I was wrong about the Pixel 9 Pro XL

I was quick to criticize the Pixel 9 series shortly after launch, and I called out Google for moving the needle enough with its latest devices. Now that I've used the Pixel 9 Pro XL for two weeks, I'm ready to admit that my initial assessment was incorrect — Google made a lot of changes to the phone that are noticeable in daily use.

The first area of differentiation is the build quality; Google switched to a new design language with the Pixel 9 Pro XL, and while the phone ends up looking like an iPhone because of the flat sides, it feels much better in-hand than its predecessors. It has good weight distribution, and the squarish design with added width around the mid-frame offers increased structural rigidity.

I've broken enough Pixels to know how fragile these devices can be, but the Pixel 9 Pro XL came away unscathed after a few tumbles, so it's clear that Google paid attention to this area. In a similar vein, I've had issues with ports and buttons on previous Pixels, but that just isn't the case on the Pixel 9 Pro XL — the build quality is finally on par with the best Android phones.

Another big change has to do with the modem. The Pixel 9 Pro XL is powered by the Tensor G4, and while it isn't noticeably faster than the G3, the Exynos 5400 modem delivers much better connectivity. The Pixel 8 Pro couldn't maintain a reliable connection to my home network, but the Pixel 9 Pro XL doesn't have those shortcomings; I got a steady signal throughout the house, and while the signal strength wasn't as high as Qualcomm-powered devices, I had zero issues in regular use.

Overheating was a big problem last year, and the Pixel 9 Pro XL mitigates that via the use of a vapor chamber and aggressive power limits. Google set up the G4 to throttle earlier than the G3, and this is evident in the benchmarks. The result is that the Pixel 9 Pro XL isn't anywhere as good as Snapdragon 8 Gen 3-powered devices at gaming — it throttles way too quickly, and you get visible jitter in demanding games.

The upside is that the Pixel 9 Pro XL has the best thermals of any phone I used in 2024; it doesn't exceed 42 degrees under full load, and it's obvious that Google configured the Tensor G4 this way to prevent any overheating. While the Pixel 9 Pro XL isn't a gaming powerhouse by any measure, there is a noticeable difference in fluidity in day-to-day tasks over the Pixel 8 Pro. I had instances where the 8 Pro would lag in mundane tasks like Chrome or Instagram, and that just hasn't been an issue on the 9 Pro XL.

On that note, multitasking was an annoyance on Pixel 8 Pro, and the phone had a tendency to kill background apps after a few hours. Google changed this on the 9 Pro XL, and you can have a lot of background apps active without any issues. I understand that all of these seem like trivial problems, but they've been a constant annoyance on previous Pixels, and it's good to see Google addressing these shortcomings on its latest device.

That said, there are things that Google needs to fix. The Pixel 9 Pro XL takes too long to save portrait shots to the gallery, and there is shutter lag — you can't take portrait shots one after the other, and that just isn't a problem on any other high-end phone I used this year.

After using the phone to take over a hundred photos, it's clear that Google needs to change the camera hardware. While the brand is still the best at software tuning, the Pixel 9 Pro XL doesn't have the same caliber of cameras as the Xiaomi 14 Ultra, Vivo X100 Ultra, or the Magic 6 Pro.

I've never had an issue with Google's software efforts; if anything, I tolerated the second-rate hardware in the past because of the excellent software. There's plenty to like in this area on the Pixel 9 Pro XL, with Google doubling down on AI efforts. All major phone brands offer some level of AI-based features, Google has meaningful additions I actually use.

With the Pixel 8 Pro, I always got the sense that the phone isn't built to the same tolerance as other flagships, but that isn't a problem on the Pixel 9 Pro XL — you're no longer getting a great camera attached to an average phone. The rest of the hardware is just as good, and the Pixel 9 Pro XL is significantly better than its predecessors in this regard.