Using the Google Pixel 3 XL smartphone for a few weeks did not convert me from my iPhone ways, but it certainly did make me like Android a lot more. That’s mostly due to the amazing camera and software.
You see, the purest form of Android can only be found on Google’s Pixel devices. And honestly, Android has a few capabilities that I wish Apple had. But using a Pixel phone also makes you ultra-aware of all the data you’re giving Google. As long as you’re fine with that, the Pixel 3 XL is an excellent device.
The good stuff | Big, beautiful display. Fast performance, fantastic main camera — even in low light.
The bad stuff | This phone’s very slippery. No microSD card slot. Battery life could be better. And you have to stare at a huge, ugly notch.
One of the best things about using a Pixel phone is how well all the Google apps on the device work in concert with the operating system and the hardware. And as well as all those things have worked on previous Pixel models, they work even better on the Pixel 3 phones. Google Photos, Maps, Calendar and more, all seem to do exactly what you’d want them to do in a perfect world — all the time.
Then, in your notification panel, you see what feels an awful lot like an advertisement. It’s actually not, just a suggestion from Google based on sites and apps you’ve been using. But, if you’re like me, it just feels weird.
Note: The Google Pixel 3 XL used for this review was loaned to me by Verizon.
Design
The Pixel 3 XL runs on Android 9 (Pie) and sports a massive 6.3 inch QHD+ OLED display. The screen is crisp, sharp and bright — though not as bright as other flagships from 2018. The display also has an extremely noticeable notch.
The notch exists to give users a bigger screen, two 8MP cameras for selfies (one wide-angle and one normal) as well as stereo speakers on the front. But the notch is just so big and can even get in the way in certain apps and websites.
The phone’s backside is made of glass, with the bottom portion etched to create a matte finish and a more polished top. The top glossy portion holds the 12.2MP dual-pixel camera and does a decent job of hiding smudges. The bottom portion, however, shows all the smudges and houses the fingerprint sensor — go figure.
The Pixel 3 XL’s sides are made of a glossy coated metal. The power and volume buttons are all located on the phone’s right side. The phone’s SIM card slot is located on the bottom of the device.
Like the Pixel 3, the Pixel 3 XL is water resistant. Its IP68 rating means that it should be able to last up to 30 minutes under three meters of water.
Performance
With the Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 processor, the Pixel 3 XL is very quick. But remember that the storage can’t be expanded, so buyers can choose between a model with 64GB or 128GB of storage space. Regardless of which you choose, you’ll get 4GB of RAM.
While those specs aren’t jaw-dropping, they are more than enough to make using this phone an incredibly enjoyable experience.
Here are the AnTuTu benchmarks for the Pixel 3 XL next to other comparable devices.
Inside, the Pixel 3 XL has a 3430 mAh battery, which got me through most days without needing to charge.
Camera
For whatever reason, it’s become commonplace for smartphone makers to give the larger version of a flagship the better camera specs. So, I’m really happy that Google decided to toss that trend out the door with the Pixel 3 phones.
The Pixel 3 and 3 XL phones’ main camera is a 12.2MP sensor, with an f/1.8 aperture and optical image stabilization. And — wow — this camera really takes great photos. If you’re a video person, you’ll be happy to know the main camera can record up to 4K resolution at 30 frames per second.
On the Pixel 3 XL’s front, Google decided to shake things up. There’s a dual-lens camera setup. Both lenses have 8MP. One has an f/1.8 aperture while the other has a wide wide-angle lens with an f/2.2 aperture.
Why two cameras on the front instead of on the main shooter — like other Android phones? Selfies.
With the option to switch over to a wide-angle lens while taking selfie photos, you can get more of the background in the frame. Or more people if you’re trying to take a massive group shot.
These cameras all performed really well. That’s thanks to Google’s image-processing capabilities, partly powered by a special chip called the Pixel Visual Core.
Macro
Pano
Low-light
A quick note about shooting low-light photos with a Pixel phone: Google created Night Sight to make you say, “woah.” It uses machine learning, smart algorithms and up to four seconds of exposure to help you take amazingly good low-light photos. Check out the slider to compare.
Selfie
Problems
I know it’s just physical, but the notch really is bothersome. Yes — iPhone X and later models have a notch, too. But the Pixel 3 XL’s is both deeper and narrower than the iPhone XS Max’s notch. And I’m not sure Google’s reasons for the extra size are really worth it.
Google only offers the Pixel 3 XL in two storage sizes — 64GB and 128GB — with no support for expansion via microSD. Odd because competitors, namely Apple and Samsung, are selling phones with 256GB or 512GB of storage. The point: If you’re using this phone, you’d be wise to take advantage of apps like Photos and Drive to keep space free.
Remember when part Google phones were the inexpensive smartphone option? Well, the cost was lower at least partly because Google could afford to sell a cheaper device thanks to all that data the company was gathering with the phone. Now, Google still gets a whole lot of your data but its phones cost just as much as the most expensive devices on the market. For this reason, I’m not a big fan of the $900 cost of buying a Pixel 3 XL.
My last issue with the Pixel 3 XL: It was just so dang large and slick! Yeah … I dropped it a few times. Obviously, though, I’d opt for the smaller Pixel 3 model if I were to buy this phone. For what it’s worth, the Pixel 3 XL is actually a tad smaller than the Samsung Galaxy Note 9 — another huge phone I reviewed — but the Pixel actually feels more manageable in my hand. If you like your phone to be more manageable, opt for the smaller Pixel 3 model over the XL.
Recommend to a friend?
I really like this phone a lot. For anyone looking to stick with Android, the Pixel phones are great — maybe even the best Android phone to come out in 2018. But these phones are not cheap (see rant in Problems section). Price tags aside, I would definitely recommend Google’s Pixel 3 XL.
The smaller Pixel 3 is $800 — that’s $150 more than last year’s model. The XL’s price went up $50 to $900.
