Pixel 9 Pro XL survives durability test as unboxing reveals new box design [Video]

JerryRigEverything has an unboxing of the Pixel 9 Pro XL ahead of next week’s launch, with Google’s largest phone surviving the durability test. 

Matching the 4th-gen Nest Learning Thermostat, unboxing the Pixel 9 Pro XL starts by peeling off two pill-shaped stickers on the back of the packaging. This lets you slide off a sleeve that reveals the actual box, which has the product name on the side. Instead of a four-color “G” on the front, there’s just “Google.”

We then have another type of sleeve/wrap that covers both sides of the phone instead of just the display, which was the case on the Pixel 8 and older. The USB-C cable is underneath with slightly flatter packaging. 

• Related: Google on what goes into plastic-free Pixel packaging

We get some size comparisons for the camera bar (about 3.5 mm tall), including how it’s thicker than a house key or about two quarters tall.

There are “scratches at a level six with deeper grooves at a level seven” with Gorilla Glass Victus 2. Above the 42MP front-facing camera is an “extremely thin earpiece slit” with a centered plastic antenna line above it. 

We see a razor pop off the power button and volume rocker, like last year, though it can be inserted back in. Said blade is shown scratching the aluminum rails in an extreme example of damage. 

As expected, people are mistakenly inserting the SIM ejection tool in the microphone hole next to the USB-C port. The proper orifice is furthest from that connector.

The ultrasonic fingerprint sensor is shown surviving “copious amounts of level seven deeper grooves.” 

In terms of the bend test, the Pixel 9 Pro XL “appears to be even stronger than last year with no creaky boat(?) sounds and nearly no flex from the front nor the back.” The Pixel 8 Pro was already an improvement over the 7 Pro, which had a gap in the frame after bending. Google says the Pixel 9 series is “twice as durable as Pixel 8.”