“The Google Pixel 9 Pro XL offers stunning hardware, lovely cameras, and much-improved specs — making it one of 2024’s best flagship smartphones.”
Pros
- Google’s best Pixel hardware yet
- Excellent display
- 16GB of RAM!
- Really fantastic cameras
- Helpful AI tools
- Much better battery life
- Seven years of updates
Cons
- Pixel Studio is a mess
- Slow charging speeds
- 128GB of base storage
The Google Pixel 9 Pro XL has big shoes to fill. It’s the first “XL” Pixel we’ve seen in five years, one of Google’s most expensive Pixels ever, and it has to follow up on the excellent Pixel 8 Pro it’s replacing. That’s a mighty tall order.
Here’s the good news, though. The Pixel 9 Pro XL does it. Google went all-out for its ninth-generation flagship Pixel phone in ways I wasn’t expecting. Not everything is perfect, but the result is a phenomenal smartphone that’s well-made, powerful, and a joy to use.
If you’re in the market for a flagship Android phone in almost every sense of the word, here’s why the Pixel 9 Pro XL is one of your best choices.
Google Pixel 9 Pro XL: design
Google regularly ups its design game every year with Pixel phones, and the Pixel 9 Pro XL is no exception. However, it doesn’t feel like a year-to-year improvement over the Pixel 8 Pro. Instead, it feels like a two- or three-year jump.