Google finally made me LOVE the Pixel 4 XL By Pocketnow

There's the simplistic way in which google does hardware many of us criticize its sluggish adoption of the times, but the more of its products that I use the more I realize google doesn't care they're, not about the curves. You can't manipulate with one hand or the slippery glass that keeps sliding off your table to google, it's as if the dazzling elegance of competing products is pointless if it doesn't serve a higher purpose, which is, in my opinion, to make their hardware more cohesive as an extension of the software. So why has Google failed? If the marketing is there and so were the carrier deals, then? Why has the company's intent to delight not gain popularity? I think the answer lies in the oxymoron cringe worthy delight, which became HTC's approach to the grave, should I say, make an ugly phone with an amazing camera, plus some lens flares in the pixel 1 make a pretty phone with a terrible screen on the pixel, 2 XL and then tarnish the otherwise great canvas of the pixel 3 XL, with the worst notch in history like it's, as if google always figured out a way to make his cringe in its intent to delight you could even assume the hardware team and the software team just don't get along with such a tarnished reputation. I even wonder who would trust, google and the Pixel 4 XL's added levels of controversy. It almost feels like if this phone is necessary, evil, because the only reason why I've decided to come back to it and use it again is because of one of the two things that it gets right: android 11 being one of them, I'm Jaime Rivera with pocket. Now- and this is my experience with the Pixel 4 XL after eight months and pretty much after using android 11 after a few weeks to me- it's mind-boggling how google can be such a juggernaut in software and can't figure out hardware.

It reminds me of that scene in The Dark Knight rises where bane says one of my favorite life quotes. Ever victory has defeated. Your Mountain View is so successful in search and services that you could easily think they don't really take their hardware seriously. Even if I don't totally agree, in my opinion, the Pixel 4 XL is anything but a phone that should be ignored. I actually like returning to it sometimes for a comparison or when I travel, and it's mainly because if you narrow down the things we mostly complain about when we review smartphones think about it, we complain about the excessive curves and lack of palm rejection.

We complain about fingerprint magnets in the glass, and we also complain about camera humps being completely out of control. This phone, on the other hand, is the perfect anti-2020 smartphone, where we don't really deal with any of that, I'm not regretting my choice for the white variant one bit. It looks clean 100 of the time and feels easy enough to handle that I've used this phone without a case since day. One not gonna lie, I'm not a fan of the striking contrast between the black borders and the white back, but the powdered coating adds grip, and it's kept this phone. Looking like new, even after three drops.

My only complaint with the hardware has been pretty much an echo since the pixel 2 XL. If this display is your portal to the software experience, companies should not play around with it with the pixel 2, XL, lactate and brightness, and the 3xl lacked in aesthetics. The 4xl lacks in symmetry. Like imagine your TV having a left border, that's thicker than the right one, there's just no way that you can watch a video for extended periods of time without feeling like if there's something wrong, regardless of how good your stereo speakers are and sure I know, there's a purpose for the top bezel. But if any of you can admit that you've used those radar gestures more than once I'd be surprised, or you have my issue where none of these gestures are supported in my country, other than that colors on this panel do pop.

If you choose the right profile, and you do get the variable, 90 hertz, refresh rate on quad, HD plus, but then try to use this phone in direct sunlight or with polarized lenses. And I know the display is just too dim for all scenarios and the same thing happens with internals. I mean they're, not bad, but far less expensive products like the OnePlus 7t launched two weeks prior and with the latest Qualcomm snapdragon 855, plus of the time that this phone was lacking and argue all you want about Google's prowess in needing less ram, but the 64 gigabyte storage starting point was killed. The moment perks like free, unlimited, google photos were thrown away and like no Wi-Fi 6 on a chip that supports it see. These are the positions that only remind me of why HTC went from being the king to pretty much in existent.

This is what I mean by this phone feeling like if it's necessary evil. It's not the best smartphone, it's not the best looking, nor is it the least expensive. The only reason we continue coming back to it is because of android, if you're interested in getting the latest and greatest updates. When it comes to this operating system, you have to jump on this lineup and yes, there are already some competitors rocking the beta, but Google clearly had more time to iron out the bugs. Some of you might not care about timely software updates, but there's one major reason why I jumped on android 11 on day one and its notifications.

If you follow me on social media, you've seen me complain repeatedly about not knowing what recently made my phone buzz, because notifications were not in chronological order, or then you had so much of a convoluted mess where, if you took a screenshot that would also become an unnecessary notification. Google has decided to solve everything in ways to declutter the complexity we had. Conversations are now stacked at the top alerting notifications in the middle and silent ones at the bottom. I can't tell you how much I love this update since conversations are most likely, what you'll be getting most and if there's a specific contact you'd like to prioritize, you can select the option with a long press and the contact's face will now show as an icon at the top and sure it's not perfect. Some applications won't land on that feed just yet, but I'm sure it'll get there eventually and yes, I know there are chat heads as well, but I disabled that as I'm really not a fan of having anything blocked by canvas.

Also, how many times have you dismissed a notification by accident yeah? You can now enable notification, history and settings to see what you missed. Your music controls were also moved from notifications to the quick launch. Tray, though, for the moment you have to actually enable that in developer settings also take a screenshot, and those controls have also been moved to the bottom left corner point is that whole mess of a tray you had before is finally doing what it was only supposed to be doing, which is just informing you. Another thing: that's fantastic. Is the new power button menu ever try to tell google to turn on just one specific light or another? I know that was a mess, no more need to go into the Google home application for that just press and hold the power button and control whatever you want.

There are logical things like not having airplane mode disable. Bluetooth which the iPhone has been able to do for years, multitasking options now making better use of the canvas in the menu and the idea that you can now choose what applications get pinned to the share menu like finally, and also my personal favorite, which is being able to resize picture mode. Sadly, I can't recommend that you try out android 11 beta, nor can I guarantee that the features I just mentioned will all make it. Google has a history of showing things off that don't make it to the final product in the fall, but still I have to mention how much this has been the most delightful experience that I've ever had with an android beta up to the point where I have very few complaints about bugs, and I even feel that my battery life has gotten significantly better where in the past I could barely get a day of use with the 4xl. And now I end my days with 30 of battery life.

It's made me fall in love with android again and at the same time, with this phone now. What I wish I did see was updates to the camera, but who knows maybe in another beta for now my impressions of the Pixel 4 XL are pretty much the same as previous comparisons. There are times when it leaves me in shock and times when I can already see that some strategies are updated. The pixel reminds me of how we call certain things: the old reliable, if I need a photo of any product for the gram, or I want to take a picture of nature, or I want to get a good portrait that will rarely disappoint. That's what the pixel is for.

I probably just wish that it didn't favor making my shiny forehead syndrome so evident when it reproduces skin tones. Still, the level of automation that a pixel can achieve is quite legendary. I know many people complain about it, but for the average consumer, keeping a flower in focus on a windy day is a chore, and the pixel will just spare you the complexity. Sadly, I wish this phone wasn't so HTC about trying to tell you what you should want wide angle can be fun. We think telephoto is more important and sure the blend of hardware and software used for the telephoto is quite impressive, but I do wish the user interface would provide an easier way to repeat zoom steps.

It's the way I feel about night sight. We can't deny how amazing this feature was on the pixel 3, but a year later, we've proven that even less expensive phones have done a good job at catching up and even beating the 4xl and how it handles grain. Last but not least, there is video which is just okay. Google still knows how to do stabilization better than most and dynamic range is truly epic, but this is not the phone that I'd recommend to anyone for vlogging or even a home. Video of your favorite memories, we're already jumping into the 8k era, and this phone lacks behind 4k frame rate and is still stuck to 1080p for selfie video.

To conclude, I think it's important for Google to accept that it is responsible for this spec hungry mentality, where our perception is geared towards an android flagship having the best specifications. This Google nexus one- and I know I still have one- was the first device where its claim to fame was having the best specifications, the first one gigahertz snapdragon processor back in the day, and it spun this desire for anyone to consider the best specifications as an indicator that a product is worth the money now. Android has come a long way since then, but it doesn't matter how much google tries to convince consumers that you don't need more cameras or more storage or a better screen or the latest chip. Sadly, the strategy of software updates being a selling point, has proven to not be effective. This is like walking into a burger place and asking if the meat patty is also included in the burger by this time.

Today, software updates should be a given. They should not be a differentiating factor and then there's the fact that the latest software doesn't feel cohesive with dated hardware for a 2020 price tag. Now all this being said, in my personal opinion, I have to admit that I actually have loved coming back to the Pixel 4 XL, I've loved using android 11, and I have no problem in recommending them and even more now, when you can find a ton of deals and retailers, I just can't tell you that this is the best phone out there. It's not, and that's rather unfortunate, for a company with the scale of google which exceeds the capabilities of a ton of OEMs that are currently just doing a great job. Let me know what you think about the Pixel 4 XL in the comments down below and while you're at it follow us on social media and subscribe to our channel for more videos like this.

One also follow me on my personal handles to see me try to find ways to love this phone in the real world. Please give this video a thumbs up if you liked what you saw, I'm Jaime Rivera thanks so much for watching we'll see you on the next one.

Source : Pocketnow