Google Pixel 3 and 3XL; Nice or Notch

A few weeks back Google announced their newest flagship; the Google Pixel 3, and a bigger Pixel 3XL
However, (due to excessive leaks and rumors) this didn’t come as a surprise. But as prepared as anyone may have been, there was no helping it; That cutout at the top (called a notch) caused me to die a little on the inside as the phone was unveiled. There’s just no unseeing it. It’s downright ugly. Unacceptable! Google. Alongside a gigantic notch, the Google Pixel 3 and 3XL also sports a massive bezel below the screen. Not even China phones have this big a chin!

MEMORY

The Pixel 3 and 3XL ships with (a somewhat small) 4gb RAM on both models. Now I say small because android doesn’t have a good history of optimizing apps and processes well enough. So while 4gb of RAM is adequate for day to day use, you won’t get away with trying to use 5 or more apps at a time. Also, for a phone that cost almost a thousand dollars, I wouldn’t expect them to hold back. Storage options are 64/128gb. The same internal configurations apply for both phones. Apparently, the Pixel 3 and 3XL was advertised with Unlimited Photos Storage but in truth, everyone has that option with google photos app. Google developed a new algorithm to compress photos while preserving quality. And it stopped being exclusive to the Google Pixels by the Pixel 2. Even here on my iPhone I have all my pictures in the Google Photos cloud with no cap on my storage. So don’t let the advertised “unlimited storage” be a reason to get a Pixel 3.

PROCESSOR AND SOFTWARE

Fitted with the latest Snapdragon 845 and Adreno 630 GPU, the Google Pixel 3 and 3XL should be very seamless for daily use. Especially considering that these are the only phones alongside Google Nexus that run the actual Stock Android from google.
Other Smartphone companies running on Android usually tweak their OS a little with a custom skin to personalize the experience for their users (e.g TouchWiz, HiOS, Oxygen OS, XOS, Amigo and the likes).Meaning Bloatware is virtually nonexistent on these phones and it’s going to be a very enjoyable experience using them without the bothersome add-ons and menu customizations smartphones get slapped on with. Must be why they paired it with only 4gb of RAM. A 3430mAh non-removable battery provides (arguably) all day

THE PIXEL CAMERA

The Pixel Camera remains unrivaled. The Google Pixel 3 and 3XL’s still have the best smartphone camera in the world (yes even better than the iPhone) and the most shocking part is it earned this title without a dual camera setup. Most smartphones now have a dual lens setup for either optical zoom or wide angle capturing. And also to achieve better contrast in low light photos and for portrait modes and the likes. Google pulls most of this off with just one 12MP camera. Now that is quite the feat. This is achieved through Image Processing on the software end. The selfie side on this year’s model though is a dual setup for Face ID unlocking, ultra wide selfies and a nice feature where you can add AR characters to your selfie. Another camera feature called top shot scans multiple frames and picks the best instance from a single photo. Finding “that moment” has never been easier. You also get Google Lens which can recognize certain objects and read off text right from the camera app. Video though is not very amazing as 4K capturing is limited to 30fps but still 4K nonetheless

DISPLAY AND DESIGN

Although it’s just a 1080p display (which in 2018 is just around good enough for flagship and premium devices), the Pixel 3 and 3XL screen seems to make up for the poor design choice on the front and may even successfully distract you from that unsightly notch. Crisp colors and adequate brightness on the AMOLED panel with complete P3 gamut coverage makes this device feel premium again. Turning the phone over would probably bring a smile to your face with the glass on a very clean finish in all three (strangely named) colors; Clearly White, Just Black and Not Pink.

OTHER FEATURES

These phones have a nice IP68 rating so don’t worry about getting a little wet with your phone in hand. They both sport stereo speakers; both front facing and they sound pretty good. The XL’s a bit louder. I’d recommend the XL if you use your phone for media and entertainment (bigger screen+louder speakers)

Wireless Charging is supported (up to 10W with a Pixel Stand). Google assistant is the best virtual assistant out there and the Pixels run it the best; with groundbreaking new features in Google Duplex that’s slowly turning the mere digital assistant into a fully fledged AI. Then of course it charges fast through a USB-C port and supports Nigerian network bands.

Specs

•Octacore Snapdragon 845 •(4×2.5 GHz Kryo 385 Gold & 4×1.6 GHz Kryo 385 Silver) •Adreno 630 graphics •Android 9(Pie) •Google Stock Android
•4gb
•64GB/128GB
•6.3inch AMOLED •1440x2960p •523ppi •19.5:9 Aspect Ratio •Front/Back glass aluminum frame •Corning gorrila glass 5 •158 x 76.7 x 7.9 mm (6.22 x 3.02 x 0.31 in) •83% screen-to-body ratio •HDR support 184grams •Aluminium frame •100% P3 wide color gamut
•3430mAh •90h endurance rating •Non removable •Fast Charge (5V 4A 20W) •wireless fast charging with the pixel stand
•Clearly White •Just Black •Not Pink
•Single 12.2MP lens f/1.8(wide) •Dual LED flash •Auto HDR •Optical Image Stabilization
•4K@ 30fps •1080p@ 30/60/1200p •720p@240fps
•Dual Setup •8MP f/1.8 •8MP f/2.2(ultra wide) •No Auto Focus •Auto HDR
•IP68 (1.5m for 30mins)
•HSPA 42.2/5.76 Mbps •Up to LTE-A(4g) •Cat16 1024/150 Mbps •Dual SIM Wi-Fi 802.11 •Dual Sim (e-SIM and nano SIM) •Bluetooth 5.0 NFC GPS
•Stereo Speakers
•USB Type-C (2.0) •No headphone jack
•Accelerometer •Gyroscope •Compass •Proximity barometer fingerprint (rear mounted) reader
•Top Shot (Camera Feature)
•2018 October
•$799-$899 •$899-$999(XL) •290,000/330,000NGN
•Qi wireless Charging •Best camera out there •Stock android experience
•No headphone jack (for who it may matter to) •Horrendous notch at the top