Google Pixel 3 review: perfect imperfection By Phandroid

Google's new pixel, 3 and pixel 3 excel are among the most anticipated smartphones of 2018, but if you're simply looking at their specs and their design, it's hard to know why, compared to most other high-end Android smartphones, the 2 pixel devices are under powered and seemingly unremarkable powering the pixel 3 and its 5.5 inch display is a Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 chip with a mere 4 gigabytes of RAM and 64 gigabytes of storage. You get a two thousand nine hundred and fifty William hour battery and this year, Google's decided to add in wireless charging as well. That's made possible with the glass panel on the back of the phone, but those specs aren't anything special and in fact the pixel 3 spec sheets could be deemed disappointing when matched up against flagship devices that have been released. This fall all of those other phones have better internals than Google's pixel devices and don't really cost much more either. So if the story of Google's new pixel phones isn't about their specs, is it about its design? Looking at the pixel 3, there's really not much different when you compare it to last year's pixel to the basic size and shape of the phone is almost identical, allowing the newer devices to even fit inside of cases from last year's device, something that I actually did while waiting for my new case well, I, usually don't use cases on my phones during the review period. The glass back panel in the pixel 3 made me paranoid within hours of the first pixel 3 unboxing videos hitting the web.

Multiple reports had surfaced that the frosted portion of the glass back panel was extremely susceptible to scratches now I'm, typically very careful in how I handle smartphones, and I've never cracked the screen on a device, but I've managed to crack the glass back panel on multiple devices over the last 18 months, something that I'm not very proud of. On a positive note, though, the displays used on the new pixel threes are far better. This time around the OLED panels used on the pixel 3 and the 3 Excel don't have any of the same issues that plagued last year's models. Google has even included a new adaptive, color mode which delivers higher contrast and a bit more saturation. The colors on the display pop just a little more with the new displays.

You also get improved outdoor visibility with last year's pixel ? I struggled to see anything on the display, while looking at the phone in direct sunlight, but that's not the case with the pixel 3. This time you can see everything on the display, even when the brightness of the screen isn't bumped up to its max. If you want to find the pixel three's true advantage, you'll have to take a look at its software. Unlike all other Android devices that are out there, the pixel three runs on stock Android. This means there's no bloatware.

The device receives Android updates directly from Google, and you shouldn't have to worry about performance now. I say shouldn't because previous pixel devices have performed quite well, but that's really not the case with the pixel 3, the pixel 3 is more than capable of keeping up with you. Throughout the day, the UI is smooth, apps load quickly and the phone can play any game that you throw at it. But there is one issue: the pixel 3 struggles to keep apps open. In fact, the phone will sometimes close an app even while it's being used- and this happens to me on a daily basis- the pixel 3 has killed off music.

That's been playing in the background, closed out, Android auto, while using it for navigation and even shut down Twitter, while trying to scroll through my feed. After nearly three weeks, Google has officially acknowledged that the pixel threes aggressive RAM management, isn't what users should be experiencing and that a fix is in the works. But it's surprising that something like this made it past Google's quality control before the phone was shipped out into the world. As for Android Pi, the new software isn't perfect, but it really doesn't have that many flaws either. The new gesture navigation control system works really well, and I have to admit that I love swiping the pill at the bottom of the screen to switch back to your most recent app.

Other great improvements include the notification toggle, which appears when you press the volume button, the screen rotate icon, which shows up at the bottom of the screen when you have auto rotate turned off and the integration of Gmail's smart compose feature into Android itself, which will predict text for you, while you're typing in any application. That being said, Android Pi does have a few features that do need a little of work, still app actions which I suggested to you at the top of your door are ridiculously annoying and always seeming to get in the way, and the adaptive battery feature really doesn't do much to improve battery life. But what it will do is delay notifications to applications that you actually need, while new versions of Android typically include a lot of changes, it doesn't really feel like the changes that were included with Android pi are substantially better than those that we've seen in the past. If you're, an Android purist, you've, probably already made up your mind about the pixel 3 and whether you're going to buy this phone, but if you're still wondering why you should choose the pixel 3 over any other smartphone, that's out there. The answer is this: it's cameras, the hardware of the main camera on the pixel 3, really isn't that special you're.

Looking at a 12 point, two megapixel sensor with an F one point: eight twenty-eight millimeter lens with dual pixel and laser autofocus optical image, stabilization and electronic image, stabilization added in while recording video. But while the hardware here really isn't much different from what you can get on competing devices, the special sauce lies deep. Within the software like Google's done in the past, the pixel 3 uses computational photography to deliver images which are absolutely phenomenal. The phone continuously captures multiple exposures and then stitches them together to deliver an image that has higher dynamic range, better color, reproduction and near-perfect white balance, Google's even using its computational photography to deliver portrait style images. Even though the pixel 3 only has a single sensor on the back of the phone and the results are actually better than you might think, the only real downside to the pixel threes overall camera experience is the audio quality that you get out of the phone when recording the video.

As you can see, the optical image stabilization here works really well when paired with the electronic image stabilization, while recording video, but the audio that you're getting out of here is abysmal when you compare it to other devices. The issue at play here is that Google is using aggressive noise cancellation to drown out all the background noise from the video. But what you get in the end is muddled audio for anyone who's talking in the video as well. But for me, what really sets the pixel 3s camera experience apart from the competition? Is the inclusion of a dual sensor camera on the front of the phone, while Google's late to the game on this one? It's actually one of the first to include an ultra wide-angle lens on the front of the phone. The 19 millimeter ultra-wide lens really changes.

The perspective for your selfies, allowing you to fit in extra people or more of your surroundings in every single one of your shots. When you're recording video with a front-facing camera, there is a little of a crop factor, but that's easily fixed when you zoom out to the wider angle lens it's great for fitting extra people into the shot or just trying to get a better scene with the background in there as well. Unfortunately, there is no optical image stabilization for the front-facing cameras, so if you want to record video for vlogging or anything like that, it's best to use the rear camera. But this is a great alternative. If you can learn to keep your hand a little steady when it comes to battery life, the story of the pixel 3 is pretty much the same as it was last year.

It's ok, but nothing more. In my two-weeks with the phone, the 2915 William hour battery inside the pixel 3 was able to keep the phone running for about 14 hours each day with a mix of web browsing with Spotify use a few hours of YouTube and Netflix. A few short gaming session and random mindless scrolling through Twitter on occasion now don't get me wrong. That number really isn't that bad and should be more than enough for most people on a regular day, but it is a little disappointing when you compare to other devices that have at least another 500 Williams packed inside them. The larger pixel 3 does come with a three thousand four hundred and thirty million barrier battery, but due to the phone's larger display, its battery life is only marginally better.

Fortunately, though, there's a little of good news on the charging front, Google does include an 18 watt, fast charger, which can charge the phone from zero to a hundred percent in less than 90 minutes. So you're not gonna, be glued to the wall for too long and then there's wireless charging as well. But while wireless charging isn't anything new, Google's actually built in a new interface for the pixel 3, for when it recognizes that it's using the official pixel stand for its wireless charging, giving you quick access to your notifications, music, Google Assistant and more, it actually gives you many of the same features that you get with the new Google Home Hub, even switching over to a live video feed from your nest, hello doorbell, if someone's at your door, the only downside is that the pixels stand, cost $79, which is ridiculously expensive. When you compare it to other QI wireless chargers that are out there. I have to admit that I was pretty excited about the pixel 3 I'd been using the pixel 2 as my main device since it came out last year and had high expectations for this year's device.

The phone does deliver a better camera experience and slightly better performance thanks to the newer Snapdragon 845 chip on the inside. But it honestly doesn't have the same appeal as last year's device did the pixel 3 is still an incredible device. It just seems to lack it factors to really make it stand out from the competition if you're looking for a device that takes incredible pictures and runs stock Android, the pixel 3 is definitely the device for you, but if those things aren't at the top of your list, I suggest taking a look at some of the other competitors that are out.

Source : Phandroid