Google Pixel 9 Pro vs. Pixel 8 Pro: Is it time to upgrade?

Google has finally let the world in on its not-so-well-kept secret: the Google Pixel 9 series is here, and all four new phones have something to offer. The Google Pixel 9 is the entry point to Google’s latest devices, while the Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold is Google’s second-generation foldable.

And if you bought the Google Pixel 8 Pro last year, you may wonder if the Google Pixel 9 Pro is worth the upgrade. Should you get the smaller Pixel 9 Pro or the larger Pixel 9 Pro XL? Is there a difference between all these devices besides the size and a new processor? Finally, if you’re coming from an older phone or buying into the Pixel ecosystem for the first time, is it worth buying the Pixel 9 Pro or Pixel 9 Pro XL, or is last year’s Pixel 8 Pro good enough?

Here’s how the Pixel 9 Pro and 9 Pro XL compare to the Pixel 8 Pro.

Google Pixel 9 Pro vs. Pixel 8 Pro: specs

Google Pixel 9 Pro vs. Pixel 8 Pro: design and display

The Pixel 9 Pro XL can best be considered the replacement for the Pixel 8 Pro, but for the first time this year, it has a smaller brother designed for those who want a Pro experience in a smaller form factor. Designed to offer choice without needing to sacrifice the core specs, the Pixel 9 Pro and Pixel 9 Pro XL both have the same specs aside from display size and battery capacities. As Christine Romero-Chan put it in our Pixel 9 Pro review, it’s the Goldilocks of the Pixel 9 slabs.

The former has a 6.3-inch Super Actua display, while the Pixel 9 Pro XL has a 6.8-inch Super Actua display. If you’re considering upgrading from the Pixel 8 Pro, you’ll probably find the XL most comfortable, but if you’ve held off on buying the 8 Pro because the 6.7-inch display was too large, you’ll want to consider the Pixel 9 Pro.

The new Super Actua displays are the brightest on a Pixel yet, with up to 2,000 nits HDR and 3,000 nits peak brightness. This makes them 25% brighter than the Pixel 8 Pro and some of the brightest displays on any phone to date.

One of our favorite things about Pixel phones is the array of color options. Google knows how to make phones in attractive colors, especially in a way that isn’t garish or tacky. The Pixel 9 Pro and 9 Pro XL both come in four stylish colors: Obsidian (aka White), Porcelain (aka Black), Hazel, and Rose Quartz. There’s no follow-up to the incredible blue Pixel 8 Pro, but the Rose Quartz color is a great choice this year.

Google Pixel 9 Pro vs. Pixel 8 Pro: performance and battery

A new phone means a new processor, but there’s no big switch in architecture or supplier. The Pixel 8 Pro was powered by the Tensor G3, and the Tensor G4 powers the Pixel 9 Pro series. Recognizing the need for additional memory, especially with the AI-first experience, the Pixel 9 Pro and 9 Pro XL both also come with 16GB of RAM (versus 12GB in the Pixel 8 Pro).

The Tensor G4 is designed to bring improvements in day-to-day tasks while also ensuring that all Pixel 9 devices can run Google’s most advanced AI modals efficiently. Google says the Tensor G4 is the first processor to run Gemini Nano with multimodality. This means you’ll get the best AI performance — 45 tokens per second, to be precise — with any of the new Pixel 9 series, and all of them can recognize text, image, audio, and speech inputs.

Google isn’t the first to launch AI features, and it won’t be the last, but if you buy the Pixel 9 Pro or Pro XL, you’ll get a year of Gemini Advanced for free (it normally costs $20 per month). Gemini is also the default assistant on all Pixel 9 phones, although you can change it back to Google Assistant if you prefer.

The Google Pixel 9 Pro XL technically has a larger battery (5,060 mAh) than the Pixel 8 Pro (5,050 mAh), but at just 10mAh bigger, it might as well be identical. The battery life on the Pixel 8 Pro left many people with concerns, and in our reviews, we found that both phones live up to Google’s promise of 24-hour battery life. If you aren’t a heavy user, this can be extended by half a day.

This year, Google is somewhat improving the charging of its Pro phones. The headline is that Google now offers a 45W charging brick, but none of its phones support the full speed. The Pixel 9 Pro is limited to 27W, while the Pixel 9 Pro XL maxes out at 37W. Both phones achieve around 50% battery in 30 minutes, and then take between 60 and 90 minutes to charge to full.

Google Pixel 9 Pro vs. Pixel 8 Pro: cameras

The cameras on the Pixel 9 Pro are mostly the same as those on the Pixel 8 Pro, albeit with a few small tweaks. That means you get the same triple camera system, including the 50-megapixel wide camera, 48MP ultrawide camera with Macro Focus, and the 48MP telephoto lens that offers 5x optical zoom.

Google is known for making magic by pairing AI with excellent camera hardware, and the Pixel 9 Pro offers great photos at various zoom lengths (including 0.5x, 1x, 2x, 5x, and 10x) all without extra hardware. Super Res Zoom — which lets you zoom up to 30x — is now also available in video for the first time.

The front-facing camera is a welcome boost from last year. The Pixel 8 Pro sports a 10.5MP ultrawide selfie camera with an f/2.2 aperture, but the Pixel 9 Pro and 9 Pro XL have the best of any Pixel to date. The new 42MP selfie camera offers 4x the detail and presumably can use pixel binning to let in much more light at the 10.5MP range. Expect much better selfies on the Pixel 9 Pro versus the Pixel 8 Pro.

Google is nothing if not consistent in its cameras, and the Pixel 9 series brings improvements in all the right areas. In our Pixel 9 Pro and Pixel 9 Pro XL reviews, it’s clear Google has pushed the camera capabilities of the newer phones to the limit, with the Pro regularly outshining the iPhone 15 Pro. Of particular mention is the strength of the Pixel’s “point-and-shoot” ability, where it’ll take consistently great-looking shots without the need for post-capture edits. The Pixel has always been a great “shoot-and-forget” camera, but the newer phones push that to an even higher level.

Google Pixel 9 Pro vs. Pixel 8 Pro: software and updates

If you’re a Google Pixel fan, you may have noticed that this year’s launch is early — much earlier than ever before.

Previous launches took place in October, so the Pixel series was the first to run the latest Android OS, but this year’s launch is too early for that. Android 15 is still in beta, and the Pixel 9 series won’t launch with Android 15 out of the box. Instead, there’s Android 14 out of the box, with a future update to Android 15 set to arrive when it’s available.

It’s unclear whether this upgrade to Android 15 will count as one of the seven guaranteed version updates. Nonetheless, Google is promising 7/7/7 as its update schedule: seven years of updates, seven years of security updates, and seven years of Pixel feature drops. This means it should be supported until August 2031, while the Pixel 8 Pro will be supported until October 2030. With this year’s launch timing, however, both phones should technically end with the same Android version.

Google Pixel 9 Pro vs. Pixel 8 Pro: AI features

As you might expect, the new Pixel 9 series debuts many AI features. Some of these may come to the Pixel 8 Pro in future Drops, but it’s unclear which ones and whether some may require the Tensor G4. Google understands how to make magic with software, and some of these features could be just as transformative as Magic Eraser was three years ago.

Add Me will likely be the most used of these new features as it solves one of the biggest problems: how to take a photo with your friend that isn’t a selfie. Sure, you can ask a random stranger, or you can just rely on Google. Add Me works by taking two photos — one with you and one with your friend — and then stitching them together. It’s an elegant solution to a very real problem and one that’s likely to delight many people.

Magic Eraser is also getting a small update in the form of Auto Frame. Magic Eraser can now recompose a photo to improve the composition of a photo, and you can also type a prompt to generate new items and add them to the photo. There are also AI-powered enhancements to Video Boost, which can apply HDR+ at any zoom level and can also upscale to 8K, although the latter is limited to just the Pixel 9 Pro and 9 Pro XL.

One new addition that is particularly useful is the Pixel Screenshots app. We’ve all taken screenshots of important information — such as apartment codes or Wi-Fi passwords — only to never be able to find those screenshots later. Now, screenshots go into the dedicated app, and you can just ask Gemini to help you find them by providing details.

For example, ask Gemini for your apartment codes, and it’ll pass your request on to the Pixel Screenshots app. The app will surface the codes and show you the corresponding screenshots. It’s surprisingly neat and should be quite helpful for just about anyone.

Google Pixel 9 Pro vs. Pixel 8 Pro: price and availability

The Pixel 8 Pro started at $999 and came with 12GB of RAM alongside 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, or 1TB of storage. The Pixel 9 Pro starts at the same price with the same storage options, while the Pixel 9 Pro XL is $100 more. Both of the Pixel 9 series phones come with 16GB of RAM.

Essentially, this means the Pixel 9 Pro XL — which is the most similar in size to the Pixel 8 Pro — is slightly more expensive this year. Much like the price increase for the Galaxy Z Fold 6, it’s hard to truly justify this, although at least the Pixel 9 Pro is more of an upgrade than Samsung’s latest foldable.

The Pixel 9 Pro XL is now available widely at retailers, with many of the best Pixel deals still available. The Pixel 9 Pro launches on September 4, with many pre-order deals still available.

Google Pixel 9 Pro vs. Pixel 8 Pro: verdict

Should you upgrade from the Pixel 8 Pro to the Pixel 9 Pro or the Pixel 9 Pro XL, or should you buy the Pixel 8 Pro instead of either of the new devices? The answer depends on what you are looking for. There’s a strong chance that you can snag a great Pixel 8 Pro deal, which is still an excellent purchase.

For most people, the Pixel 9 Pro and 9 Pro XL are the phones to buy. The improvements are all in the right areas, and a year of Gemini Advanced (worth $240) makes either a compelling purchase over the Pixel 8 Pro. The Tensor G4 is performing well so far, the increase in RAM makes all the difference, and the result is two phones with universal praise.

If you want a smaller phone that doesn’t compromise on the Pro features, get the Google Pixel 9 Pro. If you want the excellent Pro experience, but with a larger screen that’s nearly identical in size to the Pixel 8 Pro, get the Pixel 9 Pro XL.

If you’re currently holding on to a Pixel 8 Pro, your decision is a bit different. If your Pixel 8 Pro is still running well and you don’t have any issues with it, the Pixel 9 Pro (or the 9 Pro XL) is unlikely to be a revolutionary upgrade for you. The upgraded specs are certainly nice, but they also aren’t life-changing. If you like your Pixel 8 Pro just fine, go ahead and hold on to it. But if you have extra cash to burn and like having the newest and shiniest phone, the Pixel 9 Pro and Pixel 9 Pro XL won’t leave you disappointed.