We now have the Pixel 9 Pro and Pixel 9 Pro XL from Google and the company has got it right this year. Having considered both the criticisms offered by the reviewers and the customers, Google has provided a compact version, a longer battery life, a new, cool, and much faster processor, and a better design. Here, there is not much to say that is negative.
In more than 10 years of reviewing phones since 2012, I have had a chance to work with almost all the Pixel and Nexus devices on the market. Hence, when I opine that the Pixel 9 Pro and Pixel 9 Pro XL are the best Google has ever built, I speak with confidence.
The Nexus 6P was a work of wonder that Huawei assembled, but the Pixel 9 Pro and Pro XL have also delivered much more than that in my one-week usage. As for me, there’s the Pixel 9 Pro which provides the “pro” without cutting it close on size. While a large form factor is for some still more convenient, many prefer something smaller, and now they have the option.
I am reviewing both pro models at once because, apart from screen and battery size, the two are effectively the same product. While the sizes of the screens provided here are diverse, the same excellent panels are employed in both cases, so they are as similar as can be. Therefore, everything that was said about the Pixel 9 Pro can be applied to the Pixel 9 Pro XL To find out whether these rather powerful phones are worth the money, let’s carry on.
Google Pixel 9 Pro Review: Hardware and Design
When the first leaks about the Pixel 9 Pro models appeared, I did not like the flat camera bar and did not like the flat sides at first. Then, going by the MY29 keynote and having spent a week with the device, I could not agree more with Google: no, it is not perfect, but I love it.
This year Google persisted with the flat display that was launched on the Pixel 8 Pro. They also smoothened the side edges which others have likened to the styling of an iPhone. I know what you mean but I do not agree, not at least as someone who has been using an iPhone as his daily driver for the past four years.
Fortunately, Google did not make the flat sides sharp and produce discomfort as it is on iPhone 13 and iPhone 14. However, the sides are curved where they meet front and back and the curves make it easy to grip the device. Notably, the shiny sides do not retain fingerprints as most other devices, especially on the lighter finish known as Porcelain. Generally, such a glossy surface receives finger marks easily, but this is not so with it. But I would still advise going with a case because of the camera bump.
Regarding the camera module, it is longer than in the previous Pixel series and is no longer integrated into the sides as it was in the case of the Pixel 6, Pixel 7, and Pixel 8. Now it’s flat, and it looks nothing like any other phone because it has to be unmistakably Pixel, doesn’t it? It also means that unlike some folding phones – I’m looking at you, Samsung Galaxy Z Fold – the phone sits perfectly flat on a surface when opened. There is not much variance in the camera bar width for both Pixel 9 and Pixel 9 Pro and as a result, when it comes to case or cover you end up using the same – nice one Google!
Google now persists in locating the volume rocker within the region of the power button, unlike the majority of smartphones that put the power button lower. It may be quite unfamiliar if one is coming from a non-Pixel phone or even an iPhone setting.
There is a cutout for mmWave at the top which most cases do support. On the bottom of the device, there is a speaker grille on the left, a USB-C port in the middle, a microphone hole, and a SIM card slot on the right. I do wish Google would relocate the SIM slot to avoid having the SIM ejection tool tapped into the microphone hole.
All two of the Pro versions released are both sleek in appearance. At first, when coming in, I was interested in the Porcelain Pixel 9 Pro XL but after laying my hands on the Hazel Pixel 9 Pro, maybe this is my choice for this turn.
Google Pixel 9 Pro Review: Staging
Last year, Google launched its Actua and Super Actua displays, marketing terms for how bright these panels can get, similar to Apple’s ‘Retina’ display The displays on the Pixel 9 Pro and Pixel 9 Pro XL are simply stunning, going up to 3000 nits of brightness. Here, you will not always get to this apex during standard operation, but the screen can hit 2000 nits in HDR, which makes a difference.
Altogether, one can point to the fact that the screen of the presented laptop is bright. When I picked my review unit at the Made by Google event, I took the Pixel 9 Pro XL with me to San Francisco I used it outdoors in direct sun with 5G and Google Maps. In terms of brightness, color, and especially how it performed under direct sunlight, the display was amazing, and not even close to having to be maxed out. Also, the phone did not get hot, but there is still room for improvement despite using Android in the dark theme at the maximum brightness level.
Another advantage of this display is its color accuracy, which is among the best. The color profile is switched on as Vivid while you can choose on Natural. I choose Vivid as it seems to be better for my eyes, although, as with the majority of modern Google products, it’s impossible to fully tweak it, which some manufacturers allow to do.
Gladly, I watched the content, played games, and everything on this display. For that, I have not been conducting scientific tests regarding these displays but can vouch for it as being one of the best on a smartphone with the only equal being the Galaxy S24 Ultra.
Google Pixel 9 Pro Review: Performance
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Inside, as with any other modern flagship, we find the Tensor G4 and an extra boost of 16GB RAM which isn’t present in the Tensor G3. Google talked much about the Tensor G4 and the thing is that I, at least, feel a difference in regular use of the device. The phone generally feels faster, the new vapor chamber has made it run cooler and battery life has increased over what the Pixel 8 Pro offered.
This is perhaps best highlighted in the processing of photograph films. To do this, Pixel phones analyze an image after a picture has been taken. On the Pixel 9 Pro, this processing was significantly faster, but not nearly as efficient in the Pixel 8 Pro as it should have been. Image processing time is about half or even a third compared to the Pixel 8 Pro, which in itself brings distinction in practical operations.
Benchmarks
Okay, let me explain the results of the benchmarks now. We use three different tests on every phone we review: It uses two benchmarking apps and a custom test so that no cheating can be done.
First, the benchmark of raw performance Geekbench 6 obtained the score of 1961 points on single-core and 4715 points on multiprocessor for pixel 9 Pro. They are higher than those of the Pixel 8 Pro and Pixel Fold with Tensor G3 and Tensor G2, respectively. In the GPU test, where the Pixel 9 Pro received 6,519 points, it is at the same level as some devices with Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 that we tested recently, but the Galaxy S24 Ultra is ahead in all respects.
This is followed by the 3D Mark Wildlife Extreme Stress Test which offers a 60-second loop that runs 20 times, the best and lowest score of the loop, and a stability percentage. The stability of the Pixel 9 Pro was 79 while it obtained scores of 2,573 for the best loop and 2,051 for the lowest loop. 1%. This is marginally higher than earlier Tensor-equipped Pixels and only off by about 2% from the Galaxy S24 Ultra, which had a stability of 51% here.
Lastly, we share a video export test wherein we import a 60-second video on Capcut and export it on 1080p at 30 frames per second. Introducing another subcategory The Pixel 9 Pro excelled, exporting the video in 13. 1 second, which is way faster than the Pixel Fold, and about three times as fast as the Pixel 8 Pro, although still a second and a half behind the S24 Ultra.
Surprisingly, the Pixel 9 Pro performed better than the Pixel 9 Pro XL in almost all the benchmarks while being slightly larger, and worse with heat dissipation.
Thermals
The thermals of a phone are very important when it comes to evaluating the performance of a phone. Should a phone become hot it will throttle, which is completely inadmissible in the case of a $1,000 device. There are three thermal tests we use to do this:
First, after the 3D Mark Wildlife Extreme Stress Test, we measured the intermediate pixel at 110, in the middle of the display, vertically and horizontally. 6 degrees Fahrenheit. Inexplicably, it is marginally higher than the Pixel 8 Pro, even with a new vapor chamber.
Then, we played an hour of Genshin Impact in full brightness and with the maximum graphic quality settings. The temperature of the screen was one hundred. absorbed 5 degrees Fahrenheit heat, which was not the second-highest reading recorded during our thermal tests.
Finally, we filmed at 4K30 for 10 minutes and took the temperature after 5 and at the end of the 10 minutes. While the Pixel 9 Pro XL is slightly better in the thermal performance test the differences are marginal.
Google Pixel 9 Pro Review: Battery Life and Charging
Concerning battery life, the device I mainly used for this review is the Pixel 9 Pro XL, and I must say I was pleasantly surprised. One day after Made by Google I had a very heavy day with lots of traveling during which I got about 8 hours of screen on time with the display at 5:5 and using Google Maps heavily.
That’s remarkable. Usually, I do not spend this much time on my phone in one day if only because I often have more than one device. But I’ve been waking up with the device having 40-50% battery left, which is after about 16 hours of use – it’s a vast improvement over the Pixel 8 Pro which would hover around 25-35% by the end of the day. This is in concordance with the 20% increase Google boasted of at their event.
Concerning charging, the Pixel 9 Pro comes with 27W and the Pixel 9 Pro XL comes with 37W charging. About charging this smartphone Google said that Pixel 9 Pro XL can charge up to 70 percent in 30 minutes and in my case it was true. At a charging rate from 1% to 2%, it was charged up to 72% within 29 minutes while the rest of the 28% within 40 minutes. It is now normal to have fast-battery charging and though here in the Pixel 9 Pro XL, we only have 37W, it’s pretty okay with me.
Last but not least, it is appropriate to discuss wireless charging. The Pixel 9 Pro XL can wireless charge at 23W with a Pixel Stand and the Pixel 9 Pro at 18W. When charging with a third-party charger, both of them achieve 15-watt power, which again is quite normal.
Google Pixel 9 Pro Review: Cameras:
Cameras remain one of the specialties that Google’s phones have always boasted of and the Pixel 9 Pro and Pro XL are no exception. The hardware of both devices is the same, and it includes a 48 MP main sensor, a 50 MP ultra-wide, and a 48 MP telephoto, with 5x optical change, cameras are flexible. The ability to shoot landscape, portraiture, and close-up shots is a specialty of these cameras.
Overall in my course of using the Pixel 9 Pro, I could of course easily say that the images captured or indeed the resultant image quality is phenomenal. Imaging is clear, and color reproduction is accurate together with bright and extended tonal range. This is particularly the case for the Night Sight feature by which you can take bright and detailed images in the dead of night.
As for the video, the hardware is also expanded with support for 4K60 video recording. The stabilization is great, and the video quality is good, just as in the other flagship devices.
Conclusion
The Pixel 9 Pro and Pixel 9 Pro XL are the best phones that Google has ever put on the market. They have excellent displays, enhanced performance, and great cameras which make them a package to reckon with. The only difference between the two models is the size and both models are equally effective. In this article, I will share with you some of the best smartphones that you can purchase in 2021, with the Pixel 9 Pro series being the best of the best.
