Pixel 9 Pro Review in Progress: The 9 Pro XL and Gemini don’t disappoint

I’ve been using the Pixel 9 Pro XL for less than a week and enjoyed every aspect of the device. However, I don’t think a week is enough time to review this new phone, especially considering the Adaptive Battery takes a while to learn your habits.

But with the phone coming out on August 23rd, I wanted to put something together to help you make an informed decision before that date.

Firstly, if you purchase the Pixel 9 Pro XL, you won’t regret it. Even in the first week with the device, it’s been amazing. The display is excellent, the design is impressive, and it fits perfectly in the hand; the smartphone is quick, it takes fantastic photos, and Gemini has been beneficial. That’s right, while I typically consider AI a gimmick, especially when using Samsung’s latest flagships, on the Pixel 9 Pro XL, it’s been effective in helping me in many tasks.

Truly helpful Gemini

I love activating the smart assistant whenever I want to add something to my Google Tasks. And sure, Google Assistant can do this; most assistants can. However, I’ve been using Gemini to read what’s on my screen and go from there. For instance, I saw a post on Instagram about a badminton club I wanted to sign up for. However, registration didn’t open until August 23rd, so I told Gemini, “Remind me to register.” It went to Google Tasks to remind me to register for the badminton club using the name of the club, and it made the reminder for the date and time registration opens. I also wanted a reminder for an anime rave the day before the event. And I said to Gemini, “Remind me to buy a ticket a day before this.” Again, it reminded me to buy tickets a day before the event and included its name as well.

While this isn’t a big deal, it’s easy, fluid, and quick. Like, I’ve been surprised by Gemini’s speed. Even for small tasks like asking about the weather in the evening, the personal assistant responds and comes to life phenomenally. I’ve also gotten Gemini to summarize several YouTube videos for me. One was from Animalogic, explaining why there are pygmy animals; the other was about an upcoming character in Smite 2. Both videos were summarized, but the Smite 2 summarization was short and inadequate. So, I could ask Gemini for more information about the video, which it answered easily.

Gemini is excellent, but another very useful and fun experience has been Gemini Live. While Gemini can answer questions, similarly to Gemini Live, its conversation model is great and keeps me coming back. While some may think having a regular conversation with your smart assistant is weird, I’ve found some uses. In preparation for Black Myth Wukong, Gemini Live and I talked about Journey to the West (which the game is based on), where the AI told me a summary of the story and some of the stand-out pieces of the Monkey King’s journey.

We also talked about some of the attractions at Niagara Falls, which involved too much walking for my grandmother. I also had the AI show off to my mother, offering some trivia and knock-knock jokes. During this, my mom said, “Oh, that’s scary,” Gemini Live responded, “Don’t worry, Gemini is a helpful AI assistant, not a scary one. How about we try something else to show off its skills?” I asked about the calories in a pickle, how to make a pickleback, whether picklebacks are healthy, what fun things I could add to a pickleback, and more.

I could have done all of this with Gemini, but the experience with Gemini Live was conversational and fun. I could make it sound like a ninja turtle and say cowabunga, and I spent a lot of time thinking, “I can’t wait for this to become the default Assistant experience.”

Unfortunately, this technology is partially behind a paywall. However, the Pixel 9 Pro XL has Google One with Gemini Advanced included free for a few months, so you’ll be able to try out these new features.

I would like to do an official review of Gemini Live after some time, and while this isn’t my official review of the Pixel 9 Pro XL, it’s definitely one of the highlights I’ve enjoyed with Google’s latest. So far, I haven’t really found any reason not to buy the Pixel 9 Pro XL other than if you prefer smaller phones, and if that’s you, you just have to wait for the Pixel 9 Pro.

Here’s a first look at the vision for Gemini Live. In the future, it will be a multi-modal experience that allows you to explore the world in a whole new way and even connect to your apps during your Live conversation. Stay tuned. pic.twitter.com/Y0HjX8S5e7

— Google Gemini App (@GeminiApp) August 13, 2024

Either way, look for a final review of the Pixel 9 Pro XL in the coming weeks. But if you can’t wait until then, you won’t be disappointed spending $1,499 on the company’s latest and greatest.