Which should you buy, the Pixel 9 or the Pixel 9 Pro XL? A thorough camera comparison review



Google smartphones

'Pixel 9', 'Pixel 9 Pro', and 'Pixel 9 Pro XL' were released simultaneously on Thursday, August 22, 2024. The specifications of the three models are as follows, and to summarize briefly, ' the unbranded model has low specs such as screen resolution and RAM capacity and few cameras ', ' the Pro model has high specs, many cameras and is small ', and ' the Pro XL model has high specs, many cameras and is large '. However, since the SoC (processing chip) installed in all three models is the same, many people must be wondering which model to choose. Therefore, in order to clarify the performance difference between the models, we tried to verify the difference in camera performance between the unbranded model and the Pro model and Pro XL model.
Model name Pixel 9 Pixel 9 Pro Pixel 9 Pro XL
display Size: 6.3 inches Aspect ratio: 20:9
Resolution 1080 x 2424 pixels Refresh rate 60~120Hz
Maximum brightness 1800 nits Peak brightness 2700 nits		 Size: 6.3 inches Aspect ratio: 20:9
Resolution 1280 x 2856 pixels Refresh rate 1~120Hz
Maximum brightness 2000 nits Peak brightness 3000 nits		 Size: 6.8 inches Aspect ratio: 20:9
Resolution 1344 x 2992 pixels Refresh rate 1~120Hz
Maximum brightness 2000 nits Peak brightness 3000 nits
Battery capacity 4700mAh 5060mAh
RAM capacity 12GB 16GB
Storage capacity 128GB/256GB 128GB/256GB/512GB
Processor Google Tensor G4
Rear camera 50MP wide-angle camera
48MP ultra-wide camera		 50MP wide-angle camera
48MP ultra-wide camera
48MP telephoto camera
Front camera 10.5 megapixels 42 megapixels
OS Android 14
size Height 152.8mm x Width 72mm x Thickness 8.5mm Height 162.8mm x Width 76.6mm x Thickness 8.5mm
price From 128,900 yen From 159,900 yen From 177,900 yen


Google Pixel 9
https://store.google.com/product/pixel_9

Google Pixel 9 Pro / Google Pixel 9 Pro XL - Experience cutting-edge AI on Google Pixel
https://store.google.com/product/pixel_9_pro

The Pixel 9 has two rear cameras: a 50-megapixel wide-angle camera and a 48-megapixel ultra-wide camera, while the Pixel 9 Pro and Pixel 9 Pro XL have three rear cameras: a 50-megapixel wide-angle camera, a 48-megapixel ultra-wide camera, and a 48-megapixel telephoto camera. This time, we took various photos with the Pixel 9 and Pixel 9 Pro XL purchased for the GIGAZINE editorial department's equipment and compared the camera performance.



·table of contents
◆1:

Check the shooting range from wide angle to telephoto
◆2: Example of a scene with a strong contrast between light and dark
◆3: Examples of food photography
◆4: Examples of night photography
◆5: Summary

◆1: Check the shooting range from wide angle to telephoto
The Pixel 9 camera allows you to choose from 0.5x, 1x, and 2x magnification, and also supports up to 8x digital zoom.



At a magnification of 0.5x, you can take pictures with the 48-megapixel ultra-wide camera. The example photos in this article have not been edited other than by resizing, and you can see the original photo before resizing by clicking on the photo.



At 1x, it uses a 50MP wide-angle camera.



The 2x is a digital zoom from the 50-megapixel wide-angle camera, and the image is so detailed that you wouldn't know it was digital zoom unless you were told.



It was shot at a maximum magnification of 8x. When resized, the image quality is just about usable for posting on social media, but when you display the original photo at full size, you can see that the entire photo is blurry.



The Pixel 9 Pro XL allows you to choose from 0.5x, 1x, 2x, and 5x magnifications, with a maximum digital zoom of 30x.



Below is a photo taken at 0.5x magnification. The angle of view and color are indistinguishable from the Pixel 9's 0.5x magnification.



The 1x image quality is similar to the Pixel 9.



2x.



The Pixel 9 Pro XL has a 48-megapixel telephoto camera with 5x optical zoom. Click on the photo below to see the original photo, and you can see how the outlines of the clouds and grass are depicted in detail.



The 30x zoom looks like this. It's a much higher quality finish than the Pixel 9's 8x zoom.



◆2: Example of a scene with a strong contrast between light and dark
I took a photo with a strong contrast between light and dark, 'a photo of white clouds and shadows in the middle of the day in midsummer,' with the Pixel 9. With a low-performance camera, the shadows would be crushed into black and the clouds would be painted pure white, but with the Pixel 9, I was able to capture both the shadows and the clouds without any distortion.



Below is the result of shooting the same composition with the Pixel 9 Pro XL. Like the Pixel 9, it has a rich gradation from bright to dark areas.



The Pixel 9 took a photo with strong backlighting, with the sun shining through it. If you look at the tree on the right, you can see that the branches and leaves were captured without being affected by the backlighting.



The Pixel 9 Pro XL also has similar image quality.



Photographed a cumulonimbus cloud with the Pixel 9. The sky appears a deeper blue than it appears to the naked eye.



The same clouds were photographed with a Pixel 9 Pro XL, and the results are similar.



Here's what it looks like when you take a photo of the same clouds with the Pixel 9 Pro XL's 5x zoom. The fluffy outline of the clouds is clearly visible. The Pixel 9 Pro XL's wide-angle and ultra-wide cameras are the same as the Pixel 9, but it has a clear advantage in that it can use the telephoto camera.



◆3: Examples of food photography
I took a photo of the dal bhat at

the Nepalese restaurant Balpipal with the Pixel 9. The lighting in this restaurant is dim, but the photo came out bright.



The Pixel 9 Pro XL also produces bright images.



The brightness is sufficient, but there is a problem that the color of the rice is different from what the naked eye sees. For example, the following fries taken with the Pixel 9 look warmer to the naked eye.



The problem of 'the color of the rice is different from what the naked eye sees' is the same for the Pixel 9 Pro XL. It is convenient for 'taking pictures to record what you ate' because it can take bright pictures even in a dark restaurant, but the unfortunate point is that the picture is too bright and different from the atmosphere of the restaurant.



◆4: Examples of night photography
I took a photo of a tree growing on a dark road with the Pixel 9. When shooting in a dark place, the camera automatically switches to night scene mode, and I was able to take a bright photo by simply holding the camera still for three seconds.



I was able to take bright photos even with the Pixel 9 Pro XL.



For reference, this is how dark it looked to the naked eye. It's amazing that I was able to take a picture without a tripod and without any blurring, even with just my hand.



I took a picture of the bus terminal in front of the station at night using the Pixel 9. Because there were many light sources such as the station building and street lights, I was able to take the picture in normal mode instead of night scene mode.



The same shots were taken with the Pixel 9 Pro XL.



The brightly lit station sign was photographed with 8x zoom on the Pixel 9. You can see that it says 'Hankyu Ibarakishi Station,' but it's a blurry image.



Here's what it looks like when shot with the Pixel 9 Pro XL's 5x zoom. The text is clearly visible.



I also tried taking a photo with the Pixel 9 Pro XL's 30x zoom. Despite being a digital zoom, the photo came out pretty clear.



Finally, I tried taking a photo of a sign in a dark place that would be difficult to see with the naked eye.



Below is the result of shooting with 5x digital zoom on the Pixel 9. The brightness is sufficient, but small text is blurred and unreadable.



This is what the Pixel 9 Pro XL's 5x optical zoom looks like. There are more readable characters than on the Pixel 9.



Below are images of the same area taken on the Pixel 9 (left) and Pixel 9 Pro XL (right) at full size. You can see that the Pixel 9 Pro XL captures the image more clearly.



◆5: Summary
Comparing the shooting performance of the Pixel 9 and Pixel 9 Pro XL, we found that the depiction of the '50 megapixel wide-angle camera' and '48 megapixel ultra-wide camera' is identical. On the other hand, the Pixel 9 Pro XL and Pixel 9 Pro are equipped with '48 megapixel telephoto cameras', and the performance difference with the Pixel 9 is noticeable when shooting subjects far away. For this reason, we recommend the Pixel 9 for those who do not need a telephoto camera, and the Pixel 9 Pro or Pixel 9 Pro XL for those who do need a telephoto camera.

The differences in appearance between the Pixel 9, Pixel 9 Pro, and Pixel 9 Pro XL can be seen in the following article.

A detailed review of the appearance of Google's genuine smartphones 'Pixel 9', 'Pixel 9 Pro', and 'Pixel 9 Pro XL', and the actual product looks like this after opening



In addition, the performance of the image editing AI installed in the Pixel 9 series can be confirmed in the following article.

The image generation AI installed in the Pixel 9 was so easy to create fake images that it was hard to believe the photos - GIGAZINE



In addition, the following article examines the benchmark results and battery life of the 'Pixel 9', 'Pixel 9 Pro', and 'Pixel 9 Pro XL', and summarizes which model is recommended for which person.

Which should I buy: 'Pixel 9', 'Pixel 9 Pro', or 'Pixel 9 Pro XL'? A thorough comparison of benchmark results, battery life, and quick charging performance - GIGAZINE



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in Review,   Mobile,   Hardware, Posted by log1o_hf