Google has revealed a pair of new Pixel phones: the Pixel 3 and 3 XL. Much like Apple’s recently released iPhone XS and XS Max, they’re outstanding handsets but with few hardware upgrades over their predecessors.
You can read our in-depth Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL hands-on impressions, but in a nutshell they are flagships that well and truly compete with Apple and Samsung’s flagships. Dual front-facing cameras, reduced bezels and chip upgrades are all present and correct, but it’s software that Google has decided to focus on with this year’s models.
While smartphone design has plateaued in recent years, camera technology continues to be a battleground for the flagships. These phones are no different. The iPhone XS and XS Max both boast a pair of 12MP cameras: one wide-angle lens and one telephoto lens, both with optical image stabilisation, and with an f/1.8 and f/2.4 aperture respectively. On the front is a 7MP camera with a f/2.2 wide‑angle lens.
Google flips this formula. Instead of having dual camera on the rear, the Pixel 3 and 3 XL both have a single 12.2MP camera. On the front there’s not one but two cameras: an 8MP wide-angle lens and a regular 8MP lens. The former, according to Google, has a 97° field of view; designed to makes it easier to fit all of your friends in shot for ‘group selfies’.
Why the single rear camera, you ask. According to Google, it doesn’t need to have two lenses because it uses various machine-learning techniques to create different types of photographs. The Pixel 3 and 3 X also use AI software to improve picture quality by increasing the camera's focus as it moves around, and can take bursts of HDR photos before automatically picking what it thinks is the best images – a feature called Top Shot.
The Pixel 3 XL has a notch, but the Pixel 3 doesn’t
Glance at the Pixel 3 XL and you’ll be forgiven for mistaking it for Apple’s iPhone XS Max. The larger of Google’s handsets comes with an unmissable notch, slightly deeper and narrower than that on the iPhone, but a notch nonetheless. The smaller Pixel 3 doesn’t have one, and instead has thicker bezels at the top and bottom of its display
The Pixel 3 has a 5.5-inch display, whereas the Pixel 3 XL measures in at 6.3 inches. The iPhone XS and XS Max, for comparison, are 5.8 inches and 6.5 inches. All use OLED displays, meaning they should have richer and more colourful displays than their LCD counterparts. If we’re splitting hairs, the Pixel 3 XL has the highest pixel density of the lot at 523ppi.
In terms of design, there’s not all that much between the different smartphones. The Pixel 3 looks the most distinct compared to the 3 XL and the two iPhones, but there’s nothing radical separating them when it comes to aesthetics. For colours, the Pixel 3 comes in pink, white and black, whereas the iPhone XS comes in gold, grey and silver.
The iPhone XS is more expensive than the Pixel 3
The Pixel 3 starts at £739 (64GB), while and Pixel 3 XL starts at £869 (64 GB). Not cheap, but cheaper than the iPhones, which start at £999 for the iPhone XS (64GB) and £1099 for the iPhone XS Max (64GB).
Unlike the iPhone XS, the Pixel 3 has a fingerprint sensor
While there were rumours about Apple working some under-screen fingerprint technology into its smartphones, this didn’t surface with the iPhone XS. Instead, you’ll need to use FaceID to unlock Apple’s most recent handsets. Google’s Pixel 3 has kept faith with the good old fingerprint sensor, which is mounted on the back of the device.
Android Pie offers scope for a camera to be used for facial recognition, but there’s no special FaceID equivalent with the Pixel 3. That also means there’s no Google equivalent of Apple’s Animojis to waste time with. If gurning animals are a deal breaker for you, then you’ll want to look at Apple’s
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