Google Pixel 9 Pro XL: Google-powered device are a little confused whether Gemini’s a horoscope or AI

Google’s latest smartphone that looks strikingly similar to Apple comes packed with some new AI features that’ll have you magically appearing in pictures you were never in.

The New Pixel 9, 9 Pro and 9 Pro XL phones. Picture: Josh Edelson/AFP

If you can’t beat them, join them.

The old proverb is certainly having its moment in the smartphone market this year, with Apple’s biggest competitors Google and Samsung releasing ­devices that look almost identical to the popular iPhone.

Samsung was first with the release of its low-cost model, the A55, which has the same shape but not a camera bar.

Now it’s Google’s turn, with three in its Pixel 9 range looking near identical, bar the big camera island on the back.

The new device looks so similar, you’d be forgiven for not telling them apart from a distance. But catch a glimpse of that camera casing, and it’ll leave no room for doubt. Google describes this as a “thin profile with improved durability”, while Gemini calls the new design simply a “more comfortable grip”.

The Pixel 9 Pro XL, which we’ve had in hand for a little over two weeks, is quite the device.

Google's new Pixel 9 Pro XL.

It weighs a cool 221g and, when stood toe-to-toe with the phone Google wants it to look like, it comes in just 1mm taller than the iPhone 15 Pro Max at 171mm.

But other than the shape, Apple’s not really relevant in this review, but Samsung and its S24 Ultra is.

These two devices, made by the world’s second and third-largest smartphone manufacturers, are part of this growing race among smartphone manufacturers to implement AI features.

One of those features will come in handy for those using the Google Pixel 9 Pro for business, but perhaps not so much for those using it for leisure. Google’s Pixel 9 Pro can read information from your screenshots, should you opt in, and can deliver that information after a simple prompt – handy for those who work desk jobs and use the Pixel to capture information or take notes.

One feature we always bang on about is Google’s recorder application, and for good reason, for anyone who listens to others speak or takes notes for a living.

Pixel is more helpful than Samsung on this count, but it’s not as accurate, sometimes splitting one speaker into several voices. Its desktop app, which we are grateful for, also has glitches, often needing to be restarted, while Samsung’s option is limited in terms of time. Ultimately, neither holds a candle to Otter ai, but at $US16.99 ($25) a month, we’ll take a Pixel any day.

Google's new Pixel 9 range including the Fold, Pro, Buds Pro 2 and Pixel Watch 3.

Earlier this year, Samsung seemed pretty innovative when it introduced its “circle-to-search feature” using Google Lens, only for Google to undercut it with an announcement that that feature would soon be available on Pixel smartphones, including the new device.

Circle-to-search barely takes a second for you to be scouring the internet looking for whatever it was you circled in an app or picture.

For those involved in sporting clubs and big groups, you will certainly appreciate the “add me” features in pictures. You took the picture, and now you’re in it too, providing you left enough room for you to be added in with the help of AI.

Other than that, while the phone itself does feel remarkably different to hold from the Pixel 8 Pro, it’s not so different to use.

Google Assistant is even easier to user, with users being able to hold down the power button, and fire away.

One of the best parts of testing this feature was asking Google to tell us about Gemini, only for a Lenovo smart alarm clock to reply with a deep dive on the horoscope, while the Pixel 9 Pro XL gave us the spiel on what it described as “the most general and capable AI model it’s ever built”.

The New Pixel 9, 9 Pro and 9 Pro XL phones are displayed during the Made By Google at Google's Bay View campus in Mountain View, California. Picture: Josh Edelson/AFP

On a brighter note, Google hasn’t raised the price this year on its 9 Pro ($1699), but the 9 Pro XL that we’ve been using does go higher, at $1849.

This year’s Pixel 9 Pro comes with the Tensor G4 processor and 16GB of RAM, which Google said was enough to power a series of new AI features. It also has one year of Google One AI – a new plan that gives users access to Google’s AI tool, Gemini Advanced, gets Gemini features across Gmail and Google Docs, and provides 2TB of cloud storage – all of which would usually cost the user $32.99 a month.

The verdict? If you’re an Apple user looking to convert, your pocket won’t feel any different, but your user experience will.

While this is Google’s top product, and we’ve long been fans of the Pixel range, Google’s Pixel Pro range has and always will be a super safe option, but just not the most sophisticated.

Originally published as Google Pixel 9 Pro XL: Google-powered device are a little confused whether Gemini’s a horoscope or AI