I found the Pixel 9 Pro XL for $699 – here’s why this is the Android phone deal to grab

ZDNET’s key takeaways

• The Google Pixel 9 Professional XL is on sale, beginning at $699.
• For the value, you are getting a bigger, brighter-than-ever 6.8-inch show, unique Google AI options, and probably the most forgiving digicam system available on the market.
• I simply want the bottom storage (128GB) was no less than double and the AI options had been extra dependable.

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Holding the Google Pixel 9 Pro series for the primary time jogged my memory of once I held the iPhone 12 Professional for the primary time. The shift from the earlier 12 months’s curved design to flatter edges made all of the distinction in its really feel and notion of worth. The Pixel 9 Professional and Professional XL exude premium, and Google is aware of it.

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That is why the corporate is charging you extra for its new Pixel telephones this 12 months, with the usual mannequin often priced at $799, the Pro at $999, and the Pro XL at $1,099. On this economic system, it is a daring transfer. However within the massive image, Google has solely matched what opponents like Samsung and Apple have been pricing their flagship handsets.

Proper now, nonetheless, the Google Pixel 9 Professional XL is considerably marked down for Black Friday/Cyber Monday, beginning at $699 for the Hazel colorway, and $749 for Obsidian and Porcelain. 

Fortuitously, you may have a lot to achieve by paying Google extra. From my month of testing the Professional XL mannequin — with quick stints utilizing the smaller Professional — I’ve tremendously benefitted from upgrades such because the brighter (as much as 3,000 nits) show, AI options like Call Notes and Pixel Screenshots, the quicker 45W charging, and Tensor G4 chip that has stored the telephone working easily. The brand new ultrasonic fingerprint sensor can also be loopy quick.

With the Pixel 9 Professional collection, the design — as sudden as it’s — is the standout characteristic for me. The flat edges relaxation easily in opposition to my hand, giving me a assured grip when swiping and typing, a therapy of Gorilla Glass Victus 2 makes the mannequin twice as sturdy as final 12 months’s, and whether or not you like a smaller or bigger type issue, you’ve got received choices. By comparability, the Pixel 8 Pro appears like a toy.

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My two gripes with the Pixel 9 Professional design are the digicam bump and frosted again glass. The previous is a longstanding situation with the Google Pixel’s protruding digicam bar design, which collects mud and particles across the edges and fingerprint smudges on the visor. With the again glass, I’ve observed a number of micro-scratches already that chipped away the Obsidian-colored coating. My recommendation: Get any coloration however Obsidian and try to be nice.

A brand new Tensor G4 chip paired with 16GB of RAM means the Pixel 9 Professional is quicker and extra highly effective than final 12 months’s mannequin in the case of multi-tab looking, loading movies on a social feed, modifying photographs, and taking part in video games. It additionally advantages on-device AI duties, which I am going to get to later.

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On my Uber journey to the airport not too long ago, I used to be capable of swiftly add clips from a product launch occasion whereas downloading motion pictures to look at on the flight. Oh, and site monitoring was working within the background, too. The end result was gentle overheating and a couple of 3% dip in battery life all through the 20-minute journey, which is admirable.

That is to say, the 5,060mAh battery on the Pixel 9 Professional XL has been serving me properly, ending most of my days with round 25-30%. It is a two-day telephone when used frivolously, however you will not be mad if you’ll want to cost it sooner as a result of the Pixel now helps 45W charging. The quicker pace will not revolutionize your morning routine, but it surely’s a notable bump-up from the sluggish 30W score on earlier fashions.

The important thing enhancements to the Pixel 9 Professional’s digicam system primarily revolve round AI and the way its imaging engine interprets and enhances output. For instance, the picture above, whereas sharp intimately and delightful in distinction, was initially captured with a slight tilt, making the runway seem slanted. So, I used the brand new Auto body instrument in Magic Editor to straighten it whereas increasing the perimeters with AI. For enjoyable, I added a rainbow and a aircraft that clearly did not hear the Air Visitors Management tower’s order to stay grounded like the remainder of us.

Such AI instruments are inventive and kooky, however they’re additionally inconsistent, unreliable (see the left-side airplane), and require numerous endurance — each with ready for the picture generations and presumably extra ready after that if the outcomes do not meet your inventive imaginative and prescient.

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I am an even bigger fan of the brand new Add Me and Video Increase options. The previous items collectively two photographs, one that you have captured of different folks within the body and one other that features you in the identical body, so nobody will get disregarded. It is a intelligent AI/AR instrument that solves a real-world drawback, however there’s one slight situation: Do not anticipate a seamless edit in the event you’re posing in between topics. Oftentimes, elements of your physique will not be correctly cropped out. So, for the perfect outcomes, leave space!

With Video Increase, I am glad to report that the improved HDR+ and rendering fixes one of many greatest issues with the Pixel digicam: the jarring cuts when switching to the 5x optical zoom digicam throughout recording.

Whereas I am nonetheless testing each new Pixel 9 AI feature, of which there are a lot, listed below are my rankings for the my most frequented ones:

• Pixel Screenshots (4/5): It is the perfect AI characteristic I did not know I wanted. In contrast to Microsoft Recall, the on-device database is curated by pictures you manually seize, so it is simply as straightforward to parse via however way more safe. 
• Gemini Live (4/5): Like ChatGPT’s voice characteristic, you may chat and ask inquiries to Gemini Dwell whereas it is working within the background. Since its first launch, Gemini Dwell has labored way more naturally, with fewer hiccups and dropped voice inputs. It helps to have haptic suggestions that guides the movement of the dialog. Multimodality and synchronization with the Pixel Buds Pro 2 ought to enhance the expertise much more.
• Call Notes (2/5): The reliability of the summarization characteristic is tremendously affected by name high quality, talking tempo, and whether or not there are any distinctive phrases within the dialog, similar to overseas names and objects. Generally, Gemini transcribed dates, locations, and bits of vital info inaccurately.

ZDNET’s shopping for recommendation

The Google Pixel 9 Pro XL is a contender for best Android phone this 12 months, even in the event you do not plan to make use of its on-device AI options. Whereas the brand new mannequin is Google’s costliest telephone (barring foldable) but, the value bump is justified by enhancements in elements that historically held the Pixel line again, similar to charging pace, efficiency, and construct high quality.

With the reintroduction of an XL mannequin, the smaller Pixel 9 Pro ought to enchantment to customers who desire a extra comfy gadget with out compromising on specs and digicam {hardware}. And if each telephones are out of your price range, however you need the core options, take into account the cheaper Pixel 9.

This evaluate was initially printed on September 12, 2024, and was up to date on November 28, 2025.