Pixel 9 Pro XL vs Pixel 8 Pro: Google’s Irish Twins

Intro

In August we will witness the arrival of the Google Pixel 9 series and the Pixel 9 Especially Pro XL.

Behind that name lies a real flagship phone that will become the successor Pixel 8 Pro straight away. It’s not a bigger and premium device, it’s just the top of the line flagship phone.

But how will the next Pixel stack up against the Pixel 8 Pro?

Googling Pixel 9 Pro XL vs. Pixel 8 Pro differences:

Pixel 9 ProXL	Pixel 8 Pro
New flat-sided design and redesigned rear camera island	Curvier design with an edge-to-edge camera island on the rear
The same 6.7-inch OLED screen with 120 Hz and high peak brightness	The same 6.7-inch OLED screen with a 120Hz refresh rate
Google Tensor G4 with 16GB RAM	Google Tensor G3 with 12 GB RAM
Android 15 out of the box	Upgradeable to Android 15

Table of contents:

Design and size

Notable differences

The Pixel 9 Pro XL gets a small but important redesign. The slightly curved side frame that improved ergonomics disappears; instead we get a completely flat design that’s quite similar to what you get with the recent iPhone or the Galaxy S24 and Galaxy S24 Plus.

While it’s unclear whether Google will join the titanium bandwagon, it’s certain Pixel9 Pro XL will be a metaglass sandwich, so it can use stainless steel or aluminum

concert with Gorilla Glass front and back.

A major change, but purely from a stylistic point of view, will be found at the rear: the Pixel9 The Pro XL gets a newly designed camera island that is more compact and does not run from left to right like the Pixel 8 Pro.

We expect the Pixel9 The Pro XL has an IP68 rating, making it as resistant to the elements as most of today’s flagships.

Show differences

At this point, we don’t really expect many differences in the device department between the two devices. Both Pixel9 ProXL and Pixel 8 Pro appear to have the same 6.7-inch OLED panel with QHD+ resolution and a smooth 120Hz refresh rate.

More exciting, however, is the prospect of higher peak brightness on the Pixel 9 Pro XL. With the Pixel 8 ProGoogle has joined the brightness wars with a band that uses a 2400 nits display, so there’s a chance the Pixel9 Pro XL could offer a screen with even higher peak brightness.

Just like its predecessor, the Pixel 9 Pro XL will have a fingerprint scanner in the display. The Pixel 8 Pro had an optical one, which is generally considered less accurate and fast. That’s why we hope Google puts an ultrasonic one in the upcoming flagship.

Performance and software

Two flavors of Tensors

The Pixel 9 The Pro XL will come with the Tensor G4 chipset, which is still based on a 4nm manufacturing process, and will once again shift the focus towards on-device AI. The Tensor G4 will be an octa-core chipset, unlike the nona-core Tensor G3. The latter wasn’t a benchmark buster, but proved more than usable in everyday scenarios, so nothing to worry about there.

	Tensor G4	Tensor G3
First core	1x Cortex-X4@3.1GHz	1x Cortex-X3@2.85GHz
Performance cores	3x Cortex-A720@2.6GHz	4x Cortex-A715@2.35GHz
Efficiency cores	4x Cortex-A510@1.95GHz	4x Cortex-A510@1.7GHz

The Pixel9 Pro XL will reportedly use around 16GB of RAM, which should provide plenty of space for AI-related tasks as they require high hardware requirements. In terms of storage, we expect at least 256 GB of native storage in the entry-level version of the Pixel9 For XL.

Because Google has adopted a seven-year software support window for the Pixel 8 series, it will be supported until the end of the decade. Pixel9 Pro XL, on the other hand, will receive software updates and feature changes until 2031, which is excellent in terms of support.

Camera

Similarities

So far, we don’t really expect any major changes in the camera hardware of the Google Pixel9 Pro compared to the Pixel 8 Pro.

That means we’re expecting the same 50MP main camera, along with the 48MP ultra-wide camera and another 48MP telephoto camera with 5.0x optical zoom.

That’s the same setup as on the Pixel 9 Pro XL, but don’t worry: while the hardware may remain unchanged, leave it to Google to come up with the necessary software tweaks and improvements to get the most out of the existing hardware.

Battery life and charging

No changes expected

Rumors claim we’ll see a 5,050 or 5,100 mAh battery in the Pixel9 Pro XL, so essentially no changes in this regard. Recent years Pixel 8 Pro was more than a decent phone in terms of battery, so we have high hopes for the Pixel9 Also ProXL.

What about charging? It looks like we might not be getting any upgraded charging specs here. That means 33W wired and 23W wireless charging on both phones, which is a bit on the slower side compared to most other Android flagships.

Comparison of specifications

Specifications	Pixel 9 ProXL	Pixel 8 Pro
Dimensions	–	162.6 x 76.5 x 8.8mm
Weight	–	213 grams
Screen	6.7 inches OLED 120Hz	6.7 inches OLED 120 Hz
Processor	Google Tensor G4 (4nm)	Tensor G3 (4nm)
RAM, storage and price	16/256GB 16/512GB 16/1TB	12/128GB 12/256GB 12/512GB 12/1TB
Cameras	50 MP main, f/1.7 48MP ultra-wide angle, f/1.9 48MP telephoto, f/2.8 5x zoom 10.5 MP front	50 MP main, f/1.7 48MP ultra-wide angle, f/1.9 48MP telephoto, f/2.8 5x zoom 10.5 MP front
Battery size	5,050mAh	5,050 mAh
Charging speeds	33W wired 23W wireless	33W wired 23W wireless

Resume

Overall, the Pixel 9 Pro XL seems to have fewer hardware improvements than the Pixel 8 Pro, but at the moment we don’t have the full picture yet. So we can’t really draw any conclusions about whether the next Pixel is a major or minor upgrade.

The software element is also missing: Google usually releases a bunch of new features along with its Pixels, making hardware an even smaller factor today than it was a few years ago.

With that in mind, we can only be excited about what the search giant has in store for us. We’ll find out more on August 13th.