Hands-On With Google's New Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL Smartphones

[dilbert99]

It seems as if no other company (except Apple) has any idea what good design is. Like zero idea

Yes, they introduced the notch, removed the headphone jack, SD card slot, soldered in memory and SSD, glued in the battery, don't mention those excuses for mice...its not as if Apples list is short.
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I see quite a few members commenting on how ‘hideous’ this new Pixel is, but the reality is, all the smart phones generally to me look the same. it Really is about the internal performance and software capabilities more than it is hardware these days. As much as I like the iPhone XS in terms of aesthetics, even that doesn’t mean that much to me, as it’s all about the iOS experience.

Yes they say it is a copy of the iPhone in one statement, then hideous in the next.
Then things like yawn, tell me when it runs iOS.
Those fans remind me of primary school kid mentality, perhaps they are school kids.

 

[SteveNoJobs]

I don’t get the ******** Google hate, google is fully integrated in our lives nowadays wether you like it or not! What would you do without their mighty search engine? And I am 100% sure many of you guys use google chrome. But google is evil, they sell our data! All companies use user data to make their algorithms more efficient and better in long term, even secure unhackable awesome crazy apple! Smash your phone,pc,laptop and don’t buy any data plans from your ISP, if you want to be saved from all that data spying! Such ******** rly!

 

[Shiro_Simba]

Don't worry about the notch. I'm sure that there is a Patent Troll out there about to file suit against Apple for several Billion $$$$ for violating the Notch patent that they bought for $5 in a fire sale. Apple will be forced to pay up and remove the notch. Then all will be right with the world (sarcasm)
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Oh, you mean data slurping to Google in all its glory then? Their advertising AI dragon needs feeding you know and these things are a win-win for them. Not only do they get your data but they fool you into paying them lots of money for the honour of doing so.

I see you are really concerned about google services , you realise google pays billions to Apple to be the default search engine . That does not sit well with me .

 

[dilbert99]

It’s amazing how low the bar is for Google. The media is giving it high marks for the most part. If Apple launched this, they’d have been crucified.

I remember when a news team went out and asked people in the street what they thought of the new iPhone 5, things like yes, great improvement, lovely screen etc.
They were showing them an iPhone 4.

On the plus side, you do get a fast charger in the box unlike Apple. You also get a standards base port on the bottom.
Its also $200 cheaper than the iPhone XS so more comparable to the similarly prices iPhone XR which only has an LCD.
Then there is the issues that you can't watch 1080p content on the iPhone XR but can on the Pixel 3.

Yes this phone does have a forehead or notch and chin which is larger than some competition.

 

[Kabeyun]

Apple doesn't offer free, unlimited, full res image/video cloud storage.

Maybe so, but those storage limits practically force you to use cloud storage. And suppose those paltry 64 GB isn’t used by photos/videos but other data? How about the OS for example? I read that Android Pie hogs up 19 GB of storage (not that the Android community stays updated - lookup Android fragmentation). Suddenly that Pixel now has only 45 GB left.

Finally, I submit that Google doesn’t offer free, trusted, unlimited full res image/video cloud storage. Remember there things: 1) Google cares far more about what you can offer them (i.e. you) that what they can offer you, 2) Google can identify people and places from photos, 3) EXIF metadata. I don’t trust Google to be the custodian of any of my data, even photos, and I’m willing to pay a premium for that peace of mind. I have as little to do with Google (and all social networking) as possible. It’s none of their business who I am, where I live, what I like, what I buy, where I’ve been, and who I know. Actually, that’s precisely their business, and I want nothing to do with it.

 

[Nicksd84]

It seems as if no other company (except Apple) has any idea what good design is. Like zero idea.

I mean look at that hideousness.

Don't even get me started on how all other companies are fighting over Apple Notch™ like baboons and macaques, and can't for the love of god decide what it should look like.

Unbelievable

But you can smooth the notch in Android world on some phones. No such option with the iPhone. It's notch all the time! Also fingerprint reader on the back. Would be nice to have. Face ID is great, but it certainly fails more than touch ID. Not pure fails, but because my face isn’t framed perfectly for one reason or another.

 

[R1PPER]

It seems as if no other company (except Apple) has any idea what good design is. Like zero idea.

I mean look at that hideousness.

Don't even get me started on how all other companies are fighting over Apple Notch™ like baboons and macaques, and can't for the love of god decide what it should look like.

Unbelievable

Im sure my Samsung S7 Edge would disagree with you. Pixel is falling behind in design but OnePlus 6 and Samsung are probably on Par if not better than apple.

 

[mwidjaya]

The main take-away for me is that Google has done an excellent job on computational photography on Pixel 2 and now its successor Pixel 3.

Competition is good; this will egg Apple on to improve further iPhone's camera/photos.

That said, Pixel pricing is too high to attract switchers. In fact, I think the XR might attract a lot of switchers from Android. If there is one Android phone I will buy this year it will be the smaller Pixel 3 but compared to the XR, I think XR is a better all round choice.

 

[redbeard331]

That notch, that chin, horrendous.. The dirt cheap Chinese knock off phones look a million times better. For all the heat Apple took over the notch, and for other things, garbage like this puts it into perspective.

I question whether Google has ONE designer on their staff, what a joke.

 

[TonnyM]

Pixel has an incredible camera, but that’s it, IPhone is still much better overall package. And there is something offensive about Google’s laziness to even try making the phone look good at front. We are days before One Plus 6t announcement which will blow Pixel out of the water with design, innovations, performance and price.

 

[BlargKing]

So it has a notch and no headphone jack. Apparently Google forgets that a lot of people pick Android phones because we don't want to abide by Apple's questionable design choices.

 

[Nick05]

I remember when a news team went out and asked people in the street what they thought of the new iPhone 5, things like yes, great improvement, lovely screen etc.
They were showing them an iPhone 4.

On the plus side, you do get a fast charger in the box unlike Apple. You also get a standards base port on the bottom.
Its also $200 cheaper than the iPhone XS so more comparable to the similarly prices iPhone XR which only has an LCD.
Then there is the issues that you can't watch 1080p content on the iPhone XR but can on the Pixel 3.

Yes this phone does have a forehead or notch and chin which is larger than some competition.

Unfortunately, there are consumers for all products that have no idea what they bought. Any news team can go and ask questions to enough members of the public to cherry pick the responses they want. It’s the same as when they go and ask people questions about politics or anything else.

You are actually confusing not being able to watch 1080p content with not being able to view content at 1080p resolution. I’m not sure that this really matters in such a small screen unless you’re holding the phone right up to your eyes.

 

[Jakeycov]

A notch and a chin.. why do they need a chin? The older iPhones only had a chin because of Touch ID.

 

[Nick05]

Apple doesn't offer free, unlimited, full res image/video cloud storage.

True, but is it free when they use the photos/videos to gather information about you for advertising? Do they offer you free unlimited uploads and downloads to that cloud storage via your wireless plan? It could have changed, but I know in the past Google would compress the images and video reducing the quality. Yes, resolution stayed the same, but images were compressed losing critcal data. This is why I chose a different provider to store my photos.

 

[dilbert99]

You are actually confusing not being able to watch 1080p content with not being able to view content at 1080p resolution. I’m not sure that this really matters in such a small screen unless you’re holding the phone right up to your eyes.

No, you are viewing 720 content on an almost 1080 screen with the XR, if a device isn't capable of displaying 1080 content, it won't download it from the largest producers. This means you have to rely on scaling on the screen at odd ratios which is never a great idea.

 

[Quu]

That pop-up camera seems like a good idea until it falls and the mechanism breaks. Cool idea, however impractical IRL.

That's what everyone is saying but so far the mechanism seems very robust. There has not been any reports of them failing yet.

I'm of course not discounting the fact that moving parts have a higher chance of failing, especially motorised mechanical parts. But look at Cars. We drive them for years, some people spend 3-4 hours in their car every day for multiple years before anything at all breaks.

The phone with the pop up camera only really has to last 24 to 36 months. Which is about the amount of time someone will keep that device. Looking at the internals it features two motors and it looks quite beefy to me, though I'm not a mechanical engineer.

The true test of that mechanism will be after the first year mark but I wouldn't discount it quite yet. It's a stop gap until we can put the cameras and sensors directly beneath the display and still have them work and I'm okay with making this mechanical compromise until then.

 

[Princejb134]

It's kind of annoying that my $1500 phone has a worse camera than a $800 phone.

its not all about specs, its about the OS also. IOS > android anyday

 

[Abazigal]

Apple doesn't offer free, unlimited, full res image/video cloud storage.

Apple’s not in the business of monetising my data either.

Just think. If google can offer you free photo storage, that means your data is worth just as much, if not more, to them.

Nothing comes free in this world.

 

[AnthonyG6]

The worst of both worlds...a massive forehead and a chin! Or a notch and chin. Why couldn't they make the top and bottom bezels a bit smaller like a Samsung at least?

These have got to be some of the ugliest phones released this year.

By the way 2007 called, they want their massive bezels back!

 

[mib1800]

Apple’s not in the business of monetising my data either.

Just think. If google can offer you free photo storage, that means your data is worth just as much, if not more, to them.

Nothing comes free in this world.

Your government knows all about. Your utility companies know all about you. Your local town council knows all about you. Your bank and credit card know all about you. Your online services know all about you. Google knows all about you. Apple knows all about you. Many have been collecting data about you for sometime.

You can make big motherhood statement about privacy. The question is what have changed in your life due to this (data collection)?

 

[dilbert99]

That is one ugly phone

Which bit?

 

[waquzy]

Which bit?

All of it

 

[Rogifan]

Apple’s not in the business of monetising my data either.

Just think. If google can offer you free photo storage, that means your data is worth just as much, if not more, to them.

Nothing comes free in this world.

Apple’s OSes and much of their first party software is free. Apple can do that because they’re in the business of selling you hardware. That’s not Google’s business. Can you show me where Google is monetizing my specific data or sharing my photos with advertisers?

 

[dilbert99]

I have never seen anyone with a Pixel 2XL nor do I know anyone who has one. It’s sold like ****

This generation is gonna sell even less.
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All of it

The pixel 3 has smaller chin and forehead than an iPhone 8

At least you can turn off beauty mode in the pixel phones.
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Apple’s OSes and much of their first party software is free.

They had to, they couldn't give it away

 

[Abazigal]

Apple’s OSes and much of their first party software is free. Apple can do that because they’re in the business of selling you hardware. That’s not Google’s business. Can you show me where Google is monetizing my specific data or sharing my photos with advertisers?

From Quora,

https://www.quora.com/How-does-Google-make-money-from-Google-photos

Google is an advertising company so that’s how most of their revenue comes. In order to be the best they have to know everything about you so that they can show the relevant ads to you. They sell custom ads against your data for ex ads of jeans, shoes etc. because Google knows from search or web history that you looked at some yesterday, or from Gmail that you purchased jeans at the store last Sunday. The company uses this data to sell to advertisers, and advertisers in turn get a much closer look at you, your spending habits, and your daily activities.

Google can also scan your image's metadata: the location and other information your camera builds into the underlying code of your digital image. In this way it can recommend you to nearby stores based on your preferences.

When you agree to Google terms of service it gets licensed to host, store, reproduce, modify, publish, publicly perform, display and distribute these photos so basically they can do anything they want to. In this way they make money.