Pixel 3 XL Hands-on Review: The New Camera Phone King Has Arrived

[Mark Spoonauer]

The Pixel 3 XL delivers a big screen and handy AI features, but it's the camera that will make this 6.3-inch monster stand out.

Pixel 3 XL Hands-on Review: The New Camera Phone King Has Arrived : Read more

 

[edward.strattoniv]

You guys need to proof read your articles...."For starters, Google is leveraging AI in ways that Apple and Google are not" Fix it, please

 

[Mark Spoonauer]

You guys need to proof read your articles...."For starters, Google is leveraging AI in ways that Apple and Google are not" Fix it, please

@edward.strattoniv Thanks. This has been corrected.

 

[mikerichardson60]

Didn't even mention the best smartphone camera with the Huawei P20 Pro. DxO rates that Huawei #1 as do many actual photographers.

 

[Mark Spoonauer]

Didn't even mention the best smartphone camera with the Huawei P20 Pro. DxO rates that Huawei #1 as do many actual photographers.

@mikerichardson60 Fair point. We love the P20 Pro camera, but very hard to get that phone in the U.S. I hope the upcoming Mate 20 Pro has wider distribution...

 

[mikerichardson60]

Aww that's right I forgot about the US ban on Huawei. Here in Canada the P20 Pro is rather popular and pretty easy to get. You see all those American YouTube reviews of the Huawei and you forget it's actually not sold in the states.

 

[bobdupuu]

Has there been any such head-to-head comparison between these two camera phones?

 

[cbassett1]

Verizon is not charging an extra $30 for the phone. They are including the $30 activation fee in the price. One of their asterisks.

 

[mikerichardson60]

Surcharge or activation fee.. What's the difference? You're still paying extra for it from Verizon

 

[cbassett1]

Surcharge or activation fee.. What's the difference? You're still paying extra for it from Verizon

You are paying extra for the phone, but you are not. Even if you bought the phone at the activation-less price at Best Buy, Google Store, (Insert favorite retailer here), when you take the phone to Verizon to connect it to a number, old account or new--boom, $30 activation fee. Do I agree with the fee, not hardly, but it's something they do because they know they can get away with it; because in my area they are the only provider to still have quality service away from interstates. They prey on people in my area because other providers won't build.

 

[dmillfree]

I just got my pixel 3 and while I think it's a nice phone some of the features like the missing led indicators and the missing headphone jack are annoying there is something more annoying. People are focusing on how great the camera is. This is a phone first and foremost. The dialer app has an issue with opening the call forwarding settings and the additional settings where (caller id and call waiting settings are in that tab) it says "Network or Sim Card Error" it's more like "software error". I can take this same sim card and put it in My Samsung S7 and those features open up just fine. This bug has been around since Pixel 2 and it's still not fixed, seems they would rather focus on the camera rather than give us a fully functional phone. A phone that costs 800 dollars. Google should really be embarrassed about purposely shipping software that's not 100% functional and charging 800 dollars for something that does not work as intended.

 

[kewlx]

You guys didn't even tap on the phone screen to give it different contrast areas for it to change the amount of light intake. I usually can have the phone facing an area and then you can tap different areas of the photo before you take it to change the amount of light intake which other phones do not do as well as the pixel

 

[Mark Spoonauer]

You guys didn't even tap on the phone screen to give it different contrast areas for it to change the amount of light intake. I usually can have the phone facing an area and then you can tap different areas of the photo before you take it to change the amount of light intake which other phones do not do as well as the pixel

Hi @kewlx. Thanks for your note. We actually do tap on the screen but usually just the subject that we are focusing on. We're aware that the exposure for different parts of the frame can differ based on where you tap the display and are open to feedback on how we test.

 

[crutchley29]

LMAO. How can it be the "camera king" when you can't even change the aperture or ISO without downloading a third-party application or shoot in wide-angle using the back-camera. It may be the king of selfies, but it lacks even the emost basic of features to be considered a tool for mobile photography.

 

[dcentofanti87]

What about the front glass scratching? I have the phone maybe a few hours and the front looks like it has been through sandpaper by the bezels. Does this $1,000 phone need a case? If so, why is this not being disclosed that without a case you will have a destroyed front screen. Tagging you on twitter as well.

 

[marcode948]

new camera king? lols. says who? can't even beat the p20 pro or even the iphone xs. i trust dxomark more than this. their methods are way more scientific than this.