Google announced the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL earlier this month, and now the reviews for the company’s newest flagship smartphones are in. As one might expect, it looks like Google has built upon what came before, learning from its mistakes, improving where it needed to, and making an already great camera even better. It also included a pretty sizable notch on the larger of the two new smartphones, but the consensus sounds like Google has another home run on its hands. We’ve included snippets from several different reviews of the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL below. The links to each are available as well, if you want to dig further in a specific publication’s thoughts on the new smartphones.
The Verge
SlashGear
… In any given photo, you might prefer another phone, but on the whole, I’m finding that the Pixel 3 is just more consistent. It gets confused by complicated lighting less often and puts more detail into the shot without overdoing it on HDR effects. Most of all: I trust the Pixel 3 more. The Pixel 2 was the best phone camera for all of last year, and it seems like the Pixel 3 will be the best camera for all of this year.”
TechCrunch
What isn’t up for question is how polished the overall experience is for both devices. Last year’s Google phones showed us just what the company could do with software. Now, the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL wrap that in a far more premium-feeling design, and feel all the more cohesive as a result.”
WIRED
Dual cameras could have other benefits down the road, including depth sensing for things like augmented reality and, perhaps, face unlock. For now, however, it means taking pictures of yourself and friends at a semi-pro level.”
CNET
Sounds like Google has another powerful, features-heavy smartphone for the mass market, which will more than likely go over well despite the price increase. The Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL are developed from a sturdy foundation, even if we are only three years into Google’s Pixel smartphone endeavor the future looks remarkably bright. As for the notch, I ended up not minding it as much as I thought I would. It’s undoubtedly the thickest notch I’ve seen, but seeing how wide the iPhone X’s notch is, the black tabs look to be about equal in size. Plus, a deeper notch (rather than a wider one) allows for more room on either side for notification icons. If you absolutely hate it though, Google is working on an update to allow you to blacken the sides of the screen and “hide” the notch, similar to how you can do it on the LG G7 ThinQ and Huawei P20.” Do you plan on picking up a Pixel 3 or Pixel 3 XL?
