Quick Verdict
Google’s Pixel XL offers premium performance, although it lacks a really premium look.
The good
- Fast performance
- Smart Camera
- Android Nougat
- Category 11 capable
- Google Assistant
- Inbuilt support
The bad
- Plain design
- No water resistance
- The creepy side of Google Assistant
- No expandable memory
When did the Google Pixel XL come out? Available in Australia in October 2016.
What’s new about the Google Pixel XL? Google's first "Pixel" phone, Snapdragon 821, Google Assistant
How much does the Google Pixel XL cost? Originally priced from $1079 in Australia
Google's larger original Pixel phone redefined what you might want in a phone with a strong hardware focus, although not everything feels premium.
Google's original Nexus brand for its own phones was killed off in favour of Pixel, supplied back in 2016 with the smaller Pixel and larger Pixel XL handsets.
At the time, the Google Pixel XL combined some cutting edge technologies and software along with a big helping of Google’s own in-house apps and cloud-centric thinking. For hardcore Android fans the Pixel XL had been highly anticipated, and the good news is that the wait was (mostly) worth it.
Design
- Plain design doesn't feel premium
- No headphone socket.

Camera
- Good low-light performance for a single lens camera
Performance
- Snapdragon 821 compared well
- Google Assistant showed off Google's AI ambitions
- Lacks water resistance

Battery life
- 3450mAh battery gives easy all-day battery life
- No wireless charging
Verdict
- Pure Google for those who love that approach.
Pricing and availability
- The Google Pixel XL originally sold in Australia outright for $999.
- The Google Pixel XL is also available from Optus on contract plan terms.
OS | Android 7 |
---|---|
Display size (inches) | 5.5 |
Display resolution (pixels) | 2560 x 1440 |
Pixels per inch (PPI) | 534 |
Processor | Snapdragon 821 |
Height (mm) | 154.7 |
Width (mm) | 75.7 |
Depth (mm) | 8.5 |
Weight (g) | 168 |
Battery size (mAh) | 3,450 |
Wireless charging |
No |
Internal storage |
32GB 128GB |
MicroSD expansion | N/A |
Fingerprint scanner | Yes |
RAM | 4 |
Water resistance | IP53 |
Rear camera (1) resolution | 12.3 |
---|---|
Rear camera (1) aperture | f/2.0 |
Rear camera (2) resolution | |
Rear camera (2) aperture | |
Rear camera (3) resolution | |
Rear camera (3) aperture | |
Front camera (1) resolution | 8 |
Front camera (1) aperture | f/2.4 |
Front camera (2) resolution | |
Front camera (2) aperture |
Wi-Fi | 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac |
---|---|
Network category speed | Category 12 |
NFC support | Yes |
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