Google’s Pixel smartphones have finally arrived after many years of eluding our market. While we won’t be getting the past models or even the latest Fold model, what we do have now is the company’s recently launched Pixel 9 flagship series.
Which brings us to the star of this article, the Google Pixel 9 Pro XL, which is the current line-up’s high-end variant. To quickly recap, this model offers the largest display and battery capacity from the bunch, though its other specifications match those featured on the regular Pro model.
In hand, the Pixel 9 Pro XL feels similar to other large flagship smartphones such as the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra and the iPhone 15 Pro Max. Even more so towards the latter due to its rounded corners, flat surrounding frame, and even its hefty weight. Personally, I’m not much of a fan of larger handsets, but those already accustomed to such models should feel right at home with the XL variant.
Perhaps one of my favourite things about the phone and the Pixel series in general, is that they come with stock Android out of the box. Apart from offering you an unmodded version of the platform, the Pixel 9 is also completely bloatware-free.
That feeling of finding a mostly empty app drawer after the first bootup? Magnificent.
As for the experience itself, well, it’s basically Android 14 without the custom animations and icons offered by other brands, which isn’t a bad thing. The interface on the Pixel 9 XL is still nice to look at and operating it feels silky smooth thus far.
Speaking of which, I’ve not conducted any performance testing on the phone just yet, but I’ll definitely share with you my findings in the upcoming review. The same can be said for the evaluation of its battery.
Next up is the phone’s imaging system. For a while now, international media as well as existing owners have spoken highly about the Pixel’s camera capabilities. After finally being able to test the Pixel 9 Pro XL for myself, you could say I’m convinced.
Since this is just a hands-on article, I won’t go into detail just yet. Instead, I’ll let the gallery below do all the talking for now. Although, I do want to quickly point out that the Pixel’s AI-powered Add Me camera feature, while gimmicky, is pretty fun to play around with.
Sample Images
Google Pixel 9 Pro XL’s “Add Me” camera feature
Speaking of AI, being a first-party Google smartphone, the Pixel 9 Pro XL (as well as other models under the same series) comes with Gemini out of the box. Apart from the Add Me feature mentioned earlier, you’ll have access to other AI abilities such as document summarisation, text and image generation, Circle to Search, and many more. Of course, you can also bring it up as a chatbot if you prefer to take things verbally.
That’s all I can share about the Pixel 9 Pro XL at this time, so be sure to check back soon for the full review. In case you missed it, the phone is available now, priced at RM5,699 for the 128GB configuration, RM6,199 for the 256GB, RM6,799 for the 512GB and RM7,999 for the 1TB.
