Google Pixel 9 Pro XL

Google's Pixel 9 Pro XL pairs elegant hardware with powerful Android software and delightful but limited AI tools to give us a glimpse at the future of phones.

The Pixel 9 Pro XL has incredible 18-hour runtime that frees you of battery life anxiety, but it appears to get toasty during certain taxing tasks.

The Pixel 9 Pro XL is an excellent flagship phone, but it doesn’t quite make enough meaningful progress to justify its elevated price tag, nor the same level of praise we heaped upon its predecessor. Meanwhile, its new design is sharp but disappointingly unoriginal.

With even more useful photography tricks and a much-improved telephoto camera, the Pixel 9 Pro XL cements its status as the best smartphone camera.

But the important thing is that behind all the flashy AI features, there’s a really good phone in the Pixel 9 Pro and the Pro XL. These are phones that I can finally hold up next to a Galaxy S24 Plus or an iPhone 15 Pro and think, yes, these are all top-of-the-line devices. These Pixels aren’t the budget-priced flagships that they used to be, and I think the higher prices are well justified by the hardware.

The Pixel 9 Pro XL sets new records for having the brightest screen around and has the longest battery life in a Pixel, but the minor camera and processing performance leaves more to be desired — especially when it's $100 more.

Some of the biggest AI upgrades have yet to come—Google will soon let Gemini tap into your calendar and tasks, as well as keep notes. Much like the forthcoming Apple Intelligence, we'll be able to see how effective large language models are when they become better personal assistants. The Pixel 9 series feels primed and ready for this challenge.

The Pixel 9 Pro XL is one of the most exciting Pixels in a long time; it not only sports a desperately-needed design refresh, but a boost to the auxiliary camera lenses, all-day battery life and a huge focus on GenAI allows it to stand out from the competition.