Google Pixel 9 Pro XL Specs vs. Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra: Big Phone Battle

The Pixel 9 Pro XL is the largest model in Google's new lineup, measuring a sizeable 6.8 inches diagonally. It's packed with the latest, greatest tech Google has to offer, but it has stiff competition in the big phone arena. Samsung's Galaxy S24 Ultra also measures 6.8 inches and is one of the best phones we've reviewed this year. So how do these two premium handsets compare? Let's take a closer look at the specs. 

From a purely size perspective there's not much difference between the two. With 6.8 inch displays on both phones it's no surprise that the physical dimensions are broadly similar, with only 0.1mm difference in the thickness. While the Pixel weighs 221 grams, the S24 Ultra comes in at 233 grams and I highly doubt you'd ever notice that difference. Both displays have 1 to 120Hz adaptive refresh rates but Samsung's AMOLED panel offers marginally higher pixel density than Google's OLED display. Will that difference be noticeable? We'll have to wait and see.

The Galaxy S24 Ultra goes harder on the cameras, especially its whopping 200-megapixel main sensor, which dwarfs the Pixel 9 Pro XL's 50-megapixel sensor, on paper at least. That said, the Pixel's 48-megapixel ultrawide bests the S24 Ultra's 12 megapixels, and the Pixel's 48-megapixel 5X telephoto zoom is roughly on par with the 50 megapixel 5X zoom on Samsung's phone. The Pixel's 42-megapixel selfie camera is certainly a step up over the S24 Ultra's 12 megapixel camera though, although the S24 Ultra will shoot native 8K video while the Pixel only upscales its 8K footage from 4K. 

All that said, camera quality from phones often comes down more to the software than the number of megapixels. We'll have to wait and see which phone takes the better photos when we can put the two together on a camera test. 

The Pixel 9 Pro XL's new Tensor G4 chip is an unknown entity right now, but it'll have to work exceptionally hard to perform better than the lightning-fast Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip found in the S24 Ultra. Both phones have Android 14 at launch, but Google will be going hard with its Gemini AI features which won't be found on Samsung's phone. 

The bigger difference between the two phones is the price. While the S24 Ultra starts at $1,300 (with 256GB storage), the Pixel 9 Pro XL will set you back only $1,099 (with 128GB storage). The smaller Pixel 9 Pro -- which has the exact same specs as the larger XL model -- costs only $999, so it's an even bigger saving over Samsung's flagship.

With so many features seemingly on par, it's going to be an interesting fight between these two superphones. While Samsung may have the edge in camera quality and processing power on paper, in real-world use things may be very different. Safe to say we're excited to put the phones through their paces.