Google’s Pixel 9 Pro has a lot to live up to: It's the company's new flagship phone, coming in as . As Google , this is the company's chance to justify its unified ecosystem, a task that the Pixel 9 Pro sadly falls short of. And yet, on its own, it’s an excellent product.
While much of the front-and-center branding tries to sell you on tech that probably needs another 10 years in the oven, the Pixel 9 Pro does regular phone stuff better than any Pixel in recent memory. It has all the strengths of older models, but tuned up, with a sleek design that was long overdue. The big draw to the Pixel line of smartphones is usually unique software, but while the Pixel 9 has a few AI tricks up its sleeve to , my favorite change this year is to the phone itself.
That’s because the Pixel 9 Pro, for the first time, now comes in two sizes. There’s the “new” Pixel 9 Pro XL, which is actually about the same size as past Pro models, and the regular Pixel 9 Pro, which when compared to past Pixel Pro models, functions more like a Pixel 9 Pro Mini. Despite having the same naming scheme as those past Pro models, it’s easily the fresher option.
While the XL is more in line with expectations, the regular Pixel 9 Pro finally gives us a Pro Pixel phone that’s the exact same size as the base Pixel. That means no more choosing between pocketability and power. As someone who almost always opts for pro models but tries to get the smallest option I can, I’m ecstatic.
To get the phone to t.