Author: Michael Crider / Source: reviewgeek.com
Google is on its third generation of Pixel phones, after years of making the best Android-powered devices around. The Pixel 3 maintains its commitment to software and hardware quality, but tough competition and poor value make it hard to recommend.
The Pixel 3 is still the best Android device you can buy, assuming you want a “pure” software experience and you’re not impressed by some of the more flashy features from the likes of Samsung.
That’s especially true if you’re looking for an excellent camera: despite the single rear sensor, Google’s optics and image processing are second to none.But the $800 entry price—a full $150 greater than last year—is a huge bummer, especially if you’re an old-school Nexus fan used to at least some semblance of value. And if you’re platform agnostic, then Apple’s latest iPhone X models (including one that’s a bit cheaper) make a compelling argument against Google’s latest flagship.
Note that we’re reviewing the smaller Pixel 3, with its 5.5-inch screen. The larger Pixel 3 XL has almost identical software with a larger 6.3-inch screen, including an unsightly “notch” that allows its corners to rub right against the phone frame.
Elegant Looks With A New Glass Back
The Pixel 3 looks a lot like the Pixel 2 from last year, with a few small but crucial differences. On the front the phone’s screen has been stretched on the top and bottom, employing the popular curved corners to minimize bezels, a la Samsung’s Galaxy S and Note series. Luckily, this doesn’t mean the stereo speakers are out, as they’re present and louder than ever. The combination is appealing, even without using and any tricks to curve the glass or the screen.
Speaking of glass, the rear panel now uses it instead of metal on the original Pixel and Pixel 2. That’s good news if you’re a fan of wireless charging (which Google itself pioneered, then abandoned a few years ago, allowing Apple to make it into a headline feature). The Pixel 3 and its bigger brother are all compatible with standard Qi chargers, though the fast charging feature seen on Samsung devices for years is unaccountably reserved for Google’s own Pixel Stand and similarly licensed (and expensive) chargers. Google made a big deal out of highlighting the frosted glass on the bottom portion of the rear panel, keeping the Pixel’s two-tone rear aesthetics intact, but it’s impossible to deny that the phone is more fragile now.
Aside from the cheeky colored power button—mint green on my white-backed phone—the rest of the device is quite understated. A curvy, 7.9mm-thin body (if you trust yourself to handle an all-glass phone without a case) makes it easy to hold, and my average hands can easily reach every part of the screen. The Pixel 3 won’t turn any heads, but neither will it turn them away…which might be more than you can say for the notch-packing Pixel 3 XL.
Sweet Cookie-Cutter Specs, But One Sour Note
Google seems oddly hesitant to talk about pure hardware, perhaps because most of the flagship Android phones have nearly-identical internals at this point. But for the record, the Pixel 3 is using a top-of-the-line Snapdragon 845 processor and a 2160×1080 OLED screen. That’s a bit wider than standard 16:9, so videos can either display with black bars or be slightly zoomed in. The onboard storage is 64GB for the entry model, sadly lacking the option to extend it with a MicroSD card.
There’s one specification that’s strangely low: the RAM. At only 4GB, it’s rocking only half of the memory of the latest Galaxy Note phone. That being said, I haven’t seen the dramatic drop in performance that others have. While it can’t keep as many programs in running memory as my Note 8, those that do need to reload do so in about a quarter-second. It’s the kind of performance hit you probably won’t notice unless you’re looking for it—or you’re hoping to play the latest high-end games on your phone.
The Pixel phones are sticking with a rear-mounted fingerprint scanner, and why not? It’s still amazingly fast and accurate, not to mention easy to find on the smaller phone’s frame. Google hasn’t augmented this with any face or iris scanning tech, but after trying both Apple and Samsung’s implementations, I can’t say I miss either. They did borrow one element of competitors’ design: the headphone jack is missing for the second year in a row. At least Google includes a USB-C-to-headphone jack adapter in the box, and this year you get some dedicated USB-C headphones, too.
The Pixel 3’s radio should work with any GSM carrier, and both of the major CDMA carriers in the US, Verizon and Sprint. In fact, Verizon is the only place aside from Google that will sell you a phone directly—but there’s no reason to go through that hassle when you can get the same device,…
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