Google Pixel 3 XL Brief Review, Ratings, Pros Cons, Specs, Cases & Covers

Google Pixel 3 XL Brief Review and Pros Cons:

The 2018 Google and Apple phones are here and they seriously mesmerize you with the quality they offer with the subtle spec sheet. The Apple iPhone XS and the Google Pixel 3 XL certainly have played a quality game in their yearly smartphone and especially with the camera. They are the true flagship and though they do cost a lot but if you are looking for a perfect experience, the money might not matter to you. Here we review the Google Pixel 3 XL which has the deepest notch ever seen on a smartphone and discuss the design, camera, and every feature Google has introduced with the 2018 Pixel smartphones. 

Google Pixel 3 XL, is the 2018 flagship smartphone from Google. It comes with a 6.3-inch notch display having a Quad HD resolution and a Samsung branded POLED display. Certainly, the display is the first and foremost part of a phone and Google has not even missed a pinch on the same. The screen is perfectly bright with punchier and vibrant colours that totally flattens and amazes you. The notch has been a topic of interest for everyone as it is one of the deepest notch seen on any smartphone just because it holds the one of the front speaker and the dual front camera. If you do not like it, Google has provided the option to disable it and uses it as a normal bezel-less smartphone.

On the design side, Google adds its masterclass which others have failed or not yet tried. Pixel 3 XL has a dual front and back glass design with an aluminium frame in between. The device looks sturdy while using and with the glass back also enables the wireless charging feature. With the Pixel 3 XL,  Introducing a dual tone back that is glass but does not attract fingerprint smudges. The lower portion which gets most of the fingerprint smudges is sort of textures(matte) while the top is glossy. The Pixel 3 XL just like the Pixel 3 comes in 3 colour variants, the Clearly White, Just Black and Not Pink which are all amazing, especially the Not Pink, which adds a new shade to the colours and a new look. We are totally in love with how Pixel 3 XL looks and the overall design and feel just expect the big notch.

After the overview of the design and looks of the Pixel 3 XL, it is time to discuss the performance and the camera. First, the performance of the Pixel 3 XL, though we have not much to talk here given the Pixel 3 XL holds a Snapdragon 845 which is a tried and tested processor for the best performance seen on a smartphone. The OnePlus 6, the Asus Zenfone 5Z and the Poco F1 have all used it and the upcoming OnePlus 6T which also come with the Snapdragon 845. But on the RAM, Pixel 3 XL has only a meagre 4GB when comparing with the phones shipping with 6GB to 8GB. Not going with the number the RAM holds, the smartphone performs perfectly with no lag, no heating, no issues with any heavy game or high level of multitasking. So with the Google optimization of its software and the RAM management, the Pixel 3 XL scores really high. The AnTutu benchmark reports a score of 256805 which as expected in the league of other Snapdragon 845 smartphones. For the storage, Pixel 3 XL comes in 64 GB and 128 GB variants with no capability to extend the storage, i.e. no MicroSD card slot. Overall, the performance is super fast and fluid as one would have expected.

Before we start the Camera review, hold your breath as Pixel 3 XL comes with a lot for us to talk about as this is the feature, which Google specifically focusses on all the time and has shattered everyone's expectation and left us with an awe moment. 

The rear camera has a single 12.2MP f/1.8 sensor. Yes, that is just a single sensor which literally performs better than any other smartphone you have seen and that is what separates Google from everyone. The images captures are amazing, with perfect colour reproduction, sharpness and each and every minute details are well covered up on the camera. The photos are just insane and the camera works perfectly in all lighting conditions, bright daylight, normal light, artificial light, low light or even the super low light. For the portrait shots, the pictures will surely drive you nuts given the sharpness and quality of the edge detection and the bright perfect colours that are reflected in the Pixel 3 XL images.

The front camera comes with a dual 8 MP(f/1.8) sensor which is a wide angle lens + 8 MP(f/2.2) sensor which is an ultrawide angle lens. The camera app comes with a beauty (Face Retouching) mode which can be turned on or off based on what you are looking for.  The front camera also supports the portrait shots which are again awesome, the colours are bright, the edges are sharp and the level of details will keep you astound. It also supports the wide-angle selfie shots which are useful to capture multiple people in the frame or to capture the scene behind you.

The front camera also has a Top Shot feature, which takes a motion image and suggests and recommends the best frame from the clicks. There is also a Photo Booth feature which uses your smile as a gesture to click the photo. These are some features every selfie fanatic person would love to use. The camera settings have the HDR+ toggle on/off mode, the on/off mode to alert if the camera sensor has dirt on it. It also has the option to store the RAW(DNG) + JPEG files if you like to play with the photos later by yourself and a setting to store the videos efficiently that will need less storage. The video quality is also amazing. Pixel 3 XL supports both OIS and EIS to give you the best shot videos The rear camera supports the 4K videos at 30 fps but not at the 60 fps.

Overall, the camera is something out of the box and surely the best you will get in this Universe at least for the next year when Google introduces its next phone.

Pixel 3 XL also introduces a Digital Well Being feature with an aim to help you optimize the usage of the apps on your phone. You can literally see how you have spent each and every minute on the smartphone and maybe block the app usage if you exceed the set limit (for say 15 minutes) for the day. This can help you control being on social media or playing games for a long long time.

Now is the perfect time to introduce the Google Pixel 3 XL newest feature that you have not seen anywhere. The screen calling. This feature allows you to read the text version of what someone is speaking on the call on the other side. Suppose you are in a meeting or at a very noisy place and your phone rings, you can simply ask the AI to reply based on the option you select from the screen and see the text version of what the person of the other side speaks. The AI presents you with the possible options to choose from and converts into a reply to converse despite being not able to take the call by yourself. Isn't this really cool?

Google Pixel 3 XL, its 2018 flagship has one disappointment apart from the tons of good things it offers. The Battery. It has a battery rated at 3430 mAh which is decent and with normal to the medium level usage you can go for a full day easily. This is an improvement over the Pixel 3 which gets a power brick of 2915 mAh that does not last for a complete day with medium usage. Also, Google has intelligently bundled the 18 W fast charger in the box which can give you a talk time of 6-7 hours in just 15 minutes. As we had already discussed above, the Pixel 3 XL with its glass design also supports the Wireless charging and more and more people are getting used to it no wire charge. 

Google Pixel 3 XL runs on the latest Android 9.0 (Pie) and is amazingly smooth fast and clean.  For unlocking, there is a fingerprint sensor at the back which is super quick and accurate. Additional Pixel 3 XL has also dumped the 3.5 mm headphone jack and only has the USB Type C. Also again for your ease of usage, Google has bundled the USB Type C headphones which do not require a converter dongle to the 3.5 mm. Though the box also bundles the Type C to 3.5 mm converter if you like to put on your own old headphones or earphones to use. Pixel 3 XL also has an IP68 water and dust proof certification that protects your phone if you accidentally happen to drop it in water or if it comes across a lot of dust.

Overall, we believe Google Pixel 3 XL is a perfect smartphone looking to spend around 70k in India. With the best camera, fast charging, wireless charging, IP68 certification, this phone is a complete practical phone one would look for in the next 2 to 3 years before the industry bursts with something new and extremely special. Hope you loved our review. If yes, don't forget to give a thumbs up on our facebook page.

User Reviews of Google Pixel 3 XL:

If you would like to read the reviews given by customers who bought Google Pixel 3 XL, check out the links below

Read Google Pixel 3 XL User Reviews on Flipkart