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

entry

This August, we will witness the arrival of the Google Pixel 9 series and the Pixel 9 Pro XL in particular.

Behind this name is a proper flagship phone that will succeed Pixel 8 Pro directly. It’s not a bigger, more premium device, it’s just a high-end flagship phone.

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

Google Pixel 9 Pro XL vs Pixel 8 Pro differences:

Pixel 9 Pro XL	Pixel 8 Pro
New design with flat sides and redesigned rear camera island	More curved design with an edge-to-edge rear camera island
The same 6.7-inch OLED display with 120 Hz and high maximum brightness	The same 6.7-inch OLED display with a 120 Hz refresh rate
Google Tensor G4 with 16GB of RAM	Google Tensor G3 with 12 GB RAM
Android 15 out of the box	It can be upgraded to Android 15

Table of Contents:

Design and Size

Visible differences

of Pixel 9 The Pro XL will mark a small but significant redesign. The slightly curved side frame that increased ergonomics will be gone; instead, we’ll get a completely flat design that will be quite similar to what you get with the latest iPhone or the Galaxy S24 and Galaxy S24 Plus.

Although it is unclear whether Google will join the titanium bandwagon, it is certain that Pixel 9 The Pro XL will be a meta-glass sandwich, so it can use stainless steel or aluminum in the

gig with Gorilla Glass front and back.

A big difference, but purely from a stylistic point of view, will be found at the back: Pixel 9 The Pro XL will get a redesigned camera island which will be more compact and won’t stretch side-by-side like the Pixel 8 Pro.

We expect that Pixel 9 The Pro XL will be an IP68-rated device, as resistant to the elements as most flagships these days.

Display differences

At this point, we don’t really expect much difference in the hardware department between the two devices. Both Pixel 9 Pro XL and Pixel 8 Pro it will apparently share the same 6.7-inch OLED panel with QHD+ resolution and smooth 120Hz refresh rate.

More exciting, however, is the prospect of a higher peak brightness at Pixel 9 Pro XL. with Pixel 8 ProGoogle joined the brightness wars with one band, using a 2,400 nit display, so there’s a chance that Pixel 9 The Pro XL can score an even higher-gloss display.

Like its predecessor, Pixel 9 The Pro XL will have an in-display fingerprint scanner. However, to Pixel 8 Pro had an optic, which is usually considered less accurate and fast, which is why we hope that Google will put an ultrasound in the next flagship.

Performance and Software

Two flavors of tensors

of 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 in-device AI. The Tensor G4 will be an octa-core chip unlike the non-core Tensor G3. The latter was not a benchmark, but it turned out to be more than usable in everyday scenarios, so nothing to worry about.

	Tensor G4	Tensor G3
The main core	1x Cortex-X4 @ 3.1GHz	1x Cortex-X3 @ 2.85GHz
Performance cores	3x Cortex-A720@2.6GHz	4x Cortex-A715@2.35GHz
Cores of efficiency	4x Cortex-A510@1.95GHz	4x Cortex-A510@1.7GHz

of Pixel 9 The Pro XL is said to use around 16GB of RAM, which should provide plenty of space for AI-related tasks, as these have high hardware requirements. As for storage, we’d expect at least 256GB of native storage on the entry-level version of the Pixel 9 Pro XL.

While Google adopted a seven-year software support window with the Pixel 8 series, it will be supported until the end of the decade. of Pixel 9 The Pro XL, on the other hand, will receive software updates and feature drops until 2031, which is great in terms of support.

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Samesies

So far, we don’t really expect any major changes in the camera hardware Google Pixel 9 Pro compared to Pixel 8 Pro.

This means we expect the same 50MP primary camera along with a 48MP ultra-wide camera and another 48MP telephoto camera with 5.0X optical zoom to be featured.

This is the same configuration as in Pixel 9 Pro XL, but don’t worry: even though the hardware may be unchanged, leave it to Google to create the right software enhancements and upgrades to get the most out of the existing hardware.

Battery life and charging

No changes are expected

Rumors say we’ll see a 5,050 or 5,100 mAh battery inside Pixel 9 Pro XL, so basically no changes in this regard. Last year Pixel 8 Pro it was more than a good battery phone, so we have high expectations for it Pixel 9 Pro XL too.

What about charging? Well, it looks like we might not get updated charging specs here. That means 33W wired and 23W wireless charging on both phones, which is a bit slower compared to most other Android flagships.

Comparison of specifications

specification	Pixel 9 Pro XL	Pixel 8 Pro
Dimensions	–	162.6 x 76.5 x 8.8 mm
Weight	–	213 g
Display	6.7 inches OLED 120 Hz	6.7 inches OLED 120 Hz
maker	Google Tensor G4 (4nm)	Tensor G3 (4 nm)
RAM, storage and price	16/256 GB 16/512GB 16/1 TB	12/128GB 12/256 GB 12/512GB 12/1 TB
camcorders	50MP prime, f/1.7 48 MP ultra-wide, f/1.9 48MP telephoto, 5x f/2.8 zoom 10.5MP front	50MP prime, f/1.7 48 MP ultra-wide, f/1.9 48MP telephoto, 5x f/2.8 zoom 10.5MP front
Battery size	5050 mAh	5050 mAh
Charging Speeds	33W wired 23W wireless	33W wired 23W wireless

Briefing

In general, Pixel 9 The Pro XL is shaping up to be light on hardware upgrades compared to the Pixel 8 Pro, but currently, we don’t have the full picture yet. Thus, we can’t really conclude whether the next Pixel is a major or minor improvement.

We’re also missing the software element: Google usually has a bunch of new features launched alongside its Pixels, so hardware plays an even smaller role these days than it did just a few years ago.

With that in mind, we can only be excited about what the search giant has in store for us. We will learn more on August 13.