A little over two years ago, Google began a new era in the Android universe, presenting its first generation of smartphones of its own design. The Google Pixel was born on the month of October in 2016, and since its arrival has passed through two generations, praised and criticized in equal parts. Today, two years later, Google demonstrates the point of maturity in which it is as a hardware manufacturer, announcing the new Google Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL, which are finally official.
The specifications, characteristics, and details of this pair of phones made by Google have long ceased to be a mystery. In fact, the devices that Google today shows us from New York could be candidates for more filtered smartphones in history because for months, we have been collecting the information that emerged every week on the network to further astonish the surprise of this October 9th.
Anyway, Google has not made us wait any longer, and just introduced the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL , two phones that for the first time are no longer manufactured by one of the brands on which Google has relied in the past as HTC or LG, and become the first designed by the great G and assembled by Foxconn, the same company that makes the Apple iPhone. Without further ado, we went to see all the information about the Google Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL.
Google Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL, all information: specifications, features, and prices
Table of Contents
Design:
Google Pixel 3 does not win any good design award, nor will its physical appearance appear in style followed by other manufacturers. Once again, Google opts for practicality rather than attractiveness, although it maintains the essence that has defined this family of phones since its inception.
On this occasion, yes, the company has committed to Gorilla Glass 5 glass for the back part. Despite this change of material, we still see a back with two finishes, a bright top that houses the camera and its accessories, and a matte glass top with a built-in fingerprint reader and the logo of the large G. Around it, an aluminum chassis joins the screen with the rear panel.
The differences, leaving aside the size, appear when we take a look at the front of both phones. To begin with, yes, the Pixel 3 XL has the giant notch that we had seen in the endless stream of leaks of recent months, and is responsible for hosting a dual photographic sensor that we will talk about later. In addition, Google has not tried too hard to reduce the “chin” lower, and its size is practically traced to the Pixel 2 XL. At least the stereo speakers are maintained.
Meanwhile, Pixel 3 will be what, for many, should have been Pixel 2 last year. Its front, with slightly reduced margins but without resorting to the notch, offers a greater symmetry and a compact size of only 145 millimeters high, perfect for the pockets of those who shun for the phablets.
In terms of colors, Google goes back to betting on the basic black and white, as well as the pastel shades with a new pink “sand” finish that Google calls “Not Pink”. Each of them, however, has a color detail on the phone’s power button: blue on the black model, coral on the pink, and green on the white.
Screen:
Last year, the screen was one of the most criticized aspects of the Google Pixel 2 XL, because unlike its little brother, it used a pOLED panel manufactured by LG instead of a Samsung AMOLED, which resulted in a series of defects that were not solved – and not completely – until future remittances from the telephones.
Now, Google returns to use LG, but instead of mounting panels pOLED bet on OLED technology, more proven and without many disadvantages as the substrate-based plastic.
Thus, we found a 5.5-inch OLED panel with 18: 9 format and Full HD + resolution in Google Pixel 3, and a 6.3-inch with an aspect ratio of 18.5: 9 and Quad HD + resolution in the model Pixel 3 XL.
Technical specifications:
With the 7 nanometers already around the corner, Google pays the toll to launch their phones at the end of the year, being forced to mount the Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 that we have seen in the rest of high-end smartphones of this 2018, with the exception of a few-. This, however, is not a negative point at all, since we have already seen for two generations how Google spends it when optimizing hardware and software to offer the best Android experience in the market.
Along with Qualcomm’s latest high-performance chip, we found 4 GB of RAM, which is 2018, although we do not think is scarce, we did expect Google to make the leap to 6 GB for the first time. Anyway, what we do find is a variant with 128 GB of storage, which accompanies the base variant of 64, in both cases not expandable.
The only difference at a technical level between both models lies in the capacity of their batteries, where a curious fact occurs. The Google Pixel 3 increases its capacity with respect to last year, mounting a battery of 2,915 mAh -compared with the 2,700 mAh of Pixel 2-, while the battery of the Pixel 3 XL decreases with respect to that of its predecessor and reaches up to the 3,430 mAh -compared with the 3,520 mAh Pixel 2 XL-. In both cases, we enjoy fast charging through the USB Power Delivery standard, and the glass back part arrives to enable wireless charging through the Qi standard.
And speaking of wireless charging, Google has not forgotten to announce its own charging base called Pixel Stand, which in addition to recharging the phones wirelessly, enables them in certain exclusive functions.
Photography and multimedia:
Computational photography has allowed Google to reach the top of the field of mobile photography twice, and in this third generation of Pixel phones, the brand is backing the software, leaving the hardware in the background. In this way, we find the same sensor of 12.2 megapixels and f / 1.8 to the back that we saw in Pixel 2, in this case, accompanied by various improvements at the software level with which to continue reigning.
Several details that we miss are the possibility of recording 4K video at 60 frames per second or a super slow motion mode like the one that other manufacturers have already incorporated. What is not missing, of course, is the portrait mode based on the Dual Pixel technology of the camera and supported by artificial intelligence applied to the segmentation networks
On the front, two sensors appear for the first time, in both cases 8 megapixels, the second being a wide angle with aperture f / 2.2 for selfies in a group and no one is left out of the picture. In addition, Google has wanted to solve one of the main problems that have this type of panoramic sensors as it is the distortion of edges, through an automatic correction system.
Google is backing the software to improve the photographic section of its new terminals, and that means that the company has put all its efforts into adding new functions based on AI. Among them, we will find the following:
1. Top Shot – By pressing the camera’s shutter button, the device will capture several images in the form of a urst before and after, and thanks to the AI the best-captured photograph will be chosen. Something useful, especially for situations in movement.
2. Photobooth – This mode reminds us of how the Google Clips camera works. In this way, leaving the phone in a fixed place, the camera will automatically determine the best moment – a smile, a funny face … – to make the captures.
3. Super Res Zoom – In February of this year, Google’s research and development team presented RAISR, a system through which to improve the quality of the extended catches through Machine Learning. Now, this system has been improved and integrated directly into the camera of the new Pixel 3.
4. Automatic tracking of the subject – Its name defines the operation of this option well enough: when manually focusing an object, the app will keep it focused at all times even if it moves.
5. Night Sight – In situations of low light, the Google Pixel 3 will optimize the captures through machine learning to avoid the user having to use the flash, and still extract the greatest amount of light and detail from the image.
As expected, the 3.5-millimeter jack does not return at the audio level, but Google accompanies the devices with a type C headphones included in the box, with a design that reminds us of the Google Pixel Buds.
Software and exclusive features:
The Google Pixel 3 come from the beginning with Android 9.0 Pie, being the second devices- after the Sony Xperia XZ3 – to go to market with the latest version of Android. Therefore, each and every one of the novelties that we already saw in August, are included in the Pixel 3 software.
But a Pixel would not be the same without its exclusive functions. For starters, the Active Edge squeezable edges are maintained through which to invoke the Google assistant quickly.
Among other novelties, Google also brings to its new phone pair a new pack of animated wallpapers – already available for download – that not only modify the appearance of the home screen, but also bring a unique style to the Always mode on Display.
Another interesting addition is a new feature of the Google Assistant, which we do not know if it will reach other Android models, which consists of the identification of spam calls, as well as a transcription of the call itself made in real-time and the possibility of blocking the number to never receive calls again.
Finally, Google is proud to have created one of the safest smartphones on the market, thanks to the Titan M chip, which encrypts both passwords and the operating system itself.
Google has confirmed that from today, as soon as the event comes to an end, Google Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL can be booked through the company’s official store, and shipments will start within 3 to 4 weeks. Regarding their prices, the Pixel 3 series breakdown for India:
– 64GB Pixel 3: 71K
– 128GB Pixel 3: 80K
– 64GB Pixel 3 XL: 83K
– 128GB Pixel 3 XL: 92K
