Google Pixel 9 and Pixel 9 Pro XL review: Oh she’s sweet, but a psycho

Google on a pixelated cloud nine

This year, the Pixel 9 series by Google is split into three standard models instead of the usual two.

The Pixel 9 and Pixel 9 Pro share identical dimensions and display size, but the Pixel 9 Pro has an extra telephoto lens, 4GB more RAM, a higher peak brightness (3,000 nits) than the regular Pixel 9’s 2,700 nits, and a more powerful front-facing camera at 42MP. They also feature mild design differences, which we touch on below.

With the Pro downsizing to stay compact, Google had to keep a large phone alternative for its old Pro-size fans. That’s where the Google Pixel 9 Pro XL comes in, with its 6.8-inch Super Actua Display and 5,060mAh battery. Otherwise, it’s virtually identical to the Pixel 9 Pro.

The TL;DR version:



The best-designed Pixel phones so far are also more expensive, but Google knows they can charge more because of its imaging prowess and clean interface. Just don't get too excited about Gemini, yet.



You can buy the phones at the official Google Store, Amazon SG, Challenger, Courts, Singtel, Shopee, Lazada, and SprintCass (Airport).

Much of what Google offers has remained the same, save a few improvements to its AI photography kit and the in-built addition of Gemini. A core part of the user experience has changed since Google Assistant now goes through its generative AI chatbot, so we’ll assess to see how that impacts day-to-day use.

However, the Pixel 9 Pro and Pixel 9 Pro Fold came to Singapore after these two, so we’ll have those in a separate review. Here, we’ll focus instead on the first-to-market models, Pixel 9 and Pixel 9 Pro XL.

How do Google’s new phones hold up in a competitive smartphone landscape? Is Gemini enough to offer yet another breakthrough, or does Google need to think harder about making premium smartphones more attractive than just having AI smarts? Are their prices (S$1,199 for 128GB Pixel 9, and S$1,599 for 128GB Pixel 9 Pro XL) acceptable when you consider everything else that comes with it? Let’s see.

No more silly curves

Pixel 9 and Pixel 9 Pro XL are the best-designed Pixel phones since the Pixel 6 series. The reason is simple: they no longer feature the ugly curved display and curved rear aesthetic, a dated design style that usually plague Chinese mobiles. You no longer have to compromise on taste and aesthetics in favour of powerful cameras and likeable AI editing features. Thank you to the designer at Google who made this happen.

Handling also received due attention, with the rims (matte for the Pixel 9 and polished for the Pixel 9 Pro XL) packing rounded brinks/edges to make them comfortable to hold and soften the aggressive angles that come with flat sides. 

Another design upgrade is that the Camera Bar no longer wraps around the sides. The oblong-shaped island isn’t just nicer to look at but still keeps the Pixel 9 devices stable on a desk, even with the display facing up.

While their design has significantly improved, it’s still imperfect. The Pixel 9 pairs its matte metal rim with a shiny polished glass rear, while the Pixel 9 Pro XL has it in reverse (polished sides, frosted rear). They don't exactly match their Camera Bars either, since they also seem to have unique design principles that fly against the rest of both devices.

We also can't complain about the handling of the new Pixel phones. The power and volume buttons are nice to press, and the IP68 rating against water and dust is welcomed. What surprised us was how heavy the 198g Pixel 9 felt in hand despite its size, but we quickly got used to it. Pixel 9 Pro XL, in comparison, felt like a standard big phone for big hands.

The hardware upgrades that we liked

Despite the focus on generative AI, the Google Pixel 9 and Pixel 9 Pro XL still receive some component upgrades; some are more important than they first appear.

First is the peak brightness of 2,700 nits (Pixel 9) and 3,000 nits (Pixel 9 Pro XL), up from the old 2,000 and 2,400 nits on the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro. Even under the harsh Singapore midday sun, the predecessors were already capable, so we weren’t surprised when this year’s Pixel 9 series phones could manage well. It’s technically an upgrade, but you won’t feel the difference unless you have trouble with your eyesight.

The 24-bit colour depth and HDR-supported displays are equal across all models, which means you get equal viewing quality even if you don’t get the same resolution or refresh rates.

It’s worth noting that the Pixel 9 has a 60-120Hz refresh rate support, while the Pro variants (Pixel 9 Pro and Pixel 9 Pro XL) have a 1-120Hz refresh rate support. This is only an issue if you like having an Always-On Display; you have to pick either Pro or Pro XL if you don’t want the idling display to sap too much of your battery (and yes, it drains noticeably faster on the idling Pixel 9). If your concern is smooth viewing, then it doesn’t matter since both peak at 120Hz.

The tangible upgrade, however, was swapping from its old optical fingerprint sensor (Pixel 8 series and earlier) to the Pixel 9 series’ ultrasonic fingerprint sensor. Unlike other leading Android phones, Google is a bit late in adopting this. From our day-to-day use and testing, the upgraded sensor feels faster (barely half a second) when it detects a registered fingerprint and is just as quick at rejecting the other fingers.

What we liked most was its placement, just above the bottom quadrant of the phones. The fingerprint sensor is usually too low for comfort in most Android mobiles. So, kudos to the Pixel 9 series for getting this right, even if the technology isn’t very new.

A word on Gemini

To be frank, Google has been very confusing about its generative AI features on the Pixel 9 series. Essentially, multiple types of gen AI are at play here, which we’ve figured out by exploring all its features.

Gemini now replaces Google Assistant. That means the Google Assistant you used to command (e.g., turn off Bluetooth, restart the phone, etc.) is better at being the same assistant while giving it ChatGPT-like powers. This allows you to ask questions, brainstorm, and generally help you out with trivial tasks, either by texting it, speaking to it, or showing it a photo.

It’s not strictly on-device processing for the following reasons: It can access your Google Workspace apps (Calendar, Gmail, etc.) to help sort out your information. It can also query the web to answer some questions that are not on your device. In our examples, it can pull details from our email inbox and refer to the web to tell us of fairly current happenings.

The problem with Gemini is that it can be absolutely psychotic. Depending on your question, it can sometimes be dead-on accurate or completely miss the mark. To demonstrate, here are some examples of what we’ve tried, each as a separate prompt in different threads:

• Singapore’s currency strategy and how it relates to managing inflation and costs of living (the latter asked as a follow-up)
• Food recommendations (specifically, char kway teow in Bedok) and where Gemini got its recommendations from (as a follow-up)
• If any current or former K-pop idols are Singaporean
• Medals won at the most recent Olympics
• Any interesting festivals or events to visit in Singapore this month (August 2024)
• Any important news in Singapore for the day
• A series of phone-related tasks, ranging from the simple like turning off Bluetooth to adjusting display timeout and closing apps

Our verdict? It’s nearly as trustworthy as an Instagram/TikTok influencer or a self-centred politician. Just look at the answers Gemini gave:

MAS policy: It is accurate enough. It lifted the answer from official websites but doesn’t elaborate on sources. It also assumed that we wanted to talk about politics when we followed up with questions about how this monetary strategy affects inflation and the costs of living. 

Food (char kway teow in Bedok): subjective, but it doesn't admit where the information was obtained. The recommendation is likely because the mentioned char kway teow has had a Michelin mention once. At least it was a real outlet.

Singaporean K-pop idol: This is hugely wrong because the AI mistook a local choreographer as an idol and completely forgot about an absolute babe who was the leader of a girl group that debuted more than ten years ago (no excuse if the AI was trained on old data). She also had an equally mesmerising Singaporean vocalist teammate, too.

Olympic medals: Again, this is incredibly wrong. Singapore won zero medals at Tokyo 2020, and the most recent Olympics was at Paris 2024 (where Singapore won one bronze medal).

August 2024 happenings: Despite showing hints of being trained on old data or unable to grab the latest search results, it got the Singapore Night Festival correct (right down to the dates). What’s going on?

News: It doesn’t tell you what’s on the news and gives a patronising reply. There is no visible integration with your Google News feed, yet it somehow knows what’s happening this month, as disclaimed.

Phone tasks: Mixed results. It could do all the same old Google Assistant tasks like toggling off minor functions, but having Gemini did not make it more capable than before. For example, Gemini told us to close all our opened apps one by one, when closing all apps in one go (a feature available in some Chinese Android reskins) is not new and technically possible.

From our experimentation, it’s clear that Google overpromised and underdelivered on Gemini's helpfulness and accuracy. While capable and conversant, the AI is not as fully integrated into Googles’ wide range of services. It is prone to making up answers instead of clarifying what you’re asking about and being evasive when asked to substantiate its replies.

The lack of accuracy and transparency makes it hard to trust Gemini as a reliable brainstorming partner. The flaws make it sound like a psycho sometimes, but neglectful use can make you prone to genuine consequences, like copyright infringement or worse. 

The good news is that AI is practical enough for chore-like tasks, like digging through emails, setting once-off or recurring reminders, timers, and other menial drudgery. Yet, it’s useless enough that it cannot help you reduce multi-step processes like closing multiple apps or triggering a customised notification.

So, the current state of Gemini on Pixel phones isn’t bad (since it can do Google Assistant things), but it's not incredible or game-changing.

The real bad news, however, is that the Gemini-coated Google Assistant (a.k.a. Hey Google) needs an Internet connection to issue basic commands. So, if you want to voice command your phone to turn on DND or restart the device, you must have working Wi-Fi or mobile data.

However, the imaging aspect of Google’s generative AI works just as well as (if not better than) before. New features like like Add Me and Auto Frame, alongside old features like Magic Editor, Photo Unblur, and Magic Eraser, are helpful, easy to use, and properly trained to keep hallucinations to a minimum. More on that below.

Imaging Performance 

The rear cameras (and their core functionality) have largely stayed the same across Pixel 9 and Pixel 9 Pro XL. The full spec sheet is near the top of this article, so here's a recap:

• Pixel 9: 50MP main with 48MP ultrawide, caps out at 8x Super Res Zoom
• Pixel 9 Pro XL: 50MP main, 48MP ultrawide, 48MP telephoto with 5x optical zoom

What changed was the Pixel 9's ultrawide camera's increase to 48MP (from 12MP). This camera is then pixel-binned to give brighter, more detailed 12MP images and unlock macro photography. It was previously not available on the predecessor, Pixel 8.

The Pixel 9 Pro XL's telephoto lens gets an improved AutoFocus, but that's not a massive shift in specs either. The front camera for the Pro series also increased to 42MP, but that only concerns users who are big on selfies and video calls.

The real changes, however, are all under the hood or software-based. Google claimed it has a new HDR+ imaging pipeline that improves exposure, tone mapping, sharpening, contrast, "and more". This is on top of new features like 20x Super Zoom in Night Sight Video or Video Boost mode (Pro only), the Add Me assistant for taking group photos without troubling strangers (all Pixel 9 phones), Auto Frame for composing photos after taking them (all Pixel 9 phones), and Reimagine, the text-based generative AI editing tool for object replacement in photos. You can get more info and usage context about these new Gen AI Photography tools from our earlier reporting here.

Let's check out the imaging prowess of these new phones. Sample photos below are split into Pixel 9 first, followed by Pixel 9 Pro XL examples.

Pixel 9 sample images

The Pixel 9's daytime shots are really impressive, and Google's claim that they are fundamentally identical to the shooters available on the Pro versions of Pixel shows this. You get tons of nuance and detail, even in shadows. A lesser phone would give you splotches of dark spots or try to disguise the lack of detail by dramatising its vibrancy and saturation.

The night shots proved robust and sharp even in dimly lit areas or objects, like the parapet and pillars of the building or the separation of hair strands in audience members. Our only gripe is the poor handling of details in shadows, where fabric creases in dark dresses, shirts, or trousers are not easily seen in the photos. Still, it's a great achievement for the Pixel 9 to attain such high-quality shots, and it'd take very little editing if you use them for social media.

Pixel 9 Pro XL sample images

The optical zoom in the 5x telephoto camera holds up very nicely, whether in the day or at night. As the other images here show, the Pixel 9 Pro XL's main and ultrawide cameras are indeed of comparable quality to its regular Pixel 9 counterpart. If you have specific telephoto needs, the Pro version satisfies those nicely.

If we had one wishlist item for its imaging performance across these two models, we'd choose to have a stronger fish-eye correction in its ultrawide camera. Otherwise, there are no complaints for these two impressive shooters.

Benchmark Performance

The Google Pixel 9 series all share the same processor, Google Tensor G4. It’s supposedly 20% faster at web browsing and 17% faster at launching apps than its preceding Tensor G3. It’s also supposedly better at power efficiency than the Tensor G3, with the newer chipset capable of up to 45 tokens per second for processing conversational requests (necessary for the Pixel 9 series’ built-in Gemini assistant).

While we don’t expect the Google Tensor G4 to offer wildly different performance across its three standard and one foldable models, we’d still want to test them separately and confirm that. After all, a key perk of paying for a flagship-tier phone is consistent performance regardless of your camera configuration or battery size.

We’ll compare it to other AI-capable flagship models from this year and throw in last year’s Pixel 8 for comparison.

Putting it to the test

To find out how the competitors line up specs and price-wise, check them out in this link.

To find out more about the tests we conduct and what they relate to, we've jotted them down here.

Benchmark Performance remarks

Looking at the benchmarks helped us understand why Google said nothing about GPU or CPU improvements in its keynote. In these day-to-day aspects, the Tensor G4 is virtually identical to the Tensor G3. This is not bad since the Tensor chipsets can handle regular daily use, but it is not great if you upgrade from last year's Pixel devices.

However, putting it in the context of price hikes and increasingly powerful competitors makes the Pixel 9 series look less appealing on paper since nobody likes paying today's top dollar for yesteryear's tech. For context, even the Exynos-backed Galaxy S24 and Galaxy S24+ are pulling in better numbers at similar price points.

The phone is also a perfect example of how important a phone's design can be in communicating its power and sense of premium. In these measurable aspects, it's not different from last year's Pixel, but simply looking better and nicer can do a ton for its appeal.

Battery Life

Our battery benchmark uses PCMark for Android’s Work 3.0 Battery Life test to determine a modern Android-based smartphone's battery uptime in minutes. This controlled benchmark simulates real-world usage with a combination of both web and social media browsing, video and photo editing, parsing data with various file formats, writing (on documents), and more. 

The Pixel 9 has a 4,700mAh battery, while the Pixel 9 Pro XL has a 5,060mAh battery. With both running at 120Hz refresh rates and sharing the same chipset, it's little surprise that the significantly smaller display has higher uptime. Between both models, the Pixel 9's battery is only 360mAh less than that of a Pixel 9 Pro XL (which makes Pixel 9's battery barely 7.1% smaller), but the Pro XL's display area is a whopping 35.7% bigger (in cm²) than that of the regular Pixel 9.

Naturally, a measly battery increase can hardly keep up with powering more than one-third of the extra real estate, just like how most of our salaries are barely keeping pace (or even falling behind) after consecutive years of inflation and price hikes.

If you also consider how similar the benchmark performance on last year's Pixel phones is to the new Pixel 9 series, then it stands to reason that you see similar battery life in both generations. We also saw none of the improved power efficiency claims touted for these new processors.

Fast charging, however, is much more manageable on both models. The  Pixel 9's 27W wired charging and Pixel 9 Pro XL's 37W can be achieved via Google's 45W charger, but you can still take advantage of other fast charging profiles on compatible charging alternatives. They both take no more than 90 minutes to achieve a full charge (conventional "normal" charging a phone would need two hours on average).

Conclusion

There are many reasons to pick a Google Pixel 9 and Google Pixel 9 Pro XL, but Gemini isn't one of them.

Without considering Gemini, Google Pixel 9 and Pixel 9 Pro XL are the best-designed Pixel phones in recent memory, and we're hopeful they will get better from there.

Other strong reasons to choose these two phones would be the robust set of new and existing photo editing tools that use Google's generative AI. These tools work alongside excellent cameras and software tuning to make them one of the best smartphone cameras a consumer can hope to get.

Other factors, like their marvellous display, clean Android interface, and solid day-to-day use, add to the entire flagship Pixel experience. Even with the lack of performance or battery life improvements, we'd be perfectly fine with the Pixel 9 series and recommend them, if money allows.

Gemini, sadly, doesn't add much to its overall value proposition. Let's be frank: we enjoyed Gemini because it allowed us to extract crucial bits and pieces of scattered information in our Google services and products, like Gmail. If you've used Gemini's conversant intelligence to process documents and extract info for critical events, you'd know how convenient all that is.

However, you don't need a Pixel phone since Gemini is available as a downloadable app for other Android devices (and yes, you can do all the Gmail and Google Drive wizardry with this app, too). We've not forgotten how unreliable it was at getting easily sourceable info, either.

If we had one complaint, it would be the egregious S$50 to S$100 price hikes across the board. The 1TB Pro XL comes in only one colour and costs a whopping S$2,249 in Singapore.

Given how polished these devices are, we're not against Google charging premium price tags, but come on, your Tensor chipsets didn't see any gain between generations and are pulling in half the performance of Qualcomm's 2024 Snapdragon flagship processors. Tensor G4 is also lacklustre next to the Galaxy S24 and Galaxy 24+, which are Exyno 2400 phones. It's crazy to think there exists a flagship chipset that is doing worse than Exynos, but here we are.

It's too bad that Google has already spent all our sympathy points on its current state of Gemini smarts. Others would be even less forgiving since it's a price hike with no tangible improvements to power or battery life.

Also, we're not sure if 128GB configurations are still relevant in the premium space, especially when consumers no longer get physical storage alternatives (no microSD card tray) or are expected to pay for more cloud storage (don't forget, these prices don't factor in Google One subscriptions yet). Their costs rack up once you're going into 256GB or higher territory. It's also puzzling why Google didn't bother with more modern (and faster) UFS storage.

Anyway, they're still pretty phones that shoot well and work well, so they get a pass this year. Here's hoping that Google will tone down the crazy a little.

	Design	Features	User-friendliness	Performance	Value	Overall
Google Pixel 9	9.0	8.5	9.0	7.0	6.5
Google Pixel 9 Pro XL	9.0	8.5	9.0	7.0	5.5

The Google Pixel 9 starts at S$1,199 (128GB), and the Google Pixel 9 Pro XL starts at S$1,599 (128GB). You can buy them online at the official Google Store, Amazon SG, Challenger, Courts, Singtel, Shopee, Lazada, and SprintCass (Airport). They can also be found in-store at Challenger, Courts, Singtel, and SprintCass. 

More purchasing information can be found in our original announcement coverage.

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