Google Pixel 9 Professional XL Evaluation

Find it irresistible or hate it, AI options on a smartphone will solely develop in quantity with time. And if it is any indicator of how instances are altering, even Apple, which has prevented taking any large strides for years (be it foldables, tremendous high-resolution cameras, quicker charging), has jumped aboard the AI (Apple Intelligence) practice this 12 months with iOS 18. I’ve been utilizing Google’s latest member of the Pixel household, the Pixel 9 Professional XL, for a number of weeks, and I need to admit that its tackle AI is spectacular and beginning to make some sense. Google’s push for working AI fashions additionally ends in some much-needed {hardware} upgrades that now we have been asking for years. Because of this, it seems to be a really succesful smartphone, even with out its AI bits.

Google 9 Professional XL Evaluation Design: Lastly feels, excellent

• Dimensions – 162.8mm x 76.6mm x 8.5mm
• Weight – 221g
• Sturdiness – IP68 (mud and water)

“This looks like an iPhone,” stated a non-techy pal of mine. Whereas such a remark from an iPhone consumer doesn’t validate the Pixel 9 Professional XL’s design, I do perceive that some bits of this 12 months’s Professional fashions do resemble an Apple iPhone.

The Google Pixel 9 Professional XL lastly appears and looks like a high-end flagship ought to

From the flat sides of its aluminium body to its bevelled edges to its flat again, the design could be very iPhone-like and acquainted. That is solely as a result of Apple has used these design parts for the reason that iPhone 12 (2020). For those who take a look at it from the entrance, the one giveaway that it is not an iPhone is that tiny selfie digital camera module embedded in its show (as a substitute of a big, omnipresent capsule).

The rear digital camera module, which now seems like a flattened capsule, nonetheless protrudes fairly a bit. And in contrast to the Pixel 9 Professional, which is quite a bit shorter, you can not use it to help the cellphone (whenever you maintain it up) because it’s too far up on the again.

Whereas the combo of glass and metallic lends it a really premium look, the general end of the sides of the body, digital camera module and ports is the most effective I’ve seen on a Pixel smartphone up to now and is means higher than the iPhone 15 Professional Max, which had misaligned panels, sharp buttons and edges.

Match and end are top-notch, with no sharp edges across the ports, digital camera module and buttons

Regardless of including a vapour chamber (VC) cooling system and sustaining the cellphone’s wi-fi charging capabilities, the Pixel manages to be as mild because the titanium-clad iPhone 15 Professional Max and slimmer than the Pixel Eight Professional it replaces. It additionally comes with the same old IP68 score, making it good for submersion in recent water and sand. Nevertheless it’s sensible to take into account that harm on account of submersion in water is not going to be lined beneath guarantee.

Google 9 Professional XL Evaluation Show: All about these rounded corners

• Show – 6.8-inch, 1,344 x 2,992 pixel, 1Hz – 120Hz
• Show Sort – Flat, LTPO, OLED
• Show safety – Gorilla Glass Victus 2 (entrance and rear panels)

The brand new ‘Professional XL’ tag is mainly a ‘Professional’ from earlier years, so now we have a barely greater show (on paper) in comparison with the older ‘Professional’ fashions to justify the ‘XL’ tag. It’s totally vivid (3,000 nits peak) beneath direct daylight and might showcase natural-looking colors (with the Pure color preset enabled in Settings).

Whereas not as sharp because the Galaxy S24 Extremely’s show, it nonetheless does the job properly. The under-display fingerprint reader lastly will get upgraded to an ultrasonic one, which could be very dependable in comparison with earlier fashions. The selfie digital camera can be used to securely unlock the system utilizing (banking-grade) AI-based facial recognition, offered there may be sufficient mild.

The Pixel 9 Professional XL’s show is a large improve by way of brightness

The extreme curvature of the rounded corners, together with its skinny bezel, does result in some wasted display screen area, identical to on iPhones. Google has pushed the standing bar increased up in the direction of the highest fringe of the selfie digital camera, and even then, there’s loads of wasted area above it. This reduces the usable space of the 6.8-inch show to the 6.7-inch show which now we have on the Pixel Eight Professional. The truth is, even the Pixel 7 Professional’s show feels bigger as a result of it is wider than the Eight Professional and the 9 Professional XL by way of side ratio due to its sharper corners. Regardless, the well-spaced-out content material does look good by way of aesthetics.

Google 9 Professional XL Evaluation Software program: AI or nothing

• Software program – Pixel UI
• Model – Android 14
• Software program dedication – 7 years of OS, safety and Pixel Drop updates

Google’s generally recognized Pixel UI stays the identical as earlier than visually however will get a really heavy dose of synthetic intelligence (AI) options. The ‘Professional’-branded fashions, specifically, get extra options over the usual Pixel 9 smartphone.

Add Me is a enjoyable new function that will appear gimmicky at first however is definitely very helpful. It is one of many many options that will get you serious about what’s pretend and what’s actual and whether or not you need to cross that line. It helps you to add your humble self to that wedding ceremony photograph although you weren’t bodily there with your folks within the stated body (or second). Technically, it is not dishonest (although it’s pretend) since you had been current on the stated second (simply behind the digital camera), however it’ll set off that hidden guilt everytime you verify the photograph.

Pixel Screenshots are a pleasant method to organise and preserve monitor of all of your screenshots. When you’ve got a behavior of taking tons of screenshots, whether or not that is to recollect one thing, to make use of as proof, or simply to set the info straight, that is going to be a superb method to allow you to discover particulars inside your screenshots and even pull out info from them at a later date.

Google’s Pixel Studio works fairly nicely for an app that is in beta

One other new function circling this pretend versus actual debate is that this enjoyable instrument referred to as Pixel Studio. It is nonetheless in beta, but it surely helps you to be an artist and sort or carry your creative visions to life with zero effort. Want an edible canine that appears like cake? Performed! A pizza made out of Oreo cookies? Performed! A bridge on fireplace? Properly… that is the place you start to cross this instrument’s limits. Whereas initially accessible (after I acquired this assessment unit), Google has been actively inserting and lifting limits on what you’ll be able to or can’t generate.

Pixel Studio has some limitations which consistently carry on altering on occasion

Even one thing that is borderline dangerous to a human/animal will simply not fly… for now. However at instances, I do get a message saying that “the power to edit human photographs is coming sooner or later”. On the identical time, you’ll be able to set the Gateway of India (Mumbai) on fireplace utilizing the appropriate phrases that do not sound damaging. Google can also be including sensible workarounds to scale back the gore, and at instances, it’ll ignore a number of the key phrases in your request to make for a palatable picture (just like the puppies within the KFC carton above). Apple’s model of the identical instrument gives the identical performance however will solely produce cartoon-like photographs and never sensible ones, and that someway looks like safeguard to have in place.

Nevertheless, there are two outcomes for this instrument. Google handing out this free instrument to the plenty goes to end in a number of web junk, and it’ll, in some methods, make folks rethink the necessity for a inventive skilled (at fundamental ranges) on the whole.

The unique picture was captured by one other smartphone

Auto Body within the Images app can use generative AI to think about and increase on the unique picture

I modified the setting of the cellphone within the unique picture to a forest utilizing the Reimagine instrument within the Images app

Reimagine is a brand new instrument Google pushed out within the Images app. It is a highly effective picture enhancing instrument that permits you to reframe or fully change the background in a given photograph whereas retaining the topics. Whereas the outcomes could also be successful or a miss (due to output high quality), you’ll be able to find yourself with some convincing outcomes. The truth is, it is onerous to inform whether or not a picture has been edited, as you’ll be able to see from the above examples.

Zoom Improve is one more photograph instrument which makes use of the facility of AI to “magically” improve images captured at 15-30X digital zoom by including pixels after which sharpening a picture. Nevertheless, in my testing, I discovered that these outcomes had been barely higher than the unique.

Gemini Dwell is certainly one of many greatest highlights of the brand new Pixel Professional fashions. Sadly, at the same time as I write this assessment, Gemini Dwell is already out there on different Samsung units like our Galaxy Z Fold 6 assessment unit and might be coming to extra with time. Briefly, it is not unique to Pixel units.

Whereas it is nonetheless not as sensible as Open AI’s GPT-4o and can’t view (or take inputs from the digital camera app but), it’s supremely responsive whereas giving out solutions. Not all of those outcomes are essentially correct. In a single dialog, it contradicted its personal earlier reply within the second go and laughed about being incorrect as nicely within the first go.

Gemini Dwell is a really conversational AI-powered assistant however just isn’t essentially correct

However the attention-grabbing bit right here is the truth that you’re conversing with an AI assistant in a really human-like method. One of many greatest limitations of Gemini Dwell is that in contrast to Google Assistant or Gemini, it’s certainly all about dialog and never actions. So, if that you must set an alarm, that you must use Gemini and never Gemini Dwell. I liked interacting with Gemini Dwell. Nevertheless, I didn’t discover it helpful sufficient to warrant the Rs. 1,920 per 30 days price ticket for accessing it together with different Gemini Superior add-ons as soon as the 1-year free trial ends. Once more, a few of Gemini Dwell’s replies are primarily based on US/EU information for some motive, particularly after I requested for recommendations on shopping for merchandise “in Mumbai” (and even “in India”).

AI additionally makes its means into different surprising locations. Just like the climate app (AI climate report), Preserve (producing all sorts of lists), and even for the brand new Automotive Crash Detection function, which is on the market for Pixel 9 and 9 Professional collection customers in India. Satellite tv for pc SOS, which was introduced at launch, is barely out there to customers situated within the US for now.

Google 9 Professional XL Evaluation Efficiency: Meh

• Processor – Google Tensor G4
• RAM – 16GB
• Storage – 256/512GB

Google Pixel 9 Professional XL could also be large on AI, however it’s nowhere near the competitors in terms of uncooked efficiency. Premium flagships and even foldables just like the Vivo X Fold Three Professional are far forward with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Eight Gen Three SoC. Fortunately, the Pixel 9 Professional XL exhibits no indicators of stuttering when searching by the software program interface or multitasking. The 16GB of RAM ensures that apps stay in reminiscence and in addition helps enormously with the pace of undertaking AI duties or workloads.

The Pixel 9 Professional XL (proper) appears very totally different in comparison with the Pixel Eight Professional (left) it replaces

Whereas the VC cooling system ensures peak efficiency just isn’t affected by components like warmth, gaming efficiency remains to be not up there with different premium flagships. That is due to the show’s sluggish contact sampling charge, which lags regardless of the brand new Adaptive Contact function that routinely calibrates contact sensitivity relying on the surroundings exercise. Traditional contact interactions when searching by the UI appear to work simply effective.

With a brand new chip, extra RAM and a VC system in place, I anticipated no hiccups when utilizing the digital camera. Sadly, this isn’t the case, because the cellphone nonetheless chokes up after capturing 5 portrait images again to again, which was additionally the case with the Pixel Eight Professional.

The system gives two audio system, which offer wealthy sound high quality, however a number of the heavy lifting is dealt with by the underside speaker, which will get lined and muffled simply when enjoying video games or when watching a video due to its placement.

Google 9 Professional XL Evaluation Cameras: “Pixel” excellent?

• Fundamental digital camera – 50-megapixel (OIS), f/1.6 aperture, AF
• Extremely-wide digital camera – 48-megapixel, 0.5X, f/1.7 aperture, AF
• Telephoto digital camera – 48-megapixel (OIS), 5X optical, f/2.Eight aperture, AF
• Selfie digital camera – 42-megapixel, f/2.2 aperture, AF

The Pixel 9 Professional XL gives the marginally improved major digital camera efficiency that arrived with the Pixel Eight Professional final 12 months (faucet picture to increase)

The first digital camera on the Pixel 9 Professional XL does a effective job of capturing detailed photographs with glorious dynamic vary and sharpness. The colors seem balanced and really near the true scene. Like previously, the 2X magnification stage is a digital crop of the first sensor. However in contrast to the previous, these images are very spectacular.

2X (digital) zoom efficiency (proven right here in dim mild) has improved drastically and was a serious ache level with the older Pixel Professional fashions (faucet picture to increase)

The Portrait mode even works nicely in low mild or with robust backlighting, capturing photographs at 1.5X, 2X or 3X. What’s successful or a miss is the sting detection. As you’ll be able to see within the photographs above and under, the sting detection might seem completely effective in case you are fortunate or an absolute mess if you happen to aren’t.

Regardless of packing a 42-megapixel digital camera, the outcomes from the Pixel 9 Professional XL do not seem any totally different when in comparison with final 12 months’s Pixel Eight Professional (faucet picture to increase)

When capturing selfies, edge detection suffers fairly a bit, even when in comparison with the Pixel Eight Professional (which does a greater job). Regardless of having a high-resolution sensor, the standard of photographs is kind of comparable, with minor positive factors in daylight and low mild.

Google’s 5X telephoto digital camera captures sharp images with good element in all lighting circumstances. However its zoom capabilities are respectable until the following magnification stage (10X), past which picture high quality is not spectacular. You should utilize the brand new Zoom Improve AI sharpening instrument within the Images app to reinforce these blurry photographs captured at 15X or 30X, however regardless of enhancing the general high quality, these aren’t game-changing.

The ultra-wide digital camera manages barely mushy photographs in daylight with some blown-out highlights and purple-fringing. This isn’t the case with the Pixel Eight Professional. In low mild, there’s extra element (particularly within the darker areas) seen within the Pixel 9 Professional XL’s images.

An ultra-wide digital camera pattern from the Pixel 9 Professional XL beneath synthetic mild (faucet to increase picture)

The Google Pixel 9 Professional XL’s major digital camera captures a formidable stage of element in low mild (faucet picture to increase)

2X digital zoom has improved in comparison with earlier fashions (faucet picture to increase)

The telephoto digital camera snaps some spectacular images in low mild at its native 5X zoom (faucet picture to increase)

Video high quality advantages quite a bit from the brand new VC cooling system, so this doesn’t end in automated downscaling or high quality drops as a result of it simply doesn’t get as sizzling because the older Pixels did.

When recording the video, I did discover the resolved element on the Pixel Eight Professional to be higher than the softer and brighter visuals of the 9 Professional XL. The noise was current in low mild or street-lit circumstances, however the total high quality was simply effective. It is nonetheless nowhere close to the rock-steady body charges of the iPhone 15 Professional Max, particularly when panning or strolling. However all of that is tolerable as a result of Video Increase is right here to save lots of the day.

Video Increase truly went stay with the Pixel Eight Professional post-launch. Having the assessment unit with me for some time, I didn’t discover all the outcomes helpful, they usually someway didn’t appear very spectacular. However all of this modifications with the Pixel 9 Professional XL.

With the Pixel 9 Professional collection, Google claims to have improved video rendering, making it twice as quick as final 12 months. Furthermore, there’s even 8K upscaling help together with HDR+. Video increase improves readability (removes noise), boosts distinction and hues and stabilises the video total, making for smoother panning actions. It even does this for footage captured in low mild (Night time Sight Video), leading to noise-free footage. 

The entire drawback with Video Increase is that one has to attend for the processing to occur, and there’s no approximate time length offered for when the boosted video might be prepared both.

Google 9 Professional XL Evaluation Battery: Meets expectations… For a Pixel

• Battery capability – 5,060mAh
• Charging charge – 45W
• Wi-fi charging – 23W

I didn’t anticipate many modifications to the cellphone’s battery life, given the meagre 10mAh bump over the earlier mannequin. Our video loop battery life check additionally managed simply 12 hours and 19 minutes, which is decrease than final 12 months’s Pixel Eight Professional. With heavy utilization, which concerned capturing images, video, and a few calls, the cellphone simply managed to ship a day of utilization that touched 18 p.c by the top of the work day. All in all, that is effective for Pixel, however it’s nonetheless a one-day smartphone and much behind the competitors.

The cellphone took 1 hour and 30 minutes after I plugged it into my 65W GaN charger. Google claims that the 45W charging charge can solely be achieved by plugging it into its proprietary charger, which sadly just isn’t on sale in India.

Google 9 Professional XL Verdict

Priced at Rs. 1,24,999 for the bottom 256GB variant and Rs. 1,39,999 for the 512GB variant, Google’s Pixel 9 Professional XL, by way of {hardware}, is mainly the top-end Professional mannequin we wished to see final 12 months. As an alternative, all we bought was a Pixel Eight Professional, which was onerous to suggest because it was not a giant enchancment over the Pixel 7 Professional it tried to interchange.

Whereas this 12 months’s Pixel 9 Professional XL just isn’t as superior as Samsung or Vivo’s flagships by way of uncooked efficiency and {hardware}, it is full of AI options that may actually change the way in which you’re employed and even exist socially. Google pitches these AI options as “useful” or “time-saving” when getting a wide range of issues completed, but it surely does cross a number of strains in its quest to impress customers. The Pixel 9 Professional XL absolutely builds a powerful case for why AI options ought to exist on a smartphone, however house owners can select to make use of them and stay with them or ignore them.

It’s because this 12 months’s Pixel Professional additionally feels way more premium than any of the earlier fashions and takes care of some main {hardware} ache factors which have plagued Google’s units for years, like warmth administration, a brighter show, and the record goes on. Battery life just isn’t the most effective within the enterprise, and Gemini Superior options come at a premium value. However I can see many Pixel 6 Professional, Pixel 7 Professional customers and even some curious iPhone house owners immediately upgrading to 1 as a result of there’s lastly a Pixel that will get a number of issues proper.