Google Pixel 3 XL, 128GB, Black, SIM Free

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It does give you more screen, sure, but not to the extent that the 6.3-inch diagonally measured spec suggests. To us, the 6.3-inch Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus and 6.4-inch Note 9 screens feel a bigger and more immersive, and the forthcoming Samsung Galaxy S10 and Galaxy S10 Plus promise to mainstream the punch hole camera for even more screen real estate. The Pixel 3's rear camera is capable of recording 4K video at 30fps and 1080p at 60fps. In both cases, video is smooth and stable, buoyed by a mix of optical and electronic image stabilization. We found video to be smooth, with minimal jittering or frame drops. Software and AI The real test of a phone like this isn’t how well it performs over a week or two – even the cheapest of phones start off fast – it’s how fast it stays once hundreds of apps are installed and it’s been in use for 12-18 months.

Google’s version of Android is the best version for me and I always forgot how great the experience is when I am using something with a heavy skin. More rounded edges are everywhere on the Pixel 3. Its frame is less boxy than previous Google phones, a trend we've seen from the iPhone and and others. Gone is the harsher silver bevel around the frame and rear fingerprint sensor. It's like Google put the Pixel 2 through a smoothing machine, and we like the results. Obviously the Pixel 3 XL has a bigger screen than the Pixel 3, but it's also sharper. It boasts a crisp 6.3-inch Quad HD OLED display with a 2,960-by-1,440 resolution in an 18.5:9 aspect ratio. This works out to 523 pixels per inch, sharper than the Pixel 3 (443ppi), the iPhone XS Max (458ppi) and the Galaxy Note 9 (516ppi). Once Google Duplex is rolled out, the phone will be able to do even more in the call department. Google Assistant can take over calling duties for you, sparing you from the tedium of tasks like scheduling hair appointments and making dinner reservations. The Pixel 3 XL fits into one hand, but takes two hands to operate and it’s a little more slippery to hold than the Pixel 2 XL. The difference isn’t Earth (or phone) shattering, though we did end up preferring the tighter dimensions of the standard Google Pixel 3 for this reason.

Yes, there's a successor now, in the Google Pixel 4, which has an extra 16MP telephoto camera as well as the 12.2MP main sensor of the Pixel 3. But even without this newer lens (and all the other Pixel 4 features), the Pixel 3 is still a photography champion – and comes in at an even more competitive price these days. As good as the Google Pixel 2 XL was, it was severely hampered by a pretty awful display. The LG OLED display used last year received much criticism due to terrible colours and harsh blue shift when it was tilted. A few software updates from Google helped boost the colours somewhat, but the damage was already done. On top of that, newer phones have come along to question the Pixel 3's smartphone camera superiority, like the Huawei P30 Pro, so is it still at the top of our list of the best camera phones? Read on to find out. As far as additional audio goes, the front-firing stereo speakers may not be room-filling at maximum volume, but they were more than sufficient to attract the attention of my colleagues when blasting Iron Maiden. The Pixel 3 supports 24-bit audio with the included Pixel Buds. The Pixel Buds are comfortable to wear, come with an adjustable ear loop, and integrate with Google Assistant. I found audio quality to be robust, with a crisp and accurate range, though the LG G7 with its dedicated quad DAC still provides more customization for audiophiles.

CDMA2000 EV-DO Rev 0, EDGE, GPRS, CDMA2000 EV-DO Rev A, HSDPA, HSUPA, UMTS, HSPA+, LTE, LTE-A, TD-LTE Since 1982, PCMag has tested and rated thousands of products to help you make better buying decisions. See how we test.The Google Pixel 3 XL (128GB) is a good Android phone with 2.8GHz Octa-core processor that allows run games and heavy applications. Give it a couple of hours, though, and the notch becomes much less obvious when you’re actually doing stuff. I’m not saying you’ll forget all about it, but in general day-to-day phone use I’m not constantly thinking ‘why is this notch here’. Typically we prefer bigger screens, but the Pixel 3 XL has a hard-to-ignore notch cut out at the top of the display - something not only far more sizeable than that in the Pixel 3 but also far deeper than the iPhone XS Max notch.

The front set of cameras consist of a pair of 8MP standard and wide-angle sensors. The latter can snap with a 97-degree field of view, giving you a wider sense of your surroundings when taking a selfie. The sensors are sharp and accurate when it comes to color reproduction and skin tones. Most interestingly, while it appears to have barrel distortion in the viewfinder, with post-processing the effect is removed, minimizing the distinctive fish-eye effect we normally see on wide-angle cameras. You’ll find smoother corners on the Google Pixel 3 XL – everything has been rounded off and flattened, giving Google’s Material Design software ethos a foothold within real life hardware. The frame edges are polished and the rear fingerprint sensor is flatter. The Pixel ships with Android 9.0 Pie, the very latest version of Google's mobile operating system. The phone is free from bloatware, and comes with the guarantee of two years of updates at the very least. We've already covered many of the changes Pie brings, including the redesigned gesture navigation, integration with the Pixel Stand, improved Google Assistant, and features like call screening and the upcoming Google Duplex. Where the Pixel 2 XL suffered with dull colours and terrible viewing angles, the Pixel 3 XL pops with contrast and just the right amount of saturation in brighter colours like red and green. Viewing angles are great too: tilt the phone and there’s no ugly shift to blue.

The UI is clean, simple and fast to navigate. There’s only the essential Google apps pre-installed and absolutely nothing else. As a user of Google services, the way everything works and syncs together is nothing short of fantastic. When it comes to low-light shooting, the Pixel 3 again holds its own. In the dim setting of PC Labs, the phone consistently focused with reliable clarity and minimal noise. Unlike LG's Super Bright Camera, the Pixel 3 doesn't use pixel binning to combine pixels, preserving details rather than brightening the shot as a whole. To me, it's a worthwhile trade-off, though shots on the V40 may look clearer to some eyes. More so than even Apple, Google doesn’t talk much about specs when it launches new phones. It prefers to create a story around how the device works, rather than playing up the speed improvements in the processor or amounts of RAM. The 5.5-inch OLED screen fits into modern times. It's big and expansive, and sits in a phone that's smaller than we had expected given the screen size rumors. The entire thing measures 145.6 x 68.2 x 7.9mm and weighs 148g. It's roughly the same size as the Pixel 2, which had a smaller 5-inch display.