I have a problem with the Google Pixel 9 Pro and Pixel 9 Pro XL

After keeping a consistent flagship line-up for the past few years, Google has thrown a curveball with its latest batch of smartphones, now offering two variants of its pro-level phone – the Google Pixel 9 Pro and the Google Pixel 9 Pro XL. If that sounds familiar, it’s because it’s exactly what Apple has been doing for years, separating its annual iPhones into Pro and non-Pro pairings, with a smaller and larger version of each.

Launched alongside the original-recipe Google Pixel 9 and the Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold (adopted into the numbered lineup after the lukewarm reception to last year’s Google Pixel Fold) the Pixel 9 Pro and 9 Pro XL share the most DNA out of the four new Pixel phones, with only a couple of major differences separating them. We’ll get into those in just a moment but first, let’s take a quick look at the specs.

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Google Pixel 9 Pro and Pixel 9 Pro XL: Specifications

There are three main differences between the Pixel 9 Pro and the Pixel 9 Pro XL: size, screen and stamina. The 9 Pro XL is more in line with previous models like the Pixel 8 Pro, whereas the 9 Pro has shrunk down to near-enough the same proportions as the Pixel 9.

My first reaction to this was negative. At first, my take was that this is a greedy move that overly complicates the Pixel line-up (not to mention giving me more work); but, having thought about it a bit more, I can see how it could be viewed as useful to consumers. Some may want the power of the Pro phone without also taking onboard the unwieldy build, so putting the benefits of the Pro model into a more compact handset does make some sense.

To go with that smaller frame, the Pixel 9 Pro has a 6.3in OLED display, just like the standard Pixel 9, but the resolution is a sharper 1,280 x 2,856 and the dynamic refresh rate has a broader range of 1-120Hz. As a “Super Actua” display, opposed to the Pixel 9’s Actua one, it also gets a little brighter, with Google claiming a peak of 3,000 nits, with the  standard Pixel 9 topping out at 2,700 nits. Not that you’d be able to tell at these lofty heights.

The Pixel 9 Pro XL’s 6.8in OLED display is mostly the same as its mini-me, with a 1-120Hz dynamic refresh rate and peak brightness listed as 3,000 nits, but it has a higher resolution of 1,344 x  2,992. Scratch protection is the same either way, with both phones sandwiched between two layers of Gorilla Glass Victus 2.

Rounding out our trilogy of differences is the Pixel 9 Pro XL’s 5,060mAh battery, which is bigger than the 4,700mAh cell used by both the Pixel 9 and the Pixel 9 Pro, as well as a tiny bit bigger than the Pixel 8 Pro’s 5,050mAh battery. Charging speeds aren’t explicitly outlined in the press release but the Pixel 9 Pro will apparently hit about 55% battery life after 30 minutes on charge and the 9 Pro XL will hit around 70% – both of those are apparently based on charging with a 45W Google charger, which once again isn’t included in the box.

That’s it for the major differences, so let’s get into shared features. Battery aside, both phones come with the same internal hardware, with the latest Google Tensor G4 chipset supported by a massive 16GB of RAM and your choice of 128GB, 256GB, 512GB or, for the first time, 1TB of onboard storage space.

Both Pros also get exactly the same camera hardware, and it’s here that I find my first real problem with the Pixel 9 series. The rear cameras have been reorganised into a wide oval housing that doesn’t quite meet the edges of the phone, replacing the iconic – and, in my opinion, cleaner – full-width bar. This feels like a design change for the sake of differentiation to me and it ends up looking a little more generic than the Pixel 8 series.

The cameras themselves aren’t a problem, at least. The suite is spearheaded by a 50MP main sensor with optical image stabilisation (OIS) and a wide f/1.7 aperture. If it’s not the exact same sensor as last year’s, it’s extremely close, down to the 1/1.31in image sensor size. We’ve always loved the cameras on the Pixel flagships so I don’t necessarily think it’s too much of a big deal if this is indeed the same camera as the Pixel 8 series being trotted out once again – it’s still a fantastic shooter.

Alongside the main lens is a 48MP ultrawide lens that is definitely different to the one found on the Pixel 8 Pro, as it has a much wider f/1.7 aperture (compared to the 8 Pro’s f/2.0) and a marginally smaller field of view (123° compared to 126°). The telephoto camera is mostly the same, with OIS, an optical range of 5x and an f/2.8 aperture, but the megapixel count has jumped slightly from 48MP to 50MP. Finally, on the front we have a larger 48MP (f/2.2) selfie camera with a 103° field of view – the widest on any Pixel yet.

The camera software is as much a part of the Pixel phones’ previous success as the hardware and Google is tweaking it this year with a new HDR pipeline, apparently rebuilt from the ground up. Features like Magic Eraser, Best Take and Photo Unblur all return, too, as well as newcomer “Add Me”, an addition to Best Take that allows the photo-taker to be inserted into group shots after the fact, so nobody’s left out.

After languishing in development hell for months before finally dropping on the Pixel 8 Pro, it looks like the new Zoom Enhance feature will be on both the 9 Pro and 9 Pro XL from launch. This mode uses generative AI to fill in the blanks between pixels on zoomed shots, ostensibly predicting and recreating finer details.

Beyond that, AI crops up in the new weather app, providing daily summaries, the call app, with on-device transcripts of your calls, and in the image gallery, with the new Pixel Screenshots app organising your captures and allowing you to search through them by keywords. Gemini can also now hold a free-flowing conversation, reacting to you changing topics or interrupting it dynamically, making complex questioning feel more like natural conversation.

Just like the Pixel 8 series, the entire Pixel 9 series will also receive seven years of OS and security updates, including new Pixel feature drops. Both the Pixel 9 Pro and the 9 Pro XL will also have Google Gemini as the default assistant from launch, as well as a free year of the Google One AI plan, which offers up 2TB of cloud storage and access to Gemini Advanced features like summarising unread emails in your Gmail inbox.

The last thing I want to touch on is the part of all this that troubles me the most – yes, even more than the redesigned camera bar. Pricing shows that the Google Pixel 9 Pro starts at the exact same prices as the 8 Pro, with the 128GB model costing £999. The 256GB and 512GB variants, however, are both £40 more than last year, at £1,099 and £1,129, respectively, and the new 1TB version tops it off at £1,449.

The £40 price increases are one thing, but what rubs me the wrong way is that even if you buy the entry-level 128GB model, you’re paying the same price as last year, but not getting the same level of phone. The Pixel 9 Pro is smaller than the Pixel 8 Pro, with a good half-inch off the display and a lower-capacity battery.

The Pixel 9 Pro XL is where you’ll need to go in order to get the direct sequel to the Pixel 8 Pro and it’s here that I come back to my cynical assessment of this new addition to the Pixel family. The 9 Pro XL models are all £100 more than their smaller counterparts – £1,099 (128GB), £1,199 (256GB), £1,229 (512GB), £1,549 (1TB) – which means that, obfuscations aside, the Pixel 9 Pro XL is at least £100 and as much as £140 more expensive than the Pixel 8 Pro.

And that’s my big problem: while it can be painted as consumer-friendly and expanding the level of choice, this splitting of the Pixel Pro into two handsets, to me, feels like subterfuge. The Pixel 9 Pro XL, which despite the new suffix is still very much the direct follow-up to last year’s Pixel 8 Pro, is more expensive than its predecessor, while the Pixel 9 Pro starts at the same price but has lower specs. Together, they produce an illusion of continuity but in reality, one charges the same for less and the other asks more for the same.

Needless to say, this messy pricing structure hasn’t made the best first impression with me but that doesn’t mean that my mind is made up about the Pixel 9 Pro and Pixel 9 Pro XL. We’ll have full reviews coming very soon, so be sure to check back then to see if either handset can bring me around after this wobbly introduction.