David Bridges
Desk of Contents
The Google Pixel 9 Professional XL is the latest addition to the Pixel household. Earlier than the reveal of the Google Pixel 9 sequence, the lineup solely had two telephones: a base mannequin (e.g., final 12 months’s Google Pixel 8) and a Professional variant (e.g., 2023’s Google Pixel 8 Professional).
Now, Google has modified issues up with a triple-device lineup: the Pixel 9, Pixel 9 Professional, and Pixel 9 Professional XL.
Apparently, regardless of its title, the Pixel 9 Professional XL isn’t that a lot bigger from final 12 months’s greatest mannequin (i.e., Google Pixel 8 Professional). The brand new Pixel 9 Professional XL has a 6.8-inch show whereas the Google Pixel 8 Professional has a 6.7-inch panel.
What actually makes the Pixel 9 Professional XL comparatively bigger to the Pixel 9 Professional is that Google really shrunk the Professional mannequin to six.3 inches, down from 6.7 inches. So sure, the Pixel 9 Professional is smaller than the Pixel 8 Professional. Bizarre, I do know, on condition that telephones usually turn out to be bigger than their predecessors, not smaller.
Now that you simply’ve received understanding of the Pixel 9 Professional XL (and its new household), let’s dive into my expertise with it.
Pixel 9 Professional XL hands-on overview: I zoomed in on strangers 5,280 ft away and noticed the colour of their garments
Google Pixel 9 Professional XL value and specs
The Google Pixel 9 Professional XL has a beginning value of $1,099 through the Google Retailer. It comes with the next specs:
If you’d like, you will get extra storage by upgrading to the 256GB mannequin, which is able to set you again $1,119. If you’d like a 512GB mannequin or a 1TB variant, you’ll should shell out $1,319 and $1,549, respectively. (I extremely recommend getting the 256GB mannequin. In my private expertise, 128GB of storage lasts about slightly over a 12 months earlier than your storage will get full.)
Google Pixel 9 Professional XL design
The Pixel 9 Professional XL, not like its lesser successors (e.g., Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Professional), really seems and feels premium — due to the Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2 matte again. With a shiny polished steel body that wraps across the Pixel 9 Professional XL, it might actually compete with the likes of the iPhone 15 Professional Max.
Credit score: Kimberly Gedeon
The Pixel 9 Professional XL can also be extremely immune to fingerprints, so be at liberty to get handsy with it with none guilt.
The actual unit I examined for this overview sports activities the Hazel chassis. There are three different colours you possibly can select from, together with Obsidian (black), Rose Quartz (pink), and Porcelain (off-white).
I’ve seen all of them in individual. The Obsidian could also be the preferred of the 4 colorways. You may by no means go mistaken with a wealthy, onyx machine that appears prefer it’d be on Batman’s desk. The Rose Quartz delivers a pink-ish hue to the Pixel 9 Professional XL. Emphasis on the phrase ish as a result of it is extra of a pastel, barely there, “child bathe pink,” if you’ll. If you’d like a pink that is really not afraid to be pink, take a look at the “Peony” colour on the Pixel 9.
Though Google made a refined gen-over-gen change with the digital camera bar, it elevates the visible attraction of the Pixel 9 sequence. The funky Geordi La Forge-esque visor not goes from edge to edge. It now has an island-style design with a physique that colour matches the chassis.
On the proper aspect of the Pixel 9 Professional XL, you will discover the quantity and energy buttons. On the underside, you will uncover the USB-C port and a SIM card slot (the Pixel 9 Professional XL additionally helps eSIM).
In comparison with the Pixel 8 Professional, the Pixel 9 Professional XL is only a smidge bigger (6.41 inches lengthy versus 6.40). Nevertheless, it is barely thinner (0.33 inches vs. 0.35 inches). The Pixel 9 Professional XL feels fairly good within the fingers; the curved edges are forgiving as my fingers wrap round them. As somebody who by no means appreciated the Pixel sequence’ design, I am lastly warming as much as it.
Google Pixel 9 Professional XL show
The Pixel 9 Professional XL has a 6.8-inch, 1344 x 2992-pixel decision show. It has a screen-to-body ratio of about 88%, a slight leap from the Pixel 8 Professional’s 87% screen-to-body ratio. Which means the Pixel 9 Professional XL gives a greater immersive viewing expertise with thinner bezels, permitting extra of the show to be devoted to your content material.
Credit score: Kimberly Gedeon / Mashable
I fired up just a few movies on the Pixel 9 Professional XL, together with platforms like YouTube and Netflix. One factor I seen is that the Pixel 9 Professional XL was a extremely saturated panel, significantly in comparison with my iPhone 15 Professional Max. For instance, whereas watching Love is Blind UK, the electrical inexperienced prime on one contestant gave the impression to be extra vibrant — as if it was coming out of the display — in comparison with its Apple counterpart.
Nevertheless, my day by day driver, the Samsung Galaxy S24 Extremely, is much more vivid than the Pixel 9 Professional XL — maybe too vivid. The Pixel 9 Professional XL is “excellent.”
Google Pixel 9 Professional XL cameras
The megapixel rely of the Pixel 9 Professional XL hasn’t modified from the Pixel 8 household. It nonetheless has a 50MP vast digital camera, a 48MP ultrawide lens, and a 48MP telephoto sensor.
Credit score: Kimberly Gedeon / Mashable
Nevertheless, this time round, the Pixel 9 Professional XL’s ultrawide digital camera received a slight replace, an improved aperture, that implies that it’s best to get higher ultrawide photographs in low-light circumstances.
In different phrases, your trip photographs the place you seize ultrawide photographs of gorgeous landscapes ought to have improved element on the Pixel 9 Professional XL.
I examined the Pixel 9 Professional XL in opposition to my beloved iPhone 15 Professional Max, and to my shock, the previous bested it. And I’ve proof.
Broad digital camera
I captured an image of some vintage automobiles inside a museum and was greatly surprised by the Pixel 9 Professional XL’s seize:
^That is the Pixel 9 Professional XL’s pic.
Credit score: Kimberly Gedeon / Mashable
Right here is the iPhone 15 Professional Max’s seize of the scene:
^That is the iPhone 15 Professional Max’s pic
Credit score: Kimberly Gedeon / Mashable
The very first thing that caught my eye is that the Pixel 9 Professional XL offers higher with difficult lighting, delivering a shot with little to no lens flare (not like the iPhone 15 Professional Max). The Apple machine supplied a extra true-to-life interpretation of the 2 vintage automobiles whereas its Google rival captured a richer, extra saturated shot.
Ultrawide digital camera
I additionally took some photos of Northport Harbor in Lengthy Island, New York. Flanked by verdant timber, right here is an ultrawide shot taken by the Google Pixel 9 Professional XL:
Google Pixel 9 Professional XL’s photograph of the Northport Harbor.
Credit score: Kimberly Gedeon / Mashable
Right here is identical surroundings taken with the iPhone 15 Professional Max
iPhone 15 Professional Max’s photograph of the Northport Harbor.
Credit score: Kimberly Gedeon / Mashable
The Pixel 9 Professional XL’s interpretation of the scene seems to be extra vibrant and colourful. The grass emanates greener hues, and most conspicuously, the sky and harbor look bluer. The ripples and waves within the water seem extra detailed, too.
Telephoto
Each the Pixel 9 Professional XL and iPhone 15 Professional Max’s telephoto sensor maxes out at 5X optical zoom earlier than the digital zoom (i.e., software program) kicks in. I snapped a photograph of a neighbor’s yellow flowers, and this is the way it turned out (at 5X zoom).
Have a look at the shot taken by the Pixel 9 Professional XL, and you will discover a extra strong and detailed seize of the eye-catching flower in comparison with the iPhone 15 Professional Max:
^That is the Pixel 9 Professional XL’s pic.
Credit score: Kimberly Gedeon / Mashable
^That is the iPhone 15 Professional Max’s pic
Credit score: Kimberly Gedeon / Mashable
The Pixel 9 Professional XL could have an edge over the iPhone 15 Professional Max on the subject of cameras, however as you will discover out, the Google telephone is weaker on the subject of efficiency.
In the event you’re inquisitive about how far the Pixel 9 Professional XL can zoom with its Tremendous Res Zoom perk, take a look at my hands-on that featured me zooming in 5,280 ft and getting unbelievable element.
Google Pixel 9 Professional XL efficiency
We ran Geekbench 6 on the Pixel 9 Professional XL, which sports activities the brand new Google Tensor G4 chip, and it delivered a multi-core rating of 4,569.
Credit score: Kimberly Gedeon / Mashable
That is fairly low in comparison with the scores we have recorded for different telephones we have reviewed:
Google Pixel 9 Professional XL – 4,569
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6 – 6,069
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 – 6,300
Samsung Galaxy S24 Extremely – 7,078
iPhone 15 Professional Max – 7,359
I do know the iPhone 15 Professional Max’s 7,359 rating could look astronomical — and that is as a result of it’s. It is manner too overpowered for a smartphone. The Pixel 9 Professional XL would not have to match this rating to be thought-about as beastly because the priciest iPhone, however its Geekbench 6 rating is surprisingly low. And when you think about that the Pixel 8 Professional really delivered a greater rating (e.g., 4,639), the G4 chip feels much more underpowered.
Even so, I did not expertise any slowdowns in anyway whereas juggling a number of apps concurrently. It’s price nothing, nonetheless, that the Pixel 9 Professional XL received slightly too sizzling at instances, significantly whereas utilizing the cameras throughout a heat day. This telephone could also be a nightmare to make use of on the seashore.
Google Pixel 9 Professional XL AI options
Apple Intelligence is in hassle! Google packed a cornucopia of AI options into the Pixel 9 household. Try our hands-on experiences with chunk of them:
I additionally advocate that you simply take a look at the brand new Gemini Dwell, the massive replace to Google’s ChatGPT rival.
Google Pixel 9 Professional XL battery life
In-freakin’-credible! The Google Pixel 9 Professional XL drained at a price of simply 5 % hour on our take a look at.
Credit score: Kimberly Gedeon / Mashable
We ran a TikTok rundown on the Pixel 9 Professional XL at 50% brightness. Now, think about our shock once we noticed it lasted a whopping 18 hours and 41 minutes on a single cost. This beats the iPhone 15 Professional Max, which lasted 14 hours and 53 minutes on the identical take a look at.
Google Pixel 9 Professional XL: Is it price it?
The Google Pixel 9 Professional XL is completely price it primarily based on the battery life alone. You may comfortably depart the home with the Pixel 9 Professional XL and never undergo from battery drainage anxiousness. You may get away with being lazy for a bit and not charging the telephone for an evening or two.
Plus, on the subject of its shooters, it might compete with arguably the very best smartphone available on the market: the iPhone 15 Professional Max. That being mentioned, the Pixel 9 Professional XL beats the iPhone 15 Professional Max in not less than three classes: digital camera, show, and battery life.
On prime of that, the Pixel 9 Professional XL’s Google AI options are a blast to make use of (although they’ve their quirks), making the Pixel 9 Professional XL one of many finest telephones of 2024.
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Daniel Mercer
