The Pixel 3, also known as the Google Pixel 3 has been officially introduced alongside Pixel 3 XL. Don’t get too excited both precisely have zero surprises in store.
Google had little to unveil about this their new device as a result of the huge leaks that were building up to Google’s launch. We already know that the Google Pixel 3 houses a whopping 5.5 inches display, which is more of a larger display compared to last year’s models. The Google Pixel 3 was launched on October 2018.
DESIGN
The Google Pixel 3 still retains their familiar two-tone design, at the back is a shiny glass at the top, meanwhile, the down part 80% has a matte finish. The Pixel 3 has a higher-quality look because of the extra seamless transition, nevertheless, the overall look hasn’t dramatically changed.
The Pixel 3 is designed in a way that it effortlessly fits itself into one of your hand, which makes it very easy for you to operate with one hand; and I see this as one the reason I would choose the Pixel 3 over the Pixel 3 XL. The screen size of the Pixel 3 is big enough, but the device hand-feel is still capable of being managed. One of the design choices that is a deal breaker for many people is the pixel 3 notch that is finely cut out at the top.
The Google Pixel 3 has a similar look to that of last year’s phones, but the materials used are different. At the back of the Pixel 3 is seated a soft-touch glass using Corning Gorilla Glass 5. The front also features the same strengthened glass that protects the front screen, while aluminum is used for the frame that has a hybrid coating.
Though the all-glass design on the Pixel 3 is great for a better LTE connection and wireless charging, the device seems to be susceptible to damage as a result of the all-glass design.
One of the new features of the Pixel phones is its wireless charging, and I think it is a welcome development especially now that Google has finally launched the Pixel Stand wireless charger.
You will find more well-rounded edges on the Pixel 3. The frame of the device is less boxy when compared to the previous Google phones, and this is some of the trends we see on other smartphones like the iPhone and others. There is no more the presence of the silver bevel found around the frame and also the rear fingerprint sensor.
There is still the presence of the dual front-facing speakers on the Pixel 3, I think this is weird because it’s kind of out of date. There is an Active Edge, that allows you to squeeze the sides of this device to call up Google Assistant.
Just like last year’s Pixel 2, the Google Pixel 3 does not come with a standard 3.5mm headphone jack, because the Google Pixel 3 comes with USB-C earbuds in the box. The device also does not have a microSD card slot, this implies that you have only two options, to use the 64GB or the 128GB storage configuration.
The Pixel 3 comes in three colors, the ‘Not Pink’ which I think is not for everyone if you actually want to be unique, the ‘Clearly White’ which looks cheaper and finally the ‘Just Black’ which seems to be the favorite for many.
Camera
There is a big change on the selfie camera of the Pixel 3, Google added a second lens to it, which is very different from anything we have seen in Google’s hardware world.
The Pixel 3 features a dual 8 MP, f/2.2, 19mm (ultrawide), no AF and 8 MP, f/1.8, 28mm (wide), PDAF, which has a wide-angle selfie lens now, and this is also an advantage of adding a second lens to the front-facing camera. You can zoom way out, this lets you take ultra-wide selfies, you even have more of the background scenery and more people in the frame.
The Pixel 3 main camera houses a 12.2 MP, f/1.8, 28mm (wide), 1/2.55″, 1.4µm, OIS, dual pixel PDAF which is accompanied by a dual-LED flash, Auto-HDR, panorama. We all know that when it comes to the camera, Google has always done well right from the beginning, and they still continue to excel.
Performance
The Google Pixel 3 is powered by the Snapdragon 845, Qualcomm’s latest processor, the Pixel 3 is great when it comes to performance. Working with a 4GB RAM, though we were expecting something amazing. Nevertheless, this device reached scores of 2,430 and 8,007 in Geekbench 4’s twin test of a single and multi-core CPU tests, which is around a 27% boost when compared to last year’s Pixel 2.
When it comes to games, Googles Pixel 3 is also doing great in terms of performance. GFXBench GL’s Manhattan 3 offscreen and on-screen GPU tests recorded average framerates of 60fps and 79fps respectively without faults. This simply means you are not going to face any issues whenever you are playing games that are graphically intensive downloaded from the Google Play Store.
Battery
There has been a recent survey of 2,500 participants by PCMag, and the survey conducted found that 64 percent of the people wanted a Pixel 3 with a longer battery life.
Meanwhile, in the test conducted on the Pixel 2 and 2 XL batteries, the 2,700mAh battery on Pixel 2 provided 8 hours and 47 minutes of LTE streaming, and we think it is good for a device of its size. While, the Pixel 2 XL was quite impressive with its 9 hours and 24 minutes, but it has more room inside for a 3,520mAh battery.
Back to the Pixel 3 Battery life. The device comes with a 2,915mAh battery life, which is far from what we had hoped for (the Samsung Galaxy S9 comes with a 3,000mAh and we think that could stand to last longer), though the Pixel 3 does not meet our expectations, it’s still an improvement over the last year’s Pixel which had a 2,700mAh battery life. And the best of all is that the Pixel 3 also features a wireless charging.
Other Features
- FM ~ No,
- Expandable storage ~ No,
- 3.5mm Jack ~ No,
- Colors ~ Clearly White, Just Black, Not Pink
- Nano-SIM card & eSIM
Google Pixel 3 Price
In the UK, the Google Pixel 3 will cost £739 with 64GB storage, while the Pixel 3 with 128GB of storage will cost £839.
Verdict
The new Google Pixel 3 which will be on sale from November 2, is a nice looking device and is easy to navigate and use. For camera lovers, we are sure that you will be happy with the quality but the fact still remains that overall there is not much change from the Pixel 2.