Google Pixel 3 Xl Picture Quality

(Pocket-lint) - The Google Pixel is the panacea of Android phones, designed to prove what you can practise with pure Android software, tuned to the Google-designed hardware. Its pièce de résistance is the camera, where Google'due south aim is to showcase what bogus intelligence (AI) can really do. Information technology's fair to say, it's an approach that's turning heads.

For Android fans, the 40 is a phone you'll always consider for its merits, while surveying the incredibly aggressive options from the wider ecosystem. Compared to Apple, Google has created a rod for its own back: information technology encourages and supports the development of increasingly sophisticated technologies, confronting which it then has to compete with its ain hardware.

So, can Google be top dog in the Android pack?

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Our quick take

While the Pixel 2 Forty launched nether a cloud of screen-based woe, the Pixel three XL is a much better piece of hardware. People volition moan about the notch, only if yous've used the telephone, it's really not an issue. Aside from the notch, the display is one of the best out in that location: information technology's wonderful to wait at and sitting in a phone that feels bang-up to employ. It's now outdated past the Pixel iv Forty, but you tin can get the Pixel 3 much cheaper than the 2019 model.

A stellar camera experience meets cracking functioning in this phone, with a wonderfully clean and clutter-gratis Android user interface that's loaded with refinements, even if there are a few oddities. Google'southward camera also keeps more circuitous systems at bay and its dependability over months of use remains true. Information technology'south still class leading in many ways.

In many ways the feel of the Pixel 3 XL is enough to go along its rivals at bay; in the flagship infinite there are a lack of uncluttered Android phones that are this like shooting fish in a barrel to recommend. Footstep forward, then, the Pixel 3 Forty: the mean, clean Android dream.

First published October 2018; updated Jan 2020.

Alternatives to consider

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Samsung Galaxy S10+

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If y'all're later on the latest and the greatest, so the Samsung Galaxy S10+ outclasses the Pixel iii XL in many areas. The design is better, with the Infinity-O display better than Google'southward massive notch. It has next-generation power, a microSD card slot also as 3.5mm headphone socket and a fun ultra broad-angle camera to give y'all great photos. The bombardment likewise lasts a lot longer, while the software gives you many more options and functions.

• Read the Samsung Galaxy S10+ review

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Google Pixel iv Twoscore

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Updated for 2019, the Pixel 4 Xl removes the notch, just rolls in with a radar-based gesture organisation you can largely ignore. Yous still go a nifty camera experience, at present boosted with a second telephoto lens, the latest Android software and a wonderful display.

• Read the full Pixel iv 40 review

Google Pixel 3 Forty

four.5 stars - Pocket-lint recommended

For

• Outstanding camera performance
• Android x is make clean and fast
• High quality design and build
• No screen issues this time effectually

Confronting

• Battery life isn't class leading
• Some software foibles

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Premium design embraces the notch

• Aluminium frame with hybrid glass rear
• IP68 h2o/dust resistance
• Corning Gorilla Glass 5
• 158 x 76.7 10 seven.9mm; 184g
• Display notch

Looking to evolve the Pixel three Xl over the Pixel 2 XL, the entire rear of the handset is now glass - allowing wireless charging - but sticking to the two-tone experience of the phones from the previous generation. Yep, the "dipped in chocolate" blueprint is back, something that Google moved abroad from for the Pixel 4 XL in 2019.

Information technology is Corning Gorilla Glass 5 on the forepart and the dorsum to avoid scratches. That rear coating is described as "soft bear on" and you really wouldn't think you're holding glass - just every bit we said in our review of the smaller Pixel 3, it feels like holding a smooth pebble. That's something that flows into the whole phone design, as Google has smoothed away edges and ridges for a terminate that makes this 1 of the nicest phones nosotros've seen, or rather, held.

Some might raise an eyebrow at the finish, simply subsequently months of use, the Pixel 3 XL hasn't scratched any more than we'd expect - that finish on the rear will damage if you're carrying this telephone with a pocket total of keys and coins, just then volition any telephone. The Forty carries an IP67 waterproof rating, too, ensuring it's happy in the rain, snowfall and everywhere else.

Thanks to the adoption of a notch design - that black-out dip to the top of the phone where the front-facing cameras and sensors are houses - there'due south more display and less bezel. Even so, other manufacturers have done more than to reduce bezel and fill up more of the front end of the telephone with display. Some take called out the notch as ridiculous lazy design; for us the size doesn't affair then much, but as we moved through 2019, information technology became surprisingly dated, surprisingly apace.

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The notch is that size so that there's symmetry in tiptop and bottom bezel when holding the phone in landscape - then the (filled) notch area is the same width every bit the bottom bezel. What doesn't stack up in terms of symmetry is how content is so handled: scout a Netflix video and the notch end is apartment, while the lesser bezel terminate adopts the curves, so it's a bit of a mess.

Aye, that bottom bezel could be slimmer - as information technology seems to be that size to arrange the speaker - and Samsung proved with the Milky way S10+ that you tin take cracking sound without information technology taking upward bang-up infinite. But those speakers do deliver, adding full sound to your viewing experience and there'due south less chance of covering them, which is a real problem on phones with speakers on the bottom frame.

Let'southward talk about that brandish

• vi.three-inch, 18.five:9 OLED display
• 2960 x 1440 pixels (523ppi)
• HDR (loftier dynamic range)

The Google Pixel three XL offers up a 6.three-inch display, making it the clearly larger phone of the Pixel 3 pair. In the Xl it'south actually a Samsung brandish and dissimilar the Pixel ii XL information technology seems to be colour tuned more in line with expectations.

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Information technology pulls off Samsung's trick of making things look peachy, especially photos which look rich and vibrant. Punchy colours and corking viewing angles are par for the class; there's a night low-cal choice to cutting out blueish light in the evenings, only you can't aid merely bask how the display can drop to deep blacks.

Selection a nighttime wallpaper and the notch simply vanishes into it, something that cheaper devices neglect to achieve (certainly LCD ones). The Twoscore's always-on display joins the party, likewise, which is precise, with great contrast and is very... Samsung-y.

Google is rivalling the top phones out in that location in terms of resolution, sticking to a sharp 2960 ten 1440 pixel display. That's the sort of resolution to compete with the Samsung Galaxy S10+ and sharper than Apple's XS Max launched around the same fourth dimension. Unlike a lot of rival devices there'due south no option to switch information technology down in resolution to save battery life - it's Quad Hard disk drive all the way.

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Best of all, it works really well with Android 10's night option. And as the Pixel 3 is on Netflix's listing of HDR devices, you lot'll find HDR content to view also.

Pixel camera returns

• 12.2-megapixel, 1.4µm, f/1.viii rear camera
• viii-megapixel dual front cameras
• Dark Sight is leagues alee of competition

The Pixel camera has a reputation and it's a reputation that has been gained without splurging on dual or triple camera lenses. It's just a single photographic camera that works hard, boosted by some very clever AI and consistently giving y'all cracking photos without the need to do too much. That much remains true in the Pixel 3 XL, which puts in a stellar photographic camera performance with very little fuss.

The Pixel camera takes adept shots in all conditions, just information technology does so with consistency. The photographic camera too seems to have dealt with some of the bug it had with slightly cold HDR processing on the Pixel 2, but the white balance bug in lower-light conditions under artificial lighting still seem to be at that place at times - so if your photo looks yellowish, trying metering elsewhere.

Portrait mode - which blurs the groundwork behind the subject using software - is available on whatsoever of the cameras. It works pretty well, as well, but like all these things, if information technology can't tell what's in the foreground and what's in the background there volition be some bleed betwixt the two. It's still not like using a DSLR, no matter what the marketing material tells you lot. The advantage that Google offers here is it's using its all-time camera for everything (because there is merely one), whereas some rivals flip to the zoom camera for portrait style, and the photos get worse.

• Google Pixel 3 vs Pixel ii vs Pixel: How accept the Pixel smartphones inverse?

What the Pixel doesn't offering is extra cameras on the rear - so there'due south no optical zoom, there's no ultra-broad lens or any of that. You still have compression zooming (and it'due south still usable), so if anything, that's probably the biggest feature that Google doesn't offer. Notably Apple, Samsung and Huawei all practise - and those tele lenses are useful for maintaining quality for farther away subjects.

Equally for the XL'southward forepart camera organization, there's a hardware change with the inclusion of a second camera with a wide-bending lens. This gives you lot a 107-degree view, so you can fit in a lot more people in selfie shots. It's designed for fun group shots and the trade-off is quality. The wider selfie cam struggles a little more with epitome noise and particular, probably considering it has a smaller aperture then can capture less calorie-free. Yous tin apply portrait mode on the wide camera - just then information technology struggles to create its AI bokeh blurring with any real accuracy. The all-time arroyo is to go simple with your groufies (yeah, we used that give-and-take).

Stick to the main selfie photographic camera and things are a lot ameliorate. You can get some brutally detailed selfies from it and the portrait fashion is great at picking you out from the background.

In that location'due south a dazzler mode too, if you want it, adding consumer appeal - but to our optics, on the fourth dimension-weathered face of a 40-twelvemonth-sometime, it does more impairment than good. We'd imagine on the smooth skin of a 20-twelvemonth-former it might hibernate some of those signs of decay that will inevitably strip you of your youthful vigour. Male parent Time is coming for yous, dazzler mode or non.

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Following launch, Google added Night Sight to the Pixel phones - not only the 3, simply the original and Pixel 2 as well. This depression light mode again hammers home how much AI matters, as information technology's rolling out a feature for both front and back cameras, and not simply those with the latest hardware.

Night Sight uses AI to notice motility and and then decide what blazon of exposure you need for your shot. Information technology might be a longer exposure or lots of short exposures combined (if at that place'southward motion) and it will requite you lot low light photos that are leagues alee of most competitors. Huawei has a similar system and both hands better the likes of Apple or Samsung.

Night Sight is a great feature: it automatically detects low light and suggests that yous utilise information technology - and tin give you a sharp dark shot that's relatively free from noise. Information technology's a great credit to the phone and certainly a lot of fun.

The perfect smartphone camera then? Nosotros'd certainly say that in practical terms, the Google Pixel 3 Xl delivers a lot and even as a 2018 device, it will delivers compared to some newer rivals. Some volition want the fuss of more than lenses and more than options, but for many, dependable quality and less piddling makes this a juicy suggestion. Point, shoot, share, grin at just how skillful it is.

It's 2018's hardware

• Qualcomm Snapdragon 845, 4GB RAM
• 64GB or 128GB storage
• 3430mAh battery, fast Qi wireless charging

On the hardware forepart the Pixel 3 40 gets itself flagship internals in the form of the Snapdragon 845 with 4GB RAM and the option of 64GB or 128GB of storage. There's no microSD pick. The late launch window in the year sees the Pixel sitting on the same hardware as phones that are 6 months older and now existence replaced, with the first run of Snapdragon 855 devices starting to announced.

Is that a trouble? In reality no, but you're sure to hear it as a downside in the numbers game. Because this phone in 2020 means yous're a couple of generations behind, but it still has plenty of power.

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What'south really impressive about the Pixel three XL is how smooth and fast it feels in use. It feels faster than other Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 handsets we've used - and a lot of that comes down to software (which we'll talk well-nigh in more particular later). Information technology's fast to commencement, quick to open apps, although it does currently accept the bad habit of closing apps you might want in the groundwork.

This was highlighted as a memory problems and something that software has tried to change, to make the experience more palatable. In its early guises, you'd find (for example) that if you were playing Pokemon Get and you lot stopped to have a photo, you'd return to the game and find it had to reboot again. That'due south been corrected through software updates, only some people are all the same reporting functioning issues that come up down to management of the hardware. For u.s.a., the Pixel three Twoscore is smooth, powerful and free from such frustrations.

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There'due south a 3,430mAh battery sitting in the Pixel 3 Twoscore, which is middle of the pack these days. Again, companies like Huawei are stuffing huge batteries into phones that last a lot longer, thus at that place's no competing with some of those models. Indeed, the Pixel 3 Twoscore will pretty much get y'all through a day of use, just it isn't the best performer out at that place in these stakes and power users might be better looking elsewhere.

The wireless charging might resolve that - with the Pixel Stand (sold separately) being a compelling option - but there's fast wired charging too, which will see yous prepare to go once more with a full bombardment in nigh an hour.

One of the overnice things that the Pixel Stand offers is that it can turn your telephone in to a mini Nest Hub, offering admission to Google Assistant and changing the display to arrange the conditions through the evening. Information technology makes for a peachy bedside stand, but it is expensive for a wireless charger at $79 or £69. Still, this is currently unique to the Pixel and Pixel Stand up, and so you'll have to pay for the price for this sort of excitement.

Android 10 software skills

• Visual refinement
• Latest Android and first to update
• Has some weird UI elements

The Pixel iii XL launched on the Android 9 Pie and updated to Android 10 as one of the first devices to get the latest Google mobile software. That remains one of the large factors in getting a Pixel - for the few years you own that telephone, you'll get the updates get-go and gloriously bloat free.

Google isn't alone in offering this bloatware-free software, thank you to the adoption of Android I by companies similar Nokia. What Google does offering is tweaks to add consumer entreatment to the phone, through things like the photographic camera experience and the home screen environment. One of our favourite additions is appointments at the top of the home screen every bit a timely reminder - and much nicer than a notification.

Pure, secure and up-to-date is the mantra of the Pixel (and Android One) and that'south certainly appealing as those with older Pixel devices will attest. The lack of pre-installed clutter is appealing too and information technology's here that the Pixel gives you a make clean experience compared to Samsung (which is options overload) and Huawei (which is bloatware central).

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Arguably, the latest Samsung phone does more out of the box, but it'southward hard to think of anything you'll really miss when it's not there. And dissimilar Samsung, Google's sentient AI - Google Assistant - is actually worth using. Let's get farther than that and say that Google Banana is the smartest of the lot, uniquely placed to deliver across more than devices and platforms than anyone else. It's a much smarter and accurate than Siri and its position on phones go far more advantageous and dynamic than Amazon'southward Alexa.

While AI is the mantra of companies like Huawei and LG (particularly in the camera), Google's AI does what it'south supposed to practice: information technology sits in the background until you call it frontwards. Point the photographic camera at a sign or a concern card and information technology will offer to email or phone call the number (or retrieve that contact) thanks to AI through Google Lens. Information technology does this without selecting a mode or tapping a setting, it just happens. AI will also power the Call Screen option (simply bachelor in the US), which will reply your calls for you and help you determine whether you really want to speak to the caller.

The biggest change that came with Android ix Pie when the Pixel three Twoscore launched was navigation - doing abroad with navigation icons and moving to a gesture based system. That wasn't great, just information technology'southward been refined in Android 10; such is the mode, getting this phone is now a meliorate experience than when information technology beginning launched thanks to software improvements.

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To recap

In many ways the experience of the Pixel iii XL is plenty to keep its rivals at bay. While other flagships get cluttered and overcomplex, the Pixel iii is serene by comparison, acting every bit an Android poster phone, with value fifty-fifty in its old age.

Writing by Chris Hall.

Source: https://www.pocket-lint.com/phones/reviews/google/145993-google-pixel-3-xl-review

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