The new Google Pixels have been unveiled and they just as must leaks revealed. However there is something you should know, the Google Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL are essentially the same phone, except for the differences in their displays and battery capacities. There are other key features you should also know, so read alonf as I take you on this Google Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL review, also revealing its price and availability in the US and Europe.
Google Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL Review
Screen
The Google Pixel 3 XL model has a 6.3 inch diagonal display with 1440 x 2960 pixel resolution (532ppi). The display’s aspect ratio accommodates the largest bezel in any smartphone ever produced.
The Pixel 3 looks similar to the Pixel 2, but it has larger screen – the 5.5 inch screen with 18:9 aspect ratio gives you about 10% more surface area. Though there is an absence of a notch, it has 1080 x 2160 pixel resolution, so there are definitely no changes from last year’s sharpness.
The Google Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL screens and backs are protected by Gorilla Glass 5.
Also read: LG V40 ThinQ Specification, Features, Price and Availability
Battery
The Google Pixel 3 XL came with a 3430mAh battery, which is slightly lesser than last year’s model. The Pixel 3 has a 2915mAh battery, which is a plus, as it is an increase over the previous generation.
The new features in the Pixel 3’s battery is wireless charging. The Pixel Stand can charge at 10W, as fast as the wired charger of the Pixel 2 phones of last year. The stand also allow the Pixel 3 phones to work as Google Home, as a photo frame, and even sunrise alarm.
The wired charging of the Pixel 3 phones are faster, thanks to the 18W charger that comes along with it, packed inside the box. Google claimed users will get 7 hours of usage after charging from 0% for 15 minutes.
Rear Camera
The rear camera hardware remains the same. It has a single 12.2MP optically stabilized image sensor. You will find the new features on the software side. HDR+ comes on board once again and it is joined by Top Shot.
Top Shot is an AI system that works on the phone and makes sure everyone in the photo is in focus, smiling and has their eyes open. It automatically picks the best of several shots (you can view all of them in Google Photos). There’s also a Photobooth mode that will automatically snap a photo when you smile or make a goofy face.
Another AI application is Super Res Zoom, which tries to make up for the lack of telephoto lens by enhancing the detail of the digital zoom. The main camera still can’t shoot 4K video at 60fps. It does, however, have Fused Video Stabilization, which promises smoother videos while walking or jogging. It works at 4K/30, but offers the best results at 1080p.
Night Sight will be enabled with a software update coming soon. It uses AI to capture detailed low-light images without using the flash.
Front Camera
The recently announced Google Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL have dual cameras on the front. Both have 8MP sensors and different lenses, a wide angle 97 degree and a normal 75 degree one. The normal camera has a bright f/1.8 lens with autofocus (phase detection). The wide camera is fixed focus (f/2.2).
While missing on the Fused Video Stabilization, the two selfie cameras do feature digital image stabilization.
Audio
Both Pixel 3 have front-firing stereo speakers. While the older generation Pixels have 3.5mm headphone jack, Google has for the first time, included a pair of headphones into the retail box, and it is not just any headphones.
You will get a new Pixel USB-C earbuds which comes with Google Assistant integration. The earbuds can handle voice commands, can read out new messages and compose reply. even do real time translation.
Google is also including a redesigned USB-C to 3.5mm adapter, which promises lower power usage and takes less time to go from being plugged in to starting the music.
Processor and Storage
The Google Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL phones are powered by a Snapdragon 845 chipset. The CPU has been clocked to 2.5GHz for the big cores and 1.6GHz for the smaller ones, this is to save battery power. The difference with other Snapdragon 845 implementations is just 0.2GHz, though, so it’s not too big a deal.
The downside is that the memory options have not increased from that of last year. You will only get 4GB of RAM, and the storage is either 64GB or 128GB. The internal storage is not expandable.
Miscellaneous
The new Pixel phones are waterproof with an IP68 rating, an improvement over the IP67 of last year’s Pixels.
There’s a new color too – Not Pink – in addition to Just Black and Clearly White.
There’s a fingerprint reader on the back, nothing’s changed there.
Google Pixel 3 Specification
NETWORK | |
Technology | GSM / CDMA / HSPA / EVDO / LTE |
2G bands | GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 |
CDMA 800 / 1900 | |
3G bands | HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1700(AWS) / 1900 / 2100 |
CDMA2000 1xEV-DO | |
4G bands | LTE band 1(2100), 2(1900), 3(1800), 4(1700/2100), 5(850), 7(2600), 8(900), 12(700), 13(700), 17(700), 18(800), 19(800), 20(800), 25(1900), 26(850), 28(700), 29(700), 32(1500), 38(2600), 40(2300), 41(2500), 66(1700/2100), 71(600) |
Speed | HSPA 42.2/5.76 Mbps, LTE-A (5CA) Cat16 1024/75 Mbps |
GPRS | Yes |
EDGE | Yes |
LAUNCH | |
Announced | 2018, October |
Status | Coming soon. Exp. release 2018, October |
BODY | |
Dimensions | 145.6 x 68.2 x 7.9 mm (5.73 x 2.69 x 0.31 in) |
Weight | 148 g (5.22 oz) |
Build | Front/back glass (Gorilla Glass 5), aluminum frame |
SIM | Nano-SIM card &eSIM |
– IP68 dust/water resistant (up to 1.5m for 30 mins) |
DISPLAY | |
Type | P-OLED capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors |
Size | 5.5 inches, 76.7 cm2 (~77.2% screen-to-body ratio) |
Resolution | 1080 x 2160 pixels, 18:9 ratio (~443 ppi density) |
Multitouch | Yes |
Protection | Corning Gorilla Glass 5 |
– Always-on display – 100% DCI-P3 coverage – HDR |
PLATFORM | |
OS | Android 9.0 (Pie) |
Chipset | Qualcomm SDM845 Snapdragon 845 (10 nm) |
CPU | Octa-core (4×2.5 GHz Kryo 385 Gold & 4×1.6 GHz Kryo 385 Silver) |
GPU | Adreno 630 |
MEMORY | |
Card slot | No |
Internal | 64/128 GB, 4 GB RAM |
MAIN CAMERA | |
Single | 12.2 MP, f/1.8, 28mm (wide), 1/2.55″, 1.4µm, OIS, dual pixel PDAF |
Features | Dual-LED flash, Auto-HDR, panorama |
Video | 2160p@30fps, 1080p@30/60/120fps, 720p@240fps, 1080p@30fps (gyro-EIS) |
SELFIE CAMERA | |
Dual | 8 MP, f/1.8, 28mm (wide), PDAF 8 MP, f/2.2, 19mm (ultrawide), no AF |
Features | Auto-HDR |
Video | 1080p@30fps |
SOUND | |
Alert types | Vibration; MP3, WAV ringtones |
Loudspeaker | Yes, with stereo speakers |
3.5mm jack | No |
– Active noise cancellation with dedicated mic – Type-C to 3.5 mm headphone jack adapter |
COMMS | |
WLAN | Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct, DLNA, hotspot |
Bluetooth | 5.0, A2DP, LE, aptX HD |
GPS | Yes, with A-GPS, GLONASS, BDS, GALILEO |
NFC | Yes |
Radio | No |
USB | 3.1, Type-C 1.0 reversible connector (PowerDelivery 2.0) |
FEATURES | |
Sensors | Fingerprint (rear-mounted), accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass, barometer |
Messaging | SMS(threaded view), MMS, Email, Push Email, IM |
Browser | HTML5 |
– Fast battery charging 9V/2A 18W – QI wireless charging – MP4/H.265 player – MP3/WAV/eAAC+ player – Photo/video editor – Document editor |
BATTERY | |
Non-removable Li-Ion 2915 mAh battery |
MISC | |
Colors | Clearly White, Just Black, Not Pink |
Price | About 860 EUR |
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Google Pixel 3 XL Specification
NETWORK | |
Technology | GSM / CDMA / HSPA / EVDO / LTE |
2G bands | GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 |
CDMA 800 / 1900 | |
3G bands | HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1700(AWS) / 1900 / 2100 |
CDMA2000 1xEV-DO | |
4G bands | LTE band 1(2100), 2(1900), 3(1800), 4(1700/2100), 5(850), 7(2600), 8(900), 12(700), 13(700), 17(700), 18(800), 19(800), 20(800), 25(1900), 26(850), 28(700), 29(700), 32(1500), 38(2600), 40(2300), 41(2500), 66(1700/2100), 71(600) |
Speed | HSPA 42.2/5.76 Mbps, LTE-A (5CA) Cat16 1024/75 Mbps |
GPRS | Yes |
EDGE | Yes |
LAUNCH | |
Announced | 2018, October |
Status | Coming soon. Exp. release 2018, October |
BODY | |
Dimensions | 158 x 76.7 x 7.9 mm (6.22 x 3.02 x 0.31 in) |
Weight | 184 g (6.49 oz) |
Build | Front/back glass (Gorilla Glass 5), aluminum frame |
SIM | Nano-SIM card &eSIM |
– IP68 dust/water resistant (up to 1.5m for 30 mins) |
DISPLAY | |
Type | P-OLED capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors |
Size | 6.3 inches, 100.3 cm2 (~82.8% screen-to-body ratio) |
Resolution | 1440 x 2960 pixels, 18.5:9 ratio (~523 ppi density) |
Multitouch | Yes |
Protection | Corning Gorilla Glass 5 |
– Always-on display – 100% DCI-P3 coverage – HDR |
PLATFORM | |
OS | Android 9.0 (Pie) |
Chipset | Qualcomm SDM845 Snapdragon 845 (10 nm) |
CPU | Octa-core (4×2.5 GHz Kryo 385 Gold & 4×1.6 GHz Kryo 385 Silver) |
GPU | Adreno 630 |
MEMORY | |
Card slot | No |
Internal | 64/128 GB, 4 GB RAM |
MAIN CAMERA | |
Single | 12.2 MP, f/1.8, 28mm (wide), 1/2.55″, 1.4µm, OIS, dual pixel PDAF |
Features | Dual-LED flash, Auto-HDR, panorama |
Video | 2160p@30fps, 1080p@30/60/120fps, 720p@240fps, 1080p@30fps (gyro-EIS) |
SELFIE CAMERA | |
Dual | 8 MP, f/1.8, 28mm (wide), PDAF 8 MP, f/2.2, 19mm (ultrawide), no AF |
Features | Auto-HDR |
Video | 1080p@30fps |
SOUND | |
Alert types | Vibration; MP3, WAV ringtones |
Loudspeaker | Yes, with stereo speakers |
3.5mm jack | No |
– Active noise cancellation with dedicated mic – Type-C to 3.5 mm headphone jack adapter |
COMMS | |
WLAN | Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct, DLNA, hotspot |
Bluetooth | 5.0, A2DP, LE, aptX HD |
GPS | Yes, with A-GPS, GLONASS, BDS, GALILEO |
NFC | Yes |
Radio | No |
USB | 3.1, Type-C 1.0 reversible connector (PowerDelivery 2.0) |
FEATURES | |
Sensors | Fingerprint (rear-mounted), accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass, barometer |
Messaging | SMS(threaded view), MMS, Email, Push Email, IM |
Browser | HTML5 |
– Fast battery charging 9V/2A 18W – QI wireless charging – MP4/H.265 player – MP3/WAV/eAAC+ player – Photo/video editor – Document editor |
BATTERY | |
Non-removable Li-Ion 3430 mAh battery |
MISC | |
Colors | Clearly White, Just Black, Not Pink |
Price | About 960 EUR |
Price and Availability (US and Europe)
The Google Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL phones will be available in the United States starting from October 19, and in Europe from November 2. The Pixel 3 price is €850 for the 64GB storage option and €950 for the 128GB storage variant. The Pixel 3 XL price is €950 and €1,050 for both storage options respectively.
The Pixel 3 phones prices in the US starts at $800 for Pixel 3 and $900 for the Pixel 3 XL. In the UK you will buy it at £739 and £839 for both storage options respectively