My previous phone was a Pixel 6 Pro and while it was still going strong it was time to upgrade so I decided to stick to the Pixel line and get the Pixel 9 Pro XL as I love big screens and I cannot lie! I have had the phone for about a month and a half now. Unlike other sites, we like to make sure that we truly use the phone before we write our thoughts about the device and now that I have had some time with the phone I feel I truly can share what I think is great about the phone as well as what I think needs improvement.

First, let’s look at the specs of the phone:

• Screen size: 6.8-in Super Actua (LTPO OLED) display with a 120 Hz refresh rate
• Processor: Google Tensor 4
• RAM: 16 GB
• Battery: 5060 mAh
• Ports: USB Type-C
• Connectivity: Wi-Fi 7 (802.11 ax) with 2.4GHz + 5GHz+ 6GHz,2×2 + 2×2,HE160,MIMO, Bluetooth 5.3, NFC
• Operating system: Android
• Wireless network technology generations: 4G, 4G LTE, 5G
• Dimensions: 6.41 x 3.02 x 0.34 in
• Rear-facing camera: Pro triple rear camera system: 50 MP wide | 48 MP ultrawide with Macro Focus | 48 MP 5x telephoto lens | Super Res Zoom up to 30x¹³ and optical quality at 0.5x, 1x, 2x, 5x, 10x
• Front-facing camera:
  42 MP Dual PD selfie camera with autofocus
  ƒ/2.2 aperture
  103° ultrawide field of view

Hardware Thoughts

I, personally, have been pretty happy with the Tensor chips since they have been released and while many articles out there have been dismayed by the power of the Tensor chips in general and in the Tensor G4. I am very happy with the chip in my day to day use. I, personally, do not play a lot of games on my phone because I find mobile gaming to be lacking in many respects. There’s more to my opinion than I want to share here but the dreadful revenue model of todays games is a big reason why I just don’t game that much on my mobile phone. However, I DO take pictures, edit them and also video on my phone and the Tensor G4 is more than up to the challenge. That is also helped by the included 16 GB of ram on the Pixel 9 Pro XL. If you, like me, are coming from the Tensor G1 that was in the Pixel 6 Pro then you will be very happy with the upgrade here.

The 6.8 inch Super Actua display is gorgeous and the 120 Hz refresh rate makes the phone buttery smooth when navigating the Pixel Interface. Google also finally seemed to nail the adaptive brightness functionality on the phone so I have yet to turn it off as I did on the Pixel 6 Pro as it keeps the screen visible enough 90 percent of the time. Plus when bringing up Google Wallet to show a QR code for a ticket or to make a payment the screen automatically gets brighter so it’s easier to scan the code. Then when you switch back it settles back to the adaptive brightness. It’s an amazing screen and probably one of  the best they have ever had in a Pixel device.

The battery is 5,060 mAh and I have yet to run out of battery when away from the house for a day. I have taken this on 4 mile hikes, to the gym and out all day shopping and not ever had to panic or pullout a battery bank to top off. Granted, as the weather is getting worse in Ohio I have not been out in the woods for an all day thing lately but it would probably be fine. I will always carry a battery bank with me just in case because being a scout taught me to always be prepared!

Now I went for the 9 Pro XL primarily for the excellent camera system. The rear camera system is one of the best and I have been very pleased with the quality of the shots from rear cameras. The front camera I am kind of confused though. It says it’s 48 Megapixel but you cannot shoot a 48 Megapixel picture with that camera. It saves them as 10 Megapixel jpgs. Maybe this will change with Android 15? I don’t know but even if it doesn’t it still is an excellent selfie cam and is more than sufficient for posting selfies on social media. For some reason they could not put the same selfie cams in the Pixel 9 Pro Fold and if they had it may have made me go with the fold with the exception that even this far along I can STILL see the crease in the folding screen. It HAS gotten better with each release but until I don’t notice it and it’s as durable as a slab phone I probably will stick to my system of a Pixel Pro XL and a tablet for my ultramobile setup with my current tablet being a iPad Pro 11 inch with the M2 chip in it.

The feel of the phone is very premium to me. The phone has a more iPhone like frame and feel with the frame feeling very rigid and premium. It does have a substantial bump for the camera system on the back but when you put a case on it becomes a nonissue for me. As nice and durable this phone feels I will never be one of those who carry it sans case and I recommend the same for you.

Android 14 and not Android 15?

There are many who are disappointed with the Pixel 9 series not shipping with Android 15. Yes it’s kind of a bummer that this did not happen with this release but this week Android 15 was released for the Pixels and there was much rejoicing! 🙂 As for me, I am perfectly content with allowing Google to get it right versus rushing it to completion so the 9 series could ship with it. Now that they have shipped Android 15 I have to say I did not notice much of a difference between 14 and 15. This is now because Android has become very mature and the Pixel version of it is the best version and the closest to being stock Android without it being stock. After using Android 15 for a few days I have to say Google made the right call.

A word about Gemini

The Pixel 9 series comes with a full year of Gemini Advanced. This gets you access to their next generation AI 1.5 Pro, 1M token context window, capable of handling uploads up to 1,500 pages, priority access to new features, you can run and edit python code directly in the interface, 2 TB of storage from Google One and you can use Gemini in whole full G suite of applications.

I have been experimenting with Gemini quite a bit and I really like the live chat sessions I have had with it and it pays attention to what you asked it previously so it’s ALMOST like a conversation but it really isn’t as you know you are talking to a machine. It is very handy and I feel in many ways it is much better than the Google Assistant. So much so I wish it was fully available in Android Auto as well but it isn’t. In fact it almost feels like the assistant has  gotten dumber as a result of this. I used to be able to hit the microphone on Android Auto and ask it questions about random things when I am driving but since I got this phone I have noticed the assistant just feels less than Gemini.

As for the integration with G-suite…well I don’t know if I will EVER use it to help write e-mails but it’s nice that it is there for that.

As time goes on I expect Gemini to grow more capable but for now it’s a useful toy and I will leave it at that.

Conclusion

With every phone release you cringe a little until you actually see it. You are afraid that Google may have messed it up. That is not the case here. Google has knocked this release out of the park especially if you have a Pixel 6 Pro and were patiently waiting for an upgrade. If you have a Pixel 8 or better, you may want to hold off for the Pixel 10 series. There is much expectation for the upcoming Tensor G5 being the first fully custom SoC made by TSMC for Google and being the first 3 nm Tensor chip. This could mean the Pixel 10 series will have a significant speed increase between the Pixel 9 series and the 10. However, if you have an older Pixel and you need an upgrade and are, like me, then go for it!  You will like it.