(upbeat music)
- Here we go.
It's the Pixel 3 and the Pixel 3 XL.
These might be the most leaked phones in history
but nothing can replace actually using the things
for a week which I have
and I can tell you right up front
that they're great and the resolve a lot
of the small complaints that people have had
about the Pixel 2.
There's a lot to talk about here.
There's two sizes, a camera that has to live up
to last year's Pixel 2.
There's a big notch on the Pixel 3.
There's the screens, there's wireless charging
and there's price for what feels like a pretty small update
compared to last year
there's a surprising amount of stuff
to get into, so let's get into it.
First I wanna talk about what might be
the most important improvement on the Pixel 3.
The one that's gonna have the biggest impact
on your daily experience with it
and that is the screen.
The screen on both the Pixel 3 and the Pixel 3 XL
are massive improvements over last year's phones.
We're still looking at OLEDs here
but they're bigger on both phones
and simply the biggest most important change
is the color quality and the brightness,
especially on the Pixel 3 XL.
Last year's Pixel 2 XL felt like you were
looking at colors through, like, parchment paper
but that problem is 100% gone now.
The screen is brighter, the reds are redder
and everything just pops more.
It's not Samsung levels of color saturation
or iPhone Xs levels of brightness and contrast
but it's finally where it should be for a phone
that can cost as much as $1000.
The smaller Pixel 3 it also has a great screen
but it's not as dramatic an improvement
since the smaller Pixel 2 wasn't so bad.
Then there's the notch on the Pixel 3 XL.
Yes, it's big, like super big
and because it's so tall it makes the whole screen
look sort of doofy.
Doofier than it looks on the iPhone X
and also it looks like a face?
Okay, I'm sorry I'm not really
gonna make you have this thing on the video
but I will tell you that it does sort of
go away when you use the phone and it does look
much less annoying in person than it does in photos
but anyway, the game, the whole game here is just this,
did Google justify the notch
with the features that you get for it?
So let's just go through what you get.
First you get more screen, but that doesn't necessarily mean
that you get more information.
In fact if you look at the status bar
you'll see that you have to turn off the battery percentage
in order to see all the status icons
and with the time on the other side
you can only see two notification icons.
Second, front facing speakers.
Google really, really believes in stereo
front facing speakers.
Two speakers means that this phone
also has a pretty big chin
and it's generally not very symmetrical, which I don't like.
Now, Google claims that it's speakers
are 40% louder this year
and I don't know that they're 40% louder
but I will say that they're 40% better.
There's much less distortion at high volume.
Third, you get a wide angle selfie camera.
Yes, look don't worry, we're gonna talk a lot more
about cameras later but my basic attitude
about that wide angle camera is kinda, shrug.
So, did Google justify the notch?
Sorta, face ID to me seems like a much better justification
but after using the Pixel 3 XL for just a little bit
I didn't notice the notch too much
and I really don't think it's a reason
to not get the big phone if you want the big phone
because once again the screen on these phones are great.
This year the build quality and just overall feel
of the Pixel is just really top notch.
I mean, okay it's really good.
Switching the back to glass gives you wireless charging.
Sure, but it also just makes
the whole thing feel more refined.
The seams around the aluminum rail are minimal
and the rear glass has this etched matte finish
that just feels awesome,
although the glass does make it feel a tad heavier.
I've said a lot of nice things about this matte glass
but there is one very serious problem,
stick this thing in your pocket with keys
and it's gonna get scuffed, if not scratched right away.
It happened to two of our phones,
we weren't rubbing the keys or anything it just happened.
You are absolutely going to need a case with this thing.
There are a ton of other just really nice subtle touches.
Like the haptics, they're way better now.
It's not quite as good as the iPhone
but the vibration is a lot subtler.
Instead of feeling like
you've got a hand buzzer or something.
Now, in terms of overall hardware quality
the Pixel 3, the small one is a bigger change.
It's finally really great now instead of feeling like
the cheap little step brother to the larger Pixel.
Neither model is quite as nice as say a Galaxy S9
but at least Google's in the ballpark now
and yes there is no headphone jack
and even though that's the way things go now
I still think it's a pain but the good news is
Google's finally including USB headphones in the box,
heck they even work with the USB ports on my Mac.
Wouldn't it be nice if everything was USBC?
Okay, we can't got there.
That's a whole other video.
Let's move on because I know what you've really
been waiting for.
You've been waiting to hear about the camera.
Let's do it.
(upbeat music)
The first thing to know
is that when it comes to hardware specs
Google didn't significantly change the equation
on the rear camera, it's still a 12.2 megapixel sensor
and there's still just one of them.
Honestly, it's pretty much the same as last year
but that doesn't mean that the pictures are the same.
Google's made a bunch of software updates
to improve how the photos come out.
Google's still doing its HGR plus thing
where it takes a bunch of photos
and then computationally combines them
into a single better image, but over the past year
the company's just gotten better at it
and better at using the dedicated pixel visual core
image processing chip and it's using all of those images
to create a whole bunch of new camera features.
Here's the thing.
We've seen lots of companies announce lots
of weird camera features for smart phones
and almost all of them end up being gimmicks
that you just try once and then you ignore forever after.
So the big question for the Pixel
is whether these new features are just gimmicks
or if they'll be something you'll actually use.
Top shot, it uses machine learning
to detect blinks and bad photos
and will suggest better ones from your bursts
or you can choose one later if you want to.
It works pretty well in my testing
and even though we've seen this feature
on other cameras before I think Google
does a better job of recognizing good shots.
Motion auto focus it works super well
on both photo and video, it tracks your subject
and keeps a focus on them.
We didn't shoot a ton of video but I will say
as far as video goes I do think the new stereo mics
are better now than that awful mic
that was on the Pixel 2.
Next is super res zoom.
From a technical perspective it's wild.
Google uses your handshake to grab extra data
when you're zoomed in.
They claim you don't even need a telephoto lens
and I don't think it's quite as good
as a proper telephoto lens.
It's better than the digital zoom on the Pixel 2 for sure
but it will get you something usable
where before it was garbage,
and usable doesn't mean great.
Another feature's called, night sight
and it seems technically impressive
creating photos in the dark that you'd never get otherwise
but we can't test it until it comes out later this year.
Then there's all the stuff
that I think is kind of in that gimmick zone.
Photo booth is basically a party game.
You turn the mode on and then you and your friends
watch a progress bar expand
and depending on whether or not you're smiling
it will take a picture.
Playground is just more AR stickers.
And then there's Google lens.
It is super cool to copy text directly out of an image
but I do not plan on doing my shopping
by pointing my camera at things.
And then lastly the one everyone's excited about
is group selfie feature.
Well, it does let you get more people into a selfie
when you zoom out
but you also end up with a bunch of weird distortion
from the wide angle lens and that's unavoidable
but for me I think of this as just another for fun feature.
Some of these features you're gonna use
and some you won't,
but a lot of them are just built in
instead of being in special modes
so I think most of these count as improvements
that really will matter to you.
But the real question, the obvious question,
are the photos better than they were in the Pixel 2
which had already beaten the iPhone Xs?
My answer is yes,
but that they also have a different style.
What do I mean?
Well, it's easiest to just look at some photos
so here's three photos all lined up.
What do we see here?
First, we see the Pixel 3 is doing a better job
than the Pixel 2 of getting detail out of the shadows.
But you can also see that the colors
are a little bit warmer.
Now, compared to the iPhone Xs it does feel to me
a little bit more true to life
where the iPhone is just doing everything that it can
to light everything evenly in a way that feels
kind of overdone.
Here's another comparison from the selfie cam.
The Pixel 3 again has much more detail
and the iPhone Xs really does look
a little bit over smoothed,
and the Pixel 2 it's right smack in the middle.
Last here's portrait mode
and I think all three look pretty good
but you can see that the Pixel 3 is more willing
to brighten up the shadows and soften the highlights
in the Pixel 2 but not nearly as much as the iPhone.
I prefer the Pixel 3 again because the iPhone,
I think it makes my face a little bit too soft
but I will say that the iPhone Xs does a better job
at tricky portrait situations
because it has that second lens.
The Pixel 3 just straight up duffed it on this photo.
Bottom line, for most shots the Pixel 3 is consistent.
It screws up less often than the Pixel 2
or the iPhone Xs.
On any given photo you might prefer one or the other
but on the whole I think the Pixel 3
has more restrained HDR and better looking photos
than the iPhone Xs.
Most of all I trust the Pixel 3 more.
The Pixel 2 was the best camera for all of last year
and it seems like the Pixel 3 is gonna be
the best camera for all of this year.
Alright, specs.
The Pixel 3 is pretty standard for high end Android phones.
It's got a snapdragon 845,
4 GB of RAM and 64 or 128 GB of storage.
All the usual stuff.
But the reason Pixel phones are generally better
isn't about the specs, it's about the software
and I think Google's done a good job
of optimizing here so far as I can tell.
Everything feels fast and smooth
and I haven't detected any real lag to speak of.
Battery life though it's pretty middle of the road.
You'll get through a day with either phone
but the big one should last a little bit longer.
There's really no major improvements here in other words.
But you do get wireless charging now and I love that.
It's a little thing but for me it's so much more convenient
than plugging in.
The Pixel 3 also ships with the digital wellbeing software
which helps you track your smartphone usage
and it has helped me cut down on Twitter a little bit
but mostly I just like that you can get a quick setting
right in your settings to turn the whole screen gray scale
whenever you want which is kind of weirdly soothing.
But the coolest new software thing
is this new call screening feature.
It has a duplex robot answer your calls for you
and speak for you and then you can read
a live transcription of what's being said
on your phone so that you can see if it's a spam call
and really I am totally
(phone rings)
impressed with how well it works.
- [Phone] Hi, the person you're calling
is using a screening service from Google
and will get a copy of this conversation.
Go ahead and say why you're calling.
- Hey Deeter, it's Neil.
I'm calling because I wanna talk to you.
- [Phone] Do you need to get ahold of them urgently?
- Yes.
- [Phone] Just so it's clear
go ahead and say more about why you're calling.
- It's because I'm Neil.
I'm you're friend and colleague and I'd like to talk to you.
- [Phone] They can't talk right now
but they'll give you a call later.
- Thanks robot.
- [Phone] Thanks, and goodbye.
(beeping)
- If you're worried about privacy you should know
that all this happens locally on the phone
and none of the transcripts are stored
or sent to Google at any point.
Just, you know what?
Don't use it on people you actually know
'cause that's actually kind of a jerk move.
Here's what I think Google did with the Pixel 3.
It made a list of everything that people
were unhappy with on both the Pixel 2 and the Pixel 2 XL
and then it tried to fix them.
The camera's less crunchy,
the screens are way better, the bezels are smaller
and yes, there is a notch but still,
the hardware overall is dramatically better.
That's why I think this years Pixels
are kind of like the iPhone S year upgrades.
They seem like small, unexciting improvements
but they make for a way better phone
than anybody will give them credit for.
These are simply great phones.
If I have one major complaint about the Pixel 3
it's the price.
It starts at 799 for the base Pixel 3
and the top tier, top storage Pixel 3 XL is a 1000 bucks.
Are they worth that much?
Well, yes they're top tier phones
with great cameras and specs and build quality
but you can get a lot of what these phones offer
for way less in the Android world.
Now, should you upgrade?
Well, that depends on what you have now.
If you have a Pixel 2
a lot of these features will come to you
via software update, and if you have an iPhone
well take a long look at your blue bubbles
and your iCloud photo groups
and have a think about how important they are to you.
But if you want the best Android experience
and the best camera you can get on a phone today
the Pixel 3 is it.
Thank you so much for watching, really appreciate it.
I had a lot of things to say about the Pixel 3.
Let me know in the comments,
are you thinking about getting a Pixel 3
and what's gonna make your decision for you?
And also Google announced a few other things
and we have a really great hands on
with the Chrome OS Pixel Slate Tablet
so you should check that out too.