Google released the Pixel 3 XL in October and it entered the market with one of the best smartphone cameras for 2018 and 2019. To help you decide whether to buy one, here is a comprehensive overview of the Google Pixel 3 XL pros and cons:
Pulse 2.0 Score: 4.5 out of 5 Stars
The Google Pixel 3 XL has received a Pulse 2.0 Score of 4.5 out of 5 stars. The reason why the score is high is due to the high-quality camera, a powerful processor, and elegant design.
1. Pro: Large Beautiful Display
The Google Pixel 3 XL’s large 6.3-inch display is OLED-based so the colors pop and it features deeper blacks. And it has excellent color accuracy so you can still see the display clearly inside and outside. The larger sized display also makes watching videos and playing games even more immersive.
2. High-Quality Cameras
The back of the Google Pixel 3 XL features a 12.2-megapixel sensor and f/1.8 aperture. The photos are sharply detailed and the colors do not look overly saturated. And the dynamic range is also very impressive.
Google Pixel 3 XL is able to handle Portrait Mode with one camera rather than two. And the Google Pixel 3 XL is one of the best devices to take Portrait Modes with.
Plus Google added a new camera feature called Night Sight, which is a mode that uses artificial intelligence to take better pictures at night especially in low light conditions.
There are four presets of zoom including Super Res, 2x, 4x, and 6x. And the Top Shot feature also ensures that you capture the best version of your photo. This feature takes multiple photos and you can swipe on the one you like the mode, which is similar to how burst mode works.
And interestingly, there are dual front cameras so your selfie game will be on-point. One of the cameras on the front is a wide-angle camera.
3. Pro: Powerful Internal Components
With a Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 combined with 4GB of RAM, the Google Pixel 3 XL is able to play graphic-intensive games, open many apps, and multitask without any noticeable lag.
4. Pro: USB-C Charger
As the Pixel 3 XL has a USB-C charger, it is able to quickly charge the battery. And since USB-C cables have more power, it also has a high transfer speed.
5. Pro: Call Screening AI
The Google Pixel 3 XL has some of the most powerful AI features built into a smartphone. For example, the Call Screening feature utilizes Google Assistant to prevent you from answering calls from telemarketers.
This feature allows Google Assistant to answer calls for you and you can see a live transcription of what the caller is saying. Then you can find out whether the person on that end of the call is a telemarketer or someone you want to hear from.
6. Pro: Google Duplex Feature
The Google Duplex feature makes it possible for you to have the Google Assistant book a table or make an appointment for you automatically using the power of artificial intelligence.
7. Pro: Now Playing Feature
The Now Playing feature on the Google Pixel 3 XL makes it easier to learn more about the music you hear around you. And you can have your Pixel 3 XL automatically identify a song. This can be done by going to Settings > Now Playing > Turn on Show songs on lock screen.
8. Pro: Free Google Photo Storage Benefit
Google is offering free unlimited online original-quality storage for all photos and videos uploaded to Google Photos from Pixel 3 through 1/31/2022. And Photos and videos uploaded before 1/31/2022 will remain free at original-quality.
9. Con: No Expandable Memory
Unfortunately, you cannot expand the storage on your device with a microSD card.
10. Con: No Headphone Jack
Unfortunately, the Google Pixel 3 XL does not have a 3.5mm headphone jack. If you specifically want to have a new Google Pixel device with a headphone jack, then you may want to buy a Google Pixel 3a or 3a XL instead.
11. Con: Higher Price Than Pixel 3a Line
The price of the Google Pixel 3 XL is higher than the Pixel 3a line of devices. However, the Google Pixel 3 line of devices have more powerful hardware and sleeker designs.
What are the Google Pixel 3 XL specifications?
Here is an overview of the Google Pixel 3 XL specifications:
Display: Fullscreen 6.3-inch display, QHD+ OLED at 523ppi, 18.5:9, Corning Gorilla Glass 5, always-on display, 100,000:1 super contrast ratio, full 24-bits depth or 16.77 million colors, true black level, HDR support
Design: Aluminum frame + hybrid coating, Corning Gorilla Glass 5 on the front, Soft touch glass (Corning Gorilla Glass 5) on the back, IP68 dust and water protection
Dimensions and Weight: Length: 6.2 in (158.0 mm), Width: 3.0 in (76.7 mm), Height: 0.3 in (7.9 mm) / Weight 184 g
Colors: Clearly White, Just Black, Not Pink
Rear Camera: 12.2-megapixel dual-pixel, 1.4μm, Autofocus + dual pixel phase detection, Optical + electronic image stabilization, Spectral + flicker sensor, f/1.8 aperture, Field of view: DFoV: 76° — Video: 1080p @ 30fps, 60fps, 120fps / 720p @ 30fps, 60fps, 240fps / 4K @ 30fps
Dual Front Cameras: 8MP wide-angle and normal FoV cameras — Wide-angle: f/2.2 aperture, 97° FoV and Normal: f/1.8 aperture, 75° FoV — Video: 1080p @ 30fps / 720p @ 30fps / 480p @ 30fps
Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 / 2.5GHz + 1.6GHz, 64Bit Octa-Core / Adreno 630 / Pixel Visual Core / Titan M security module
Memory And Storage: 4GB LPDDR4x RAM / 64GB or 128GB storage
Media & Audio: Dual front-firing stereo speakers / 3 mics / Noise suppression
Battery: 3430 mAh battery — 18w/2A USB Type C charger — 18w fast charging — Qi wireless charging
Wireless & Location:
Wireless: Wi-Fi 2.4GHz + 5.0GHz 802.11a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 5.0 + LE, NFC, Google Cast
Location: GPS, GLONASS, Galileo
Operating System: Latest Android 9 Pie with Google Assistant
Sensors: Active Edge — Back-mounted Pixel Imprint fingerprint sensor for fast unlocking — Proximity / Ambient light sensor — Accelerometer / Gyrometer — Magnetometer —Barometer — Android Sensor Hub — Advanced x-axis haptics for sharper/defined response
Ports: USB Type-C 3.1 Gen 1 / Single Nano SIM
AR/VR: Built for VR to work with Google Daydream View headset
Network:
World-wide network/carrier compatibility with GSM/EDGE: Quad-band (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz), CDMA EVDO Rev A: BC0/BC1/BC10, WCDMA: W1/W2
FDD-LTE: Bands 1/2/3/4/5/7/8/12/13/17/18/19/20/25/26/28/29/32/66/71
TD-LTE: Bands 38*/39/40/41*/42/46
Supports up to CAT 16 (1Gbps DL / 75Mbps UL), 5x DL CA, 4×4 MIMO, LAA, 256-QAM DL and 64-QAM UL depending on carrier support
Want to buy the Google Pixel 3 XL? You can buy one here:
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