ZDNET’s key takeaways
- The Google Pixel 9 Professional XL has a beginning worth of $1,099, whereas the Pixel 9 Professional begins at $999.
- For the value, you are getting a bigger, brighter-than-ever 6.8-inch show, unique Google AI options, and essentially the most forgiving digital camera system in the marketplace.
- I simply want the bottom storage (128GB) was at the least double and the AI options had been extra dependable.
On Amazon, even forward of the retailers, Large Spring Sale, each single configuration of Google’s Pixel 9 Professional XL has seen at the least a $200 low cost. Costs now begin at $899. A number of fashions of the Samsung Galaxy S25 Extremely are additionally on sale.
Additionally: One of the best early Amazon Spring Sale offers dwell now
Holding the Google Pixel 9 Professional collection 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.
Additionally: One of the best Google Pixel telephones you should buy
That is why the corporate is charging you extra for its new Pixel telephones this 12 months, with the usual mannequin beginning at $799, the Professional at $999, and the Professional XL at $1,099. On this financial system, it is a daring transfer. However within the massive image, Google has solely matched what rivals like Samsung and Apple have been pricing their flagship handsets.
Thankfully, you might 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 drastically benefitted from upgrades such because the brighter (as much as 3,000 nits) show, AI options like Name 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 function for me. The flat edges relaxation easily in opposition to my hand, giving me a assured grip when swiping and typing, a remedy 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 kind issue, you have acquired choices. By comparability, the Pixel 8 Professional seems like a toy.
Additionally: I discovered a MagSafe battery pack that works flawlessly with my Pixel 9 Professional – and its significantly spectacular
My two gripes with the Pixel 9 Professional design are the digital camera bump and frosted again glass. The previous is a longstanding challenge with the Google Pixel’s protruding digital camera 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 colour however Obsidian and try to be tremendous.
The Google Pixel 9 Professional XL (left) and Pixel 8 Professional (proper).
Adam Breeden/ZDNET
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 relating to multi-tab looking, loading movies on a social feed, modifying pictures, and taking part in video games. It additionally advantages on-device AI duties, which I am going to get to later.
Additionally: These three AI options bought me on the Google Pixel 9 Professional – they usually’re very intelligent
On my Uber journey to the airport lately, I used to be capable of swiftly add clips from a product launch occasion whereas downloading films to look at on the flight. Oh, and placement monitoring was working within the background, too. The outcome 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 evenly, however you will not be mad if it’s essential cost it sooner as a result of the Pixel now helps 45W charging. The quicker velocity will not revolutionize your morning routine, but it surely’s a notable bump-up from the sluggish 30W ranking on earlier fashions.
Can you see the three AI-generated edits on this photograph?
Kerry Wan/ZDNET
The important thing enhancements to the Pixel 9 Professional’s digital camera system primarily revolve round AI and the way its imaging engine interprets and enhances output. For instance, the picture above, whereas sharp intimately and exquisite 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 eccentric, however they’re additionally inconsistent, unreliable (see the left-side airplane), and require quite a lot of persistence — each with ready for the picture generations and probably extra ready after that if the outcomes do not meet your inventive imaginative and prescient.
Additionally: This $100 Android telephone gave me a Pixel 9 Professional flashback – and that is a superb factor
I am an even bigger fan of the brand new Add Me and Video Enhance options. The previous items collectively two pictures, one that you’ve got captured of different folks within the body and one other that features you in the identical body, so nobody will get omitted. It is a intelligent AI/AR instrument that solves a real-world drawback, however there’s one slight challenge: Do not anticipate a seamless edit if you happen to’re posing in between topics. Oftentimes, components of your physique will not be correctly cropped out. So, for the very best outcomes, go away house!
With Video Enhance, I am completely happy to report that the improved HDR+ and rendering fixes one of many greatest issues with the Pixel digital camera: the jarring cuts when switching to the 5x optical zoom digital camera throughout recording.
Pixel Screenshots allows you to search and ask questions on photographs you have captured in your display.
Adam Breeden/ZDNET
Whereas I am nonetheless testing each new Pixel 9 AI function, of which there are a lot, listed below are my scores for the my most frequented ones:
- Pixel Screenshots (4/5): It is the very best AI function I did not know I wanted. Not like Microsoft Recall, the on-device database is curated by photographs you manually seize, so it is simply as simple to parse by means of however way more safe.
- Gemini Stay (4/5): Like ChatGPT’s voice function, you’ll be able to chat and ask inquiries to Gemini Stay whereas it is working within the background. Since its first launch, Gemini Stay has labored way more naturally, with fewer hiccups and dropped voice inputs. It helps to have haptic suggestions that guides the move of the dialog. Multimodality and synchronization with the Pixel Buds Professional 2 ought to enhance the expertise much more.
- Name Notes (2/5): The reliability of the summarization function is drastically affected by name high quality, talking tempo, and whether or not there are any distinctive phrases within the dialog, equivalent to international names and objects. Most often, Gemini transcribed dates, locations, and bits of necessary data inaccurately.
ZDNET’s shopping for recommendation
The Google Pixel 9 Professional XL is a contender for finest Android telephone this 12 months, even if you happen to do not plan to make use of its on-device AI options. Whereas the brand new mannequin is Google’s costliest telephone (barring foldables) but, the value bump is justified by enhancements in points that historically held the Pixel line again, equivalent to charging velocity, efficiency, and construct high quality.
With the reintroduction of an XL mannequin, the smaller Pixel 9 Professional ought to enchantment to customers who desire a extra comfy system with out compromising on specs and digital camera {hardware}. And if each telephones are out of your price range, however you need the core options, take into account the cheaper Pixel 9.
ZDNET’s assessment workforce spends upwards of a 12 months testing the ins and outs of each main telephone launch, evaluating the day-to-day efficiency, digital camera high quality, battery life and endurance, and particular options. Here is a breakdown of each issue we take into account earlier than we make suggestions:
- Design and ergonomics: How good a telephone appears to be like and feels performs a giant position in lots of customers’ shopping for journeys, so we take into account these points closely when testing.
- Efficiency: A number of components have an effect on a telephone’s efficiency, together with LTE/5G sign, battery life, and background duties. Subsequently, we sometimes start our evaluations with a completely charged handset, all background duties closed, and as steady a cellular connection as attainable.
- Digicam high quality: ZDNET exams telephone cameras by capturing tons of of pictures and movies of assorted topics and in numerous lighting situations. We additionally examine the output to that of older fashions.
- Battery life and charging: It is also necessary for us to judge how lengthy telephones final underneath gentle, average, and heavy utilization, how lengthy they take to recharge, and the way they do it (wired, wi-fi, or each).
- Particular options: These options distinguish examined units from a bustling smartphone market and hopefully convey added worth to customers, not the other.
- Pricing and availability: Past price range concerns, we additionally word if a telephone is out there within the US or solely internationally.
For a extra in depth breakdown, take a look at our complete telephone testing methodology web page.
This assessment was initially revealed on September 12, 2024, and was up to date on March 22, 2025.
