it seems to be a really succesful smartphone, even with out its AI bits.

Google 9 Professional XL Overview Design: Lastly feels, good

• Dimensions – 162.8mm x 76.6mm x 8.5mm
• Weight – 221g
• Sturdiness – IP68 (mud and water)

“This seems like an iPhone,” mentioned a non-techy buddy of mine. Whereas such a remark from an iPhone person doesn’t validate the Pixel 9 Professional XL’s design, I do perceive that some bits of this 12 months’s Professional fashions do resemble an Apple iPhone.

The Google Pixel 9 Professional XL lastly seems and seems like a high-end flagship ought to

 

From the flat sides of its aluminium body to its bevelled edges to its flat again, the design could be very iPhone-like and acquainted. That is solely as a result of Apple has used these design parts for the reason that iPhone 12 (2020). Should you take a look at it from the entrance, the one giveaway that it is not an iPhone is that tiny selfie digicam module embedded in its show (as a substitute of a giant, omnipresent capsule).

The rear digicam module, which now seems like a flattened capsule, nonetheless protrudes fairly a bit. And in contrast to the Pixel 9 Professional, which is loads shorter, you can’t use it to assist the cellphone (whenever you maintain it up) because it’s too far up on the again.

Whereas the combination of glass and steel lends it a really premium look, the general end of the sides of the body, digicam module and ports is the very best I’ve seen on a Pixel smartphone so far and is method higher than the iPhone 15 Professional Max, which had misaligned panels, sharp buttons and edges.

Match and end are top-notch, with no sharp edges across the ports, digicam module and buttons

 

Regardless of including a vapour chamber (VC) cooling system and sustaining the cellphone’s wi-fi charging capabilities, the Pixel manages to be as gentle because the titanium-clad iPhone 15 Professional Max and slimmer than the Pixel 8 Professional it replaces. It additionally comes with the same old IP68 ranking, making it good for submersion in contemporary water and sand. However it’s clever to understand that injury as a consequence of submersion in water won’t be coated below guarantee.

Google 9 Professional XL Overview Show: All about these rounded corners

• Show – 6.8-inch, 1,344 x 2,992 pixel, 1Hz – 120Hz
• Show Kind – Flat, LTPO, OLED
• Show safety – Gorilla Glass Victus 2 (entrance and rear panels)

The brand new ‘Professional XL’ tag is mainly a ‘Professional’ from earlier years, so now we have a barely larger show (on paper) in comparison with the older ‘Professional’ fashions to justify the ‘XL’ tag. It’s extremely shiny (3,000 nits peak) below direct daylight and might showcase natural-looking colors (with the Pure color preset enabled in Settings).

Whereas not as sharp because the Galaxy S24 Extremely’s show, it nonetheless does the job properly. The under-display fingerprint reader lastly will get upgraded to an ultrasonic one, which could be very dependable in comparison with earlier fashions. The selfie digicam will also be used to securely unlock the gadget utilizing (banking-grade) AI-based facial recognition, offered there’s sufficient gentle.

The Pixel 9 Professional XL’s show is a big improve by way of brightness

 

The extreme curvature of the rounded corners, together with its skinny bezel, does result in some wasted display area, identical to on iPhones. Google has pushed the standing bar increased up in direction of the highest fringe of the selfie digicam, and even then, there’s loads of wasted area above it. This reduces the usable space of the 6.8-inch show to the 6.7-inch show which now we have on the Pixel 8 Professional. In truth, even the Pixel 7 Professional’s show feels bigger as a result of it is wider than the 8 Professional and the 9 Professional XL by way of facet ratio due to its sharper corners. Regardless, the well-spaced-out content material does look good by way of aesthetics.

Google 9 Professional XL Overview Software program: AI or nothing

• Software program – Pixel UI
• Model – Android 14
• Software program dedication – 7 years of OS, safety and Pixel Drop updates

Google’s generally recognized Pixel UI stays the identical as earlier than visually however will get a really heavy dose of synthetic intelligence (AI) options. The ‘Professional’-branded fashions, specifically, get extra options over the usual Pixel 9 smartphone.

Add Me is a enjoyable new function which will appear gimmicky at first however is definitely very helpful. It is one of many many options which will get you fascinated by what’s pretend and what’s actual and whether or not you wish to cross that line. It permits you to add your humble self to that wedding ceremony picture though you weren’t bodily there with your mates within the mentioned body (or second). Technically, it is not dishonest (though it’s pretend) since you have been current on the mentioned second (simply behind the digicam), however it should set off that hidden guilt everytime you test the picture.

Pixel Screenshots are a pleasant technique to organise and preserve observe of all of your screenshots. When you’ve got a behavior of taking tons of screenshots, whether or not that is to recollect one thing, to make use of as proof, or simply to set the info straight, that is going to be a superb technique to allow you to discover particulars inside your screenshots and even pull out data from them at a later date.

Google’s Pixel Studio works fairly effectively for an app that is in beta

 

One other new function circling this pretend versus actual debate is that this enjoyable device known as Pixel Studio. It is nonetheless in beta, nevertheless it permits you to be an artist and kind or carry your inventive visions to life with zero effort. Want an edible canine that appears like cake? Finished! A pizza made out of Oreo cookies? Finished! A bridge on hearth? Properly… that is the place you start to cross this device’s limits. Whereas initially accessible (once I obtained this evaluate unit), Google has been actively inserting and lifting limits on what you possibly can or can’t generate.

Pixel Studio has some limitations which always carry on altering every so often

 

Even one thing that is borderline dangerous to a human/animal will simply not fly… for now. However at occasions, I do get a message saying that “the power to edit human photographs is coming sooner or later”. On the similar time, you possibly can set the Gateway of India (Mumbai) on hearth utilizing the appropriate phrases that do not sound damaging. Google can also be including good workarounds to cut back the gore, and at occasions, it should ignore a few of the key phrases in your request to make for a palatable picture (just like the puppies within the KFC carton above). Apple’s model of the identical device presents the identical performance however will solely produce cartoon-like photographs and never sensible ones, and that someway seems like an excellent safeguard to have in place.

Nevertheless, there are two outcomes for this device. Google handing out this free device to the lots goes to end in a whole lot of web junk, and it’ll, in some methods, make folks rethink the necessity for a artistic skilled (at fundamental ranges) generally.

The unique picture was captured by one other smartphone

Auto Body within the Photographs app can use generative AI to think about and broaden on the unique picture

I modified the setting of the cellphone within the unique picture to a forest utilizing the Reimagine device within the Photographs app

 

Reimagine is a brand new device Google pushed out within the Photographs app. It is a highly effective picture modifying device that permits you to reframe or fully change the background in a given picture whereas retaining the themes. Whereas the outcomes could also be successful or a miss (due to output high quality), you possibly can find yourself with some convincing outcomes. In truth, it is laborious to inform whether or not a picture has been edited, as you possibly can see from the above examples.

Zoom Improve is one more picture device which makes use of the facility of AI to “magically” improve images captured at 15-30X digital zoom by including pixels after which sharpening a picture. Nevertheless, in my testing, I discovered that these outcomes have been barely higher than the unique.

Gemini Dwell is certainly one of many greatest highlights of the brand new Pixel Professional fashions. Sadly, at the same time as I write this evaluate, Gemini Dwell is already accessible on different Samsung units like our Galaxy Z Fold 6 evaluate unit and might be coming to extra with time. In brief, it is not unique to Pixel units.

Whereas it is nonetheless not as good as Open AI’s GPT-4o and can’t view (or take inputs from the digicam app but), it’s supremely responsive whereas giving out solutions. Not all of those outcomes are essentially correct. In a single dialog, it contradicted its personal earlier reply within the second go and laughed about being incorrect as effectively within the first go.

Gemini Dwell is a really conversational AI-powered assistant however is just not essentially correct

 

However the attention-grabbing bit right here is the truth that you might be conversing with an AI assistant in a really human-like method. One of many greatest limitations of Gemini Dwell is that not like Google Assistant or Gemini, it’s certainly all about dialog and never actions. So, if you must set an alarm, you must use Gemini and never Gemini Dwell. I beloved interacting with Gemini Dwell. Nevertheless, I didn’t discover it helpful sufficient to warrant the Rs. 1,920 monthly price ticket for accessing it together with different Gemini Superior add-ons as soon as the 1-year free trial ends. Once more, a few of Gemini Dwell’s replies are primarily based on US/EU knowledge for some motive, particularly once I requested for strategies on shopping for merchandise “in Mumbai” (and even “in India”).

AI additionally makes its method into different sudden locations. Just like the climate app (AI climate report), Hold (producing all sorts of lists), and even for the brand new Automobile Crash Detection function, which is out there for Pixel 9 and 9 Professional sequence customers in India. Satellite tv for pc SOS, which was introduced at launch, is barely accessible to customers situated within the US for now.

Google 9 Professional XL Overview Efficiency: Meh

• Processor – Google Tensor G4
• RAM – 16GB
• Storage – 256/512GB

Google Pixel 9 Professional XL could also be massive on AI, however it’s nowhere near the competitors relating to uncooked efficiency. Premium flagships and even foldables just like the Vivo X Fold 3 Professional are far forward with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 SoC. Fortunately, the Pixel 9 Professional XL exhibits no indicators of stuttering when looking by the software program interface or multitasking. The 16GB of RAM ensures that apps stay in reminiscence and in addition helps enormously with the pace of conducting AI duties or workloads.

The Pixel 9 Professional XL (proper) seems very totally different in comparison with the Pixel 8 Professional (left) it replaces

 

 

 

Whereas the VC cooling system ensures peak efficiency is just not affected by elements like warmth, gaming efficiency continues to be not up there with different premium flagships. That is due to the show’s gradual contact sampling price, which lags regardless of the brand new Adaptive Contact function that robotically calibrates contact sensitivity relying on the atmosphere exercise. Ordinary contact interactions when looking by the UI appear to work simply high-quality.

With a brand new chip, extra RAM and a VC system in place, I anticipated no hiccups when utilizing the digicam. Sadly, this isn’t the case, because the cellphone nonetheless chokes up after taking pictures 5 portrait images again to again, which was additionally the case with the Pixel 8 Professional.

The gadget presents two audio system, which give wealthy sound high quality, however a whole lot of the heavy lifting is dealt with by the underside speaker, which will get coated and muffled simply when enjoying video games or when watching a video due to its placement.

Google 9 Professional XL Overview Cameras: “Pixel” excellent?

• Major digicam – 50-megapixel (OIS), f/1.6 aperture, AF
• Extremely-wide digicam – 48-megapixel, 0.5X, f/1.7 aperture, AF
• Telephoto digicam – 48-megapixel (OIS), 5X optical, f/2.8 aperture, AF
• Selfie digicam – 42-megapixel, f/2.2 aperture, AF

The Pixel 9 Professional XL presents the marginally improved main digicam efficiency that arrived with the Pixel 8 Professional final 12 months (faucet picture to broaden)

 

The first digicam on the Pixel 9 Professional XL does a high-quality job of capturing detailed photographs with glorious dynamic vary and sharpness. The colors seem balanced and really near the true scene. Like prior to now, the 2X magnification stage is a digital crop of the first sensor. However not like the previous, these pictures are very spectacular.

2X (digital) zoom efficiency (proven right here in dim gentle) has improved drastically and was a significant ache level with the older Pixel Professional fashions (faucet picture to broaden)

 

The Portrait mode even works effectively in low gentle or with sturdy backlighting, capturing photographs at 1.5X, 2X or 3X. What’s successful or a miss is the sting detection. As you possibly can see within the photographs above and beneath, the sting detection might seem completely high-quality in case you are fortunate or an absolute mess in the event you aren’t.

Regardless of packing a 42-megapixel digicam, the outcomes from the Pixel 9 Professional XL do not seem any totally different when in comparison with final 12 months’s Pixel 8 Professional (faucet picture to broaden)

 

When capturing selfies, edge detection suffers fairly a bit, even when in comparison with the Pixel 8 Professional (which does a greater job). Regardless of having a high-resolution sensor, the standard of photographs is kind of comparable, with minor beneficial properties in daylight and low gentle.

Google’s 5X telephoto digicam captures sharp images with good element in all lighting situations. However its zoom capabilities are respectable until the subsequent magnification stage (10X), past which picture high quality is not spectacular. You need to use the brand new Zoom Improve AI sharpening device within the Photographs app to reinforce these blurry photographs captured at 15X or 30X, however regardless of bettering the general high quality, these aren’t game-changing.

The ultra-wide digicam manages barely tender photographs in daylight with some blown-out highlights and purple-fringing. This isn’t the case with the Pixel 8 Professional. In low gentle, there’s extra element (particularly within the darker areas) seen within the Pixel 9 Professional XL’s images.

An ultra-wide digicam pattern from the Pixel 9 Professional XL below synthetic gentle (faucet to broaden picture)

The Google Pixel 9 Professional XL’s main digicam captures a formidable stage of element in low gentle (faucet picture to broaden)

2X digital zoom has improved in comparison with earlier fashions (faucet picture to broaden)

The telephoto digicam snaps some spectacular images in low gentle at its native 5X zoom (faucet picture to broaden)

 

Video high quality advantages loads from the brand new VC cooling system, so this doesn’t end in automated downscaling or high quality drops as a result of it simply doesn’t get as sizzling because the older Pixels did.

When recording the video, I did discover the resolved element on the Pixel 8 Professional to be higher than the softer and brighter visuals of the 9 Professional XL. The noise was current in low gentle or street-lit situations, however the total high quality was simply high-quality. It is nonetheless nowhere close to the rock-steady body charges of the iPhone 15 Professional Max, particularly when panning or strolling. However all of that is tolerable as a result of Video Increase is right here to save lots of the day.

Video Increase truly went dwell with the Pixel 8 Professional post-launch. Having the evaluate unit with me for some time, I didn’t discover all the outcomes helpful, they usually someway didn’t appear very spectacular. However all of this adjustments with the Pixel 9 Professional XL.

With the Pixel 9 Professional sequence, Google claims to have improved video rendering, making it twice as quick as final 12 months. Furthermore, there’s even 8K upscaling assist together with HDR+. Video increase improves readability (removes noise), boosts distinction and hues and stabilises the video total, making for smoother panning actions. It even does this for footage captured in low gentle (Evening Sight Video), leading to noise-free footage. 

The entire downside with Video Increase is that one has to attend for the processing to occur, and there’s no approximate time period offered for when the boosted video might be prepared both.

Google 9 Professional XL Overview Battery: Meets expectations… For a Pixel

• Battery capability – 5,060mAh
• Charging price – 37W
• Wi-fi charging – 23W

I didn’t anticipate many adjustments to the cellphone’s battery life, given the meagre 10mAh bump over the earlier mannequin. Our video loop battery life take a look at additionally managed simply 12 hours and 19 minutes, which is decrease than final 12 months’s Pixel 8 Professional. With heavy utilization, which concerned taking pictures images, video, and a few calls, the cellphone simply managed to ship a day of utilization that touched 18 % by the tip of the work day. All in all, that is high-quality for Pixel, however it’s nonetheless a one-day smartphone and much behind the competitors.

The cellphone took 1 hour and half-hour once I plugged it into my 65W GaN charger. Google claims that the 37W charging price can solely be achieved by plugging it into its proprietary 45W charger, which must be bought individually at Rs. 3,499.

Google 9 Professional XL Verdict

Priced at Rs. 1,24,999 for the bottom 256GB variant and Rs. 1,39,999 for the 512GB variant, Google’s Pixel 9 Professional XL, by way of {hardware}, is mainly the top-end Professional mannequin we wished to see final 12 months. As an alternative, all we acquired was a Pixel 8 Professional, which was laborious to advocate because it was not an enormous enchancment over the Pixel 7 Professional it tried to interchange.

Whereas this 12 months’s Pixel 9 Professional XL is just not as superior as Samsung or Vivo’s flagships by way of uncooked efficiency and {hardware}, it is full of AI options that may actually change the way in which you’re employed and even exist socially. Google pitches these AI options as “useful” or “time-saving” when getting a wide range of issues achieved, nevertheless it does cross a number of traces in its quest to impress customers. The Pixel 9 Professional XL certainly builds a robust case for why AI options ought to exist on a smartphone, however homeowners can select to make use of them and dwell with them or ignore them.

It’s because this 12 months’s Pixel Professional additionally feels way more premium than any of the earlier fashions and takes care of some main {hardware} ache factors which have plagued Google’s units for years, like warmth administration, a brighter show, and the record goes on. Battery life is just not the very best within the enterprise, and Gemini Superior options come at a premium worth. However I can see many Pixel 6 Professional, Pixel 7 Professional customers and even some curious iPhone homeowners immediately upgrading to at least one as a result of there’s lastly a Pixel that will get a whole lot of issues proper.