I went quickly to criticize the Pixel 9 series Shortly after launch, I told Google that it had made a big change with its latest devices. Now that I've used the Pixel 9 Pro XL Two weeks in, I'm willing to admit that my initial assessment was wrong: Google made a lot of changes to the phone that are noticeable in everyday use.
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In CablingAC Senior Editor Harish Jonnalagadda delves into all things hardware, including phones, audio products, storage servers, and routers.
The first area of differentiation is build quality; Google adopted a new design language with the Pixel 9 Pro XL, and while the phone ends up looking like an iPhone due to the flat sides, it feels much better in the hand than its predecessors. It has a nice weight distribution, and the square design with extra width around the center frame offers greater structural rigidity.
I've broken enough Pixels to know how fragile these devices can be, but the Pixel 9 Pro XL emerged unscathed after a few drops, so it's clear that Google paid attention to this area. Similarly, I've had issues with ports and buttons on previous Pixels, but that's not the case with the Pixel 9 Pro XL – the build quality is finally on par with the The best Android phones.
Another big change concerns the modem. The Pixel 9 Pro XL is powered by the Tensor G4, and while it's not noticeably faster than the G3, the Exynos 5400 modem offers much better connectivity. Pixel 8 Pro I wasn't able to maintain a reliable connection to my home network, but the Pixel 9 Pro XL has no such shortcomings—I got a consistent signal throughout my house, and while the signal strength wasn't as high as the Qualcomm-powered devices, I didn't experience any issues in regular use.
Overheating was a big issue last year, and the Pixel 9 Pro XL mitigates it through the use of a vapor chamber and aggressive power limits. Google set the G4 to throttle back earlier than the G3, and this is evident in the reference pointsThe result is that the Pixel 9 Pro XL isn't as good at gaming as Snapdragon 8 Gen 3-powered devices: it slows down too quickly and there are noticeable judders in demanding games.
The upside is that the Pixel 9 Pro XL has the best temperatures of any phone I’ve used in 2024 — it doesn’t go above 42 degrees under a full charge, and it’s obvious that Google configured the Tensor G4 this way to prevent overheating. While the Pixel 9 Pro XL isn’t a gaming powerhouse by any stretch, there is a noticeable difference in how fluid it is in everyday tasks compared to the Pixel 8 Pro. I’ve had instances where the 8 Pro would lag in mundane tasks like Chrome or Instagram, and that simply hasn’t been an issue on the 9 Pro XL.
On that note, multitasking was a pain on the Pixel 8 Pro and the phone had a tendency to close background apps after a few hours. Google changed this on the 9 Pro XL and now you can have many background apps running without any issues. I understand that all of these issues seem trivial, but they have 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 Google needs to fix. The Pixel 9 Pro XL takes too long to save portrait photos to the gallery, and there's a shutter lag (you can't take portrait photos back-to-back), something that isn't an issue on any other high-end phone I've used this year.
After using the phone to take over a hundred photos, it's clear that Google needs to change up the camera hardware. While the brand is still the best when it comes to software tweaks, the Pixel 9 Pro XL doesn't have the same caliber of cameras as the Pixel 9 Pro XL. Xiaomi 14 UltraVivo X100 Ultra, or the Magic 6 Pro.
I’ve never had a problem with Google’s software efforts — if anything, I’ve tolerated second-rate hardware in the past because of the excellent software. There’s a lot to like in this area on the Pixel 9 Pro XL, with Google doubling down on its AI efforts. Every major phone brand offers some level of AI-based features — Google has meaningful additions that I actually use.
With the Pixel 8 Pro, I always felt like the phone wasn't built with the same forbearance as other flagships, but that's not an issue with the Pixel 9 Pro XL — you no longer get a great camera on 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 everyday use.
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