Google Pixel 9 Pro XL vs Pixel 3 XL
77
out of 100
VS
43
out of 100
Here we compared two flagship smartphones: the 6.8-inch Google Pixel 9 Pro XL (with Google Tensor G4) that was released on August 13, 2024, against the Google Pixel 3 XL, which is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 and came out 6 years before. On this page, you will find tests, full specs, strengths, and weaknesses of each of the devices.
Select the amount of RAM to evaluate performance and value for money more precisely
Key differences
Reasons to consider the Google Pixel 9 Pro XL
- Delivers 470% higher peak brightness (2375 against 417 nits)
- The rear camera has a 5x optical zoom
- Has 4x more RAM: 16GB versus 4GB
- 2.9x better performance in AnTuTu Benchmark (1672K versus 568K)
- Higher display refresh rate – 120 Hz
- Comes with 1630 mAh larger battery capacity: 5060 vs 3430 mAh
- Waterproof body (IP68 classification)
- Shows 42% longer battery life (21:55 vs 15:23 hours)
- Newer Bluetooth version (v5.3)
- Has a 0.5 inch larger screen size
- More recent OS version: Android 17 versus 12
- More energy-efficient CPU – Tensor G4
- Compatible with Wi-Fi 7 wireless networks
Reasons to consider the Google Pixel 3 XL
- Weighs 37 grams less
Review
Display
Screen quality, color accuracy, brightness
Camera
Photo and video recording quality
Performance
CPU and memory performance (apps, system)
Gaming
Capabilities for playing modern games
Battery
Battery life, charging type and speed
Connectivity
Networks, ports, data transmission
Scores with a red asterisk (*) are approximate and may change in the future as we gather more data.
Select your primary usage scenario to get a more accurate DeviceFacts Score
Value for money (Beta)
Tests and specifications
Comparison table of technical specifications and testsDisplay
| Type | OLED | OLED |
| Size | 6.8 inches | 6.3 inches |
| Resolution | 1344 x 2992 pixels | 1440 x 2960 pixels |
| Aspect ratio | 20:9 | 18.5:9 |
| PPI | 486 ppi | 522 ppi |
| Refresh rate | 120 Hz | 60 Hz |
| Adaptive refresh rate | Yes (1-120 Hz) | No |
| Max rated brightness | 3000 nits | 400 nits |
| Max rated brightness in HDR | 2000 nits | - |
| HDR support | Yes, HDR10+ | Yes, HDR10 |
| Screen protection | Gorilla Glass Victus 2 | Corning Gorilla Glass 5 |
| Screen-to-body ratio | 89.5% | 83.1% |
| Display features | - DCI-P3 - Always-On Display |
- DCI-P3 - Always-On Display |
| RGB color space | 99% | 100% |
| PWM | 240 Hz | 250 Hz |
| Response time | 2 ms | 15 ms |
| Contrast | ∞ Infinity | ∞ Infinity |
Screen space comparison
Pixel 9 Pro XL
6.8″ (20:9 ratio) = 17.3 in2
Pixel 3 XL
6.3″ (18.5:9 ratio) = 15.6 in2
~10% more screen space
Peak brightness test (auto)
Design and build
| Height | 162.8 mm (6.41 inches) | 158 mm (6.22 inches) |
| Width | 76.6 mm (3.02 inches) | 76.7 mm (3.02 inches) |
| Thickness | 8.5 mm (0.33 inches) | 7.9 mm (0.31 inches) |
| Weight | 221 g (7.8 oz) | 184 g (6.49 oz) |
| Waterproof | IP68 | IPX8 |
| Advanced cooling | Vapor chamber | - |
| Rear material | Glass | Glass |
| Frame material | Metal | Metal |
| Colors | White, Black, Gray, Pink | White, Black, Pink |
| Fingerprint scanner | Yes, in-display | Yes, rear |
| Repairability | Good (3.34/5) | - |
| Drop resistance | Excellent (A) · 270 drops | - |
Screen-to-body ratio
Performance
| Chipset | Google Tensor G4 | Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 |
| Max clock | 3100 MHz | 2500 MHz |
| CPU cores | 8 (1 + 3 + 4) | 8 (4 + 4) |
| Architecture | - 4 cores at 1.92 GHz: Cortex-A520 - 3 cores at 2.6 GHz: Cortex-A720 - 1 core at 3.1 GHz: Cortex-X4 |
- 4 cores at 1.8 GHz: Kryo 385 Silver (Cortex-A55) - 4 cores at 2.8 GHz: Kryo 385 Gold (Cortex-A75) |
| L3 cache | - | 2 MB |
| Manufacturing | Samsung | Samsung |
| Lithography process | 4 nanometers | 10 nanometers |
| Neural processor (NPU) | Yes | Hexagon 685 |
| Graphics | Mali-G715 MC7 | Adreno 630 |
| GPU shading units | 896 | 512 |
| GPU clock | 940 MHz | 710 MHz |
| FLOPS | ~1684.4 GFLOPS | ~727 GFLOPS |
Benchmarks
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Compute Score (GPU)
| Compute Score (GPU) | 9185 | - |
| Single-core score | 2001 | 416 |
| Multi-core score | 4932 | 1451 |
AnTuTu Benchmark 11
| CPU | 622527 | 228438 |
| GPU | 410009 | 67236 |
| Memory | 255927 | 118257 |
| UX | 384332 | 154741 |
| Total score | 1672795 | 568672 |
| Samples | [6 tests] | Less than 3 |
3DMark Wild Life Extreme
| Stability | - | 90% |
| Graphics test | - | 2 FPS |
| Graphics score | - | 460 |
PCMark 3.0
| Web score | - | 7184 |
| Video editing | - | 6560 |
| Photo editing | - | 18872 |
| Data manipulation | - | 6642 |
| Writing score | - | 9887 |
Recent User Tests
Google Pixel 9 Pro XL
| Date | Benchmark | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 📘 2026-08-27 (feraroof43) | AnTuTu 11 | 1626655 |
| 📘 2026-08-26 (Ark15) | Battery life | SOT 5:20 / 11:00 |
| 📘 2026-08-21 (Kazin) | AnTuTu 11 | 1723964 |
| 📘 2026-04-07 -> DeadlyKPSS | AnTuTu 11 | 1679233 |
| 📘 2026-03-29 (Actn) | AnTuTu 11 | 1585585 |
Google Pixel 3 XL
| Date | Benchmark | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 📘 2025-10-08 (Bebraaaabc) | AnTuTu 11 | 568672 |
Memory
| RAM size | 16 GB | 4 GB |
| Memory type | LPDDR5X | LPDDR4X |
| Memory clock | - | 1866 MHz |
| Channels | 4 | 2 |
| Storage size | 128 GB | 64 GB |
| Storage type | UFS 3.1 | UFS 2.1 |
| Memory card | No | No |
Software
| Operating system | Android 14 (Can be upgraded to Android 17) | Android 9.0 (Can be upgraded to Android 12) |
| ROM | Stock Android | Stock Android |
| OS size | - | 13 GB |
| OS updates | 7 years | - |
| Security updates | 7 years | - |
Battery
| Capacity | 5060 mAh | 3430 mAh |
| Max charge power | 37 W | 18 W |
| Battery type | Li-Ion | Li-Ion |
| Replaceable | No | No |
| Wireless charging | Yes (12 W) | Yes, Qi (10 W) |
| Reverse charging | Yes, (wireless) | No |
| Fast charging | Yes (67% in 30 min) | Yes, Quick Charge 4 (50% in 35 min) |
| Full charging time | 1:18 hr | 2:00 hr |
| Battery cycles | 1000 cycles | - |
| Web browsing | 11:42 hr | 05:46 hr |
| Watching video | 10:46 hr | 09:05 hr |
| Gaming | 05:57 hr | 04:01 hr |
| Standby | 92 hr | 78 hr |
General battery life
Main camera
| Matrix | 50 megapixels | 12.2 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 8160 x 6144 | 4032 x 3024 |
| Zoom | Optical, 5x | Digital |
| Flash | Dual LED | Dual LED |
| Stabilization | Optical | Optical |
| 8K video recording | Up to 30FPS | No |
| 4K video recording | Up to 60FPS | Up to 60FPS |
| 1080p video recording | Up to 60FPS | Up to 120FPS |
| Slow motion | 240 FPS (1080p) | 240 FPS (720p) |
| Angle of widest lens | 123° | - |
| Lenses | 1) Standard: 50 MP 2) Telephoto: 48 MP 3) Ultrawide: 48 MP |
1) Standard: 12.2 MP |
| Camera features | - Bokeh mode - Pro mode - RAW support |
- Bokeh mode - Pro mode - RAW support |
| Image resolution | 50 MP | 12.2 MP |
| Aperture | f/1.7 | f/1.8 |
| Focal length | 25 mm | 28 mm |
| Sensor | Samsung GN1 | Sony IMX363 |
| Sensor size | 1/1.31" (≈ 0.76 inch) | 1/2.55" (≈ 0.39 inch) |
| Pixel size | 1.2 micron | 1.4 micron |
| Autofocus | Laser autofocus | Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel) |
| Stabilization | Optical | Optical |
| Image resolution | 48 MP | - |
| Aperture | f/2.8 | - |
| Focal length | 113 mm | - |
| Sensor | Samsung S5KGM5 | - |
| Sensor size | 1/2.55" (≈ 0.39 inch) | - |
| Pixel size | 0.7 micron | - |
| Stabilization | Optical | - |
| Image resolution | 48 MP | - |
| Aperture | f/1.7 | - |
| Focal length | 12 mm | - |
| Sensor | Samsung S5KGM5 | - |
| Sensor size | 1/2.55" (≈ 0.39 inch) | - |
| Pixel size | 0.7 micron | - |
| Stabilization | Digital | - |
DxOMark main camera tests
Photo quality
Video quality
Generic main camera score
| Bokeh | 75 | - |
| Preview | 86 | - |
| Zoom | 155 | - |
| Samples | Photo samples of Google Pixel 9 Pro XL from DxOMark | - |
Selfie camera
| Megapixels | 42 megapixels | 8 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 3648 x 2736 | 3264 x 2448 |
| Aperture | f/2.2 | f/1.8 |
| Focal length | 17 mm | 28 mm |
| Sensor | Sony IMX858 | Sony IMX355 |
| Sensor size | 1/2.51" (≈ 0.4 inch) | 1/3.2" (≈ 0.31 inch) |
| Pixel size | 0.7 micron | 1.4 micron |
| Autofocus | Phase autofocus | Phase autofocus |
| Stabilization | Digital | Optical |
| Video resolution | 2160p (4K) at 60 FPS | 1080p (Full HD) at 30 FPS |
| Additional lens | - | 8 MP, f/19 |
| Depth sensor (TOF 3D) | No | No |
Connectivity
| Wi-Fi standard | Wi-Fi 7 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax/be) | Wi-Fi 5 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac) |
| Wi-Fi features | - Dual Band - Wi-Fi MiMO - Wi-Fi Direct - Wi-Fi Hotspot - Wi-Fi Display |
- Dual Band - Wi-Fi Direct - Wi-Fi Hotspot |
| Bluetooth version | 5.3 | 5 |
| Bluetooth features | LE | LE, A2DP |
| USB type | USB Type-C | USB Type-C |
| USB version | 3.2 | 3.1 |
| USB features | - Charging - USB-Storage mode - OTG |
- Charging - USB-Storage mode - OTG |
| DisplayPort | Yes | - |
| GPS | GPS, GLONASS, Galileo | GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo |
| NFC* | Yes | Yes |
| Infrared port | No | No |
| Number of SIM* | 1 | 1 |
| Type of SIM card | Nano | Nano |
| Multi SIM mode | - | Standby |
| eSIM support* | Yes | Yes |
| Hybrid slot | No | No |
| LTE Cat* | - | 16 |
| 5G support | Yes | No |
Sound
| Speakers | Stereo | Stereo |
| Headphone audio jack | No | No |
| FM radio | No | No |
| Dolby Atmos | No | No |
Speakers test
Max loudness
Other
| Category | Flagship | Flagship |
| Announced | August 2024 | October 2018 |
| Release date | August 2024 | November 2018 |
| Launch price (MSRP) | $1099 | $900 |
| Successor | - Google Pixel 10 Pro XL | - Google Pixel 4 XL |
| SAR (head) | 0.99 W/kg | 1.39 W/kg |
| SAR (body) | 1.4 W/kg | 1.4 W/kg |
| Sensors | - Barometer - Proximity sensor - Gyroscope - Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Compass - Fingerprint |
- Hall-effect sensor - Barometer - Proximity sensor - Gyroscope - Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Compass - Fingerprint |
| Bundled charger | Not included | - |
*Disclaimer! NFC, GSM network support, and some other specs can be different depending on the country.
Conclusion
After analyzing all the data, we think that the Google Pixel 9 Pro XL is definitely a better buy.
Cast your vote
Total votes: 3