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.
In Hardwired, AC Senior Editor Harish Jonnalagadda delves into all things hardware, including phones, audio products, storage servers, and routers.
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.
The Pixel 9 Pro XL has much better build quality than its predecessor, and Google made a lot of small changes to the hardware that are noticeable in daily use.
