Google Pixel 9 Pro XLchat_bubble_outlineFrom real comments

Multiple users complained that the power and volume buttons are swapped compared to convention, leading to repeated muscle-memory mistakes when trying to adjust volume or turn off the screen.

@BeamedAgain

Just got my Pixel 9 Pro XL on contract today as I've been in need of a phone upgrade for a long while (My iPhone 11 Pro was really showing it's age). This phone is brilliant so far. I've experience 120hz before as my monitor is 120hz, but wow does it make a difference on a phone! The slower 60hz screen on iPhones never bothered me much but now switching between them the difference is night and day.\r\n\r\nThe user experience feels great, I much prefer the UI and functionality of Android more. Switching over was the only hiccup, for some reason my iPhone refused to connect to the pixel, so I had to manually transfer everything. I'm sure that was an iPhone issue though, since the Pixel so far has been a massive upgrade in every single way so far.\n\nThe only genuine complaint I have is that out of the box, the phone is quite hard to hold and gets quite warm. I'm sure when I buy a screen protector and case these issue will go away, but for now it's a minor annoyance.launch

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March 26, 2025

@TheoEclipse

I just recently upgraded from my Samsung S21 Ultra to the Google Pixel 9 XL and couldnt be happier, its a massive upgrade. My only complaint is the one thing you pointed out, the reversed power and volume buttons lol.\nIve been going to adjust my volume and switching the screen off, and going to switch my screen on/off and adjudting the volume instead lmfao.\n\nGetting used to it though, stupud muscle memory lol.launch

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October 11, 2024

@NormUno

Spot on review as always!! Coming from s23 ultra, I'm loving this phone way more. The androids are my secondary phones, so I only use for media such as YouTube, music, photos etc.\nThe fingerprint scanner is so much better, I used to constantly have to input my pattern code on the galaxy, the camera is such a beast, I've been having so much fun with it. Feels just as good or slightly better than the iPhone in the hands (giggity) even the wife thought it was the iPhone couple times lol, only thing I wish and miss is the fast charging. Got used to the s23 charging speeds, I havnt timed or really study it but even my 14 pro max feels faster at charging. And that dam power button be pissing me off! I shouldn't have have to feel and search 😂\nS/O to Floss for always keeping it real!launch

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September 3, 2024

Users outside the US, including Africa and parts of Europe, reported the Pixel is either unavailable, overpriced, or lacks full Google functionality in their region.

@forneverarrow

Nice one Floss 👍🏻. I am to the Apple side for years but if I wanted to buy an Android now that would have been the Pixel 9 Pro XL. If it only was available on my region! Floss, one of the gripes about Pixel phones, for many people outside US, is the bad availability. On some countries are either not an available for purchase at all, while on others (like Greece or Cyprus) it’s ridiculous expensive and with limited Google functionality… it’s a shame for a giant like Google not to have its services and devices globally available. For the story, my iPhone works 100% here, like the US and UK or Canada…launch

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September 25, 2024

@luffy.condoriano

No doubt maganda talaga ang Pixel phones pagdating sa software updates. Pero kung ikocompute ko gastos, si Pixel 9 Pro XL is more than 60k. It has 8+ yrs of OS and Security updates. Kung bibili ako ng other phone let's say Poco F6 which is around 20k, it will give 4 yrs OS and Security. So ma out of date sya by 2028 while si Pixel 9 Pro XL is around 2032. So by 2028 pwede na ko bumili ng new Poco phone (F10?) which will give me again 4 yrs of updates and updated hardware. And even if it costs 30k, ang total na magastos ko is less than 60k. So I think mas sulit pa din kung bibili ng midrange kesa Pixel or other flagship phones. Opinion ko lang and I'm not saying na Poco lang ang pwede bilin, inexample ko lang 😊launch

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September 12, 2024

@PaulPayne837

As someone from Zambia, I understand that for people living in developed countries, it might be hard to dislike the Google Pixel. But for those of us in Africa, and many other parts of the world, it's all too easy. Google just doesn’t seem to care about markets like ours. They don’t sell here, and it's clear we’re not a priority. Sure, they cater to India, but that's only because of the country’s wealthy elite—a small group that gets overlooked due to the glaring inequality. But even then, Google doesn’t have an official presence there. They just ship the parts, and the local manufacturers handle the rest.\n\nFor those living in places where the Pixel ecosystem is sold, it’s easy to love it. But for us, where it isn’t even available, we’re better off importing a Chinese phone or sticking with Samsung or Apple. The frustration of being overlooked by these big companies is real.launch

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August 23, 2024

Some users reported a delay when taking photos in bright sunlight, shaky 4K video, and laggy camera causing blurry shots, as well as poor low-light front-camera video quality.

@WladVideoChannel

Thanks for your review. I must mention though that your channel is one of the sources of truth thank to your 6 months later approach, so please include one more camera aspect in the future videos: Pixel lineup STRUGGLES while shooting night time video on the front cam. It's just a noisy rain, waaay worse than any other current flagship. It's not about sensor size limitations or something like this. But considering Pixel's price, it must perform at least as well as its direct competition, and since it has the front cam, there definitely are millions of people that are actively using it, at least for some social media, or family group chats...\n\nTech reviewers must cover this topic in order for Google to finally fix it.launch

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March 25, 2025

@ronnies1899

Ive had a pixel 9 pro XL for all of 4 days and im already running into deal breaking problems compared to my iphone. The gesture system is unintuitive and does not mesh well with apps native gestures like instagram, facebook, etc. Its already started to freeze up and reboot on me while doing really basic functions like watching snapchat stories, and random apps will freeze up and become unresponsive. The camera is laggy making it hard to get clean shots without blur. I'm wasting no time and exchanging this thing for an Iphone asap.launch

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September 20, 2024

@Philkreis

I have a new 9 Pro XL. I have owned at 6 and 7. No one is showing the delay when taking photos. When taking photos in regular Photo Mode at 50mp and HDR and More Light off, this new phone has a 1-2 sec delay in full sun days. It is taking a photo as if it is too dark. Is this normal? Was this how the 8 Pro worked? If so I am returning this phone. I need to take many photos fast and the Action pan is only 12.5 mp. The quality sucks. Also, the video mode at 4k was very shaky. \r\n\r\nSome good things: Working with this phone for over 2 hours I feel the overheating problem is much better. My 7 Pro would overheat doing what I did for 2 hours. The finger sensor works. The old light one never worked for me. AI is faster. \r\n\r\nAnother bad thing: You can not turn off Circle to Search like you could on my 7 maybe they did that on 8 I do not know. The boost video thing is lame and takes forever. Then you have to add it to your backed-up storage and I think that is the idea to sell more storage. Lame.\r\n\r\nI want this phone to work for me. Please let me know if you know about the delay.launch

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August 24, 2024

Users listed missing features like native Roku casting, alarm volume tied to ringtone volume, limited always-on display customization, and inability to fully disable Circle to Search.

@17sidnag

Ok so I have used the pixel 6 and 8 my gripes with pixels are.\n\n1. can't cast to roku tv natively you need a chrome cast.\n\n2. Alarm volume goes down if you lower your ring tone volume .I have missed work due to this and had to install alarmly. \n\n3. Can't force some games full screen cuts off just below the camera cutout. \n\n4. Can't customize the always on display as much as I could even on a 5 year old p30 pro.\n\n5. Performance lags after few hours of gaming. \n\nI'm gonna try samsung this time.launch

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April 2, 2025

@Philkreis

I have a new 9 Pro XL. I have owned at 6 and 7. No one is showing the delay when taking photos. When taking photos in regular Photo Mode at 50mp and HDR and More Light off, this new phone has a 1-2 sec delay in full sun days. It is taking a photo as if it is too dark. Is this normal? Was this how the 8 Pro worked? If so I am returning this phone. I need to take many photos fast and the Action pan is only 12.5 mp. The quality sucks. Also, the video mode at 4k was very shaky. \r\n\r\nSome good things: Working with this phone for over 2 hours I feel the overheating problem is much better. My 7 Pro would overheat doing what I did for 2 hours. The finger sensor works. The old light one never worked for me. AI is faster. \r\n\r\nAnother bad thing: You can not turn off Circle to Search like you could on my 7 maybe they did that on 8 I do not know. The boost video thing is lame and takes forever. Then you have to add it to your backed-up storage and I think that is the idea to sell more storage. Lame.\r\n\r\nI want this phone to work for me. Please let me know if you know about the delay.launch

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August 24, 2024

A detailed comment explained the Pixel 9 uses 240Hz PWM dimming, the slowest among current flagships, raising eye-strain concerns compared to iPhone and Samsung's 480Hz standard.

@harunulas9794

Hi Aaron, i'm glad you can use newer phones with PWM. Lot of the communicty still can't use a phone with PWM. The Google Pixel line up is one of the worst phones with PWM. The Pixel 9 series utilizes 240Hz PWM dimming across the board, meaning the Pixel now has the slowest PWM rate on any flagship phone. We know that Pixel displays can push this number 20x higher, so we're not sure why Google hasn't made any positive changes yet. The iPhone 15 pro and Pro max uses 480Hz PWM and even the Samsung S24 switched to 480Hz PWM. Motorola, Xiaomi, Honor, Nothing and Oneplus have phones with DC dimming options or have 2000Hz PWM or even higher till 4800Hz. Thank you for keep mentioning PWM. I think more people should be aware of this issue. And hopefully Google, Apple and Samsung will follow the Chinese brands and make more eye friendly screens.launch

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August 23, 2024

A user switching from the OnePlus 12 noted the Pixel 9 Pro's signal strength is noticeably worse than OnePlus's reception.

@adamdavis729

Love my Pixel 9 Pro. Having all the flagship hardware in the smaller sized phone is why I bought it. My only issue is the signal strength. Came from the OnePlus 12 and they have amazing reception. The several small software features is why I will stay with Pixel, but if OnePlus comes out with a smaller flagship, I may try it.launch

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April 3, 2025

A new user reported the phone freezing and rebooting during basic tasks like watching Snapchat stories within days of ownership, leading them to return it.

@ronnies1899

Ive had a pixel 9 pro XL for all of 4 days and im already running into deal breaking problems compared to my iphone. The gesture system is unintuitive and does not mesh well with apps native gestures like instagram, facebook, etc. Its already started to freeze up and reboot on me while doing really basic functions like watching snapchat stories, and random apps will freeze up and become unresponsive. The camera is laggy making it hard to get clean shots without blur. I'm wasting no time and exchanging this thing for an Iphone asap.launch

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September 20, 2024

A user switching from iPhone described Google Messages as unreliable, with RCS messages frequently getting stuck and no true dark mode option.

@bourbon.36

I went with the S24U in October as I really liked the square look, but the Pixel keeps catching my eye and I'm kicking myself in the ass for not going with it. Now don't get me wrong, the S24U is an amazing phone, and the swap from iOS to Android has been amazing as far as what you can do, but I think having a stock android phone would have been better for me. I think it looks a little cleaner than One UI, even after trying One UI 7 Beta. And there are no duplicate Google/Samsung apps. I think I will swap to the Pixel next fall. One thing Google really needs to fix though is Messages. I was finally able to make the switch to Android once the Apple made RCS available, but Messages is just straight up garbage. Whether I text an iPhone or another Android, sometimes RCS messages just get hung up and won't send. So I have to either delete and try again, or send as a text and go from there. Never did iMessage behave this way or have I heard of anyone texting an Android using RCS have this issue. It just seems to be a Google Messages issue. Also, there needs to be a true dark mode on Messages. The way Apple does it just looks so clean.launch

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December 21, 2024