Google Pixel 4/Pixel 4 XL

[noobinator]

I played around with one last night for the first time. It’s a nice phone. Doesn’t feel like a huge upgrade to the 3/XL. I do prefer this years forehead vs last years notch but that forehead and asymmetrical design would take some getting used to. By asymmetrical I mean the top bezel being much bigger than the bottom.

 

[5105973]

I am on a short vacation. I put my sim back in my Pixel 2. It's not a perfect phone by any means but I jelled with it. I am surprised how well it upgrades after software updates. I need to carry 2 phones and I wanted to go small so "Snowball" got pulled out of retirement. After a snafu with Gboard she's ready to go!

I want to really evaluate how these phones age. Not just the hardware but how new they feel on new updates. For example this phone now has Night Sight and it didn't have that when I got it.

That's the thing, if they age well, picking one up on discount is a good buy.

 

[Tig Bitties]

So, those who have had the phone in their hands for a little bit, is it a keeper so far?

Yes.

I've had the Pixel 2 XL, and the 3 XL the past year. This Pixel 4 XL is very nice.

- Build quality the best to date for a Pixel. Really cool design with the matte white glass on the rear, and the black border on the sides is cool. And honestly the forehead is a non issue, it's nothing. The notch on the 3 XL now looks laughable.

- Performance, phone feels warp speed fast and hot butter smooth. No hiccups or lag at all.

- Speakers are actually very loud and clear.

- Display has very punchy deep colors. But it doesn't very bright, which is a knock.

- Battery life, too early for me to say, it is better than my 3 XL though.

- Size, I love the narrower width, makes the phone feel smaller and easier to hold.

Yeah there are bugs, but what brand new phone doesn't launch with a few issues, that typically do get resolved after a couple months if security updates and patches. I bet by December most things ironed out.

 

[Aneres11]

My Pixel 4 arrived this morning.
I went with Oh So Orange, but in reality, it’s very neon. Almost pink / coral in some lighting.

My spare bedroom which I have a TV in and watch movies in is painted orange, but the Pixel is nothing like it. It makes the room (which is very much orange!) look yellow!

Here’s some pics:

Regarding the phone then. Well it’s a bit early to tell anything. But the build quality is nice, it feels very much like a Pixel.

Screen is lovely and I actually can notice a difference with 90hz. I didn’t think I’d be able to. I did enforce it through developer options though.

I’ve turned off motion sense completely, not really interested in any of that stuff. Same with the hand wave thing. Battery waster.
Camera looks to be fantastic as always. The only thing I’ve tested so far is the zoom, which I’m very impressed with.

This is a pic from my iPhone 11 zoomed in at the max 5x.

And this is 8x from the Pixel 4:

Much sharper.

too early to tell on battery but there’s a fair bit of drain just from setting it up.

Will post more after more time with it.

 

[Tig Bitties]

I'm also running forced 90hz, it's too nice not to enable.

And I turned off motion sense, really no use for it, and want to save battery. I'll take 90hz over Motion Sense.

 

[big samm]

I am on a short vacation. I put my sim back in my Pixel 2. It's not a perfect phone by any means but I jelled with it. I am surprised how well it upgrades after software updates. I need to carry 2 phones and I wanted to go small so "Snowball" got pulled out of retirement. After a snafu with Gboard she's ready to go!

I want to really evaluate how these phones age. Not just the hardware but how new they feel on new updates. For example this phone now has Night Sight and it didn't have that when I got it.

That's the thing, if they age well, picking one up on discount is a good buy.

Same here i still have my pixel 2xl pixel 3 and I'm surprised how well the pixel 2xl is still going strong, specially after updating to Android 10.
That's one advantage with Google devices, they get supported for a long time. I would like to see that for Samsung, lg, etc. One plus would be the best after Google to keep their devices up to date for a long period.

 

[big samm]

I'm also running forced 90hz, it's too nice not to enable.

And I turned off motion sense, really no use for it, and want to save battery. I'll take 90hz over Motion Sense.

Haha i feel you! I just so nice when scrolling, it is so smooth that scrolling feels too fast at times haha...

 

[big samm]

My Pixel 4 arrived this morning.
I went with Oh So Orange, but in reality, it’s very neon. Almost pink / coral in some lighting.

My spare bedroom which I have a TV in and watch movies in is painted orange, but the Pixel is nothing like it. It makes the room (which is very much orange!) look yellow!

Here’s some pics:

View attachment 872564 View attachment 872565 View attachment 872566 View attachment 872567

Regarding the phone then. Well it’s a bit early to tell anything. But the build quality is nice, it feels very much like a Pixel.

Screen is lovely and I actually can notice a difference with 90hz. I didn’t think I’d be able to. I did enforce it through developer options though.

I’ve turned off motion sense completely, not really interested in any of that stuff. Same with the hand wave thing. Battery waster.
Camera looks to be fantastic as always. The only thing I’ve tested so far is the zoom, which I’m very impressed with.

This is a pic from my iPhone 11 zoomed in at the max 5x.

View attachment 872569

And this is 8x from the Pixel 4:

View attachment 872571

Much sharper.

too early to tell on battery but there’s a fair bit of drain just from setting it up.

Will post more after more time with it.

Getting your Pixel on a Saturday morning? Great way to start the weekend

 

[drinkingtea]

I’m really hoping the 4 XL will be $300 off on Black Friday. I think that’s how much the 3 XL was discounted last year on BF. I wonder how the sales of the 3 were around this time last year in comparison to the 4.

 

[Tig Bitties]

I'm a big fan of my white color, but why can't Google make solid colors, not pastels?

Oh so orange, in my opinion would look so much better if it was Halloween deep orange.

 

[garymontague]

Battery is absolutely not a problem for me i get 7 hours of sot with smooth display on

May I ask if you've turned anything off etc to be getting that screen time as I'm only managing to get around 4 to 4 1/2 hours. Admittedly I haven't turned anything off and I'm running it as it came out if the box with brightness around 75%. I understand everyone uses their phones differently but that's a big difference in screen time. Thanks

 

[michael9891]

One thing that just occurred to me is that on previous Pixels, HDR was either off or you got 2 levels of it being on. On the 4, you don't get that option.

So does that mean it's always on? Or it's only activated if you adjust the sliders?

 

[Lava Lamp Freak]

Has anyone compared the 4 to 4 XL? My local Best Buy only has the 4 XL on display. I read that the 4 XL has a Samsung display and the smaller 4 has LG, just like last year.
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I’m really hoping the 4 XL will be $300 off on Black Friday. I think that’s how much the 3 XL was discounted last year on BF. I wonder how the sales of the 3 were around this time last year in comparison to the 4.

Was that $300 off on Black Friday through Google?

Edit: I found the info from last year.

[Update: Deals page is live, sales start 11/22] These are the Google Store's Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals

www.androidpolice.com

 

[slitherjef]

I thought the 3 black Friday sale was because Google new the 3 was not going to be taken well. I don't think it was? And they didn't really have much faith in the device (especially the notchzilla)?

Did they do a black Friday sale for the 2 or 1?

I mean I'm sure the 4 will eventually get a sale, but this time for black Friday? ?

 

[Aneres11]

It's strange that I find the narrowness of the 4 makes the phone feel particularly small and cramped. Whilst I'm not struggling with typing on it, it does feel small.

I wish they had made the 4 just a tiiiiny bit bigger, but it's still a nice phone to use one handed.

 

[nospleen]

It's strange that I find the narrowness of the 4 makes the phone feel particularly small and cramped. Whilst I'm not struggling with typing on it, it does feel small.

I wish they had made the 4 just a tiiiiny bit bigger, but it's still a nice phone to use one handed.

Interested to hear your thoughts on the battery since you are coming from the 3. If I decide to upgrade, I'm leaning towards the XL, but only because of battery concerns.

 

[Aneres11]

Interested to hear your thoughts on the battery since you are coming from the 3. If I decide to upgrade, I'm leaning towards the XL, but only because of battery concerns.

Very very early impressions make me think the XL could be the way forward.

 

[michael9891]

I can’t remember if this has been posted on here. But I would love to know how someone gets 8 hours 30 mins out of the Pixel 4 XL. Even on virtually all WiFi and some things turned off, I can’t get 7. I know it’s not real world use, but still.

Shame few people go as in depth on the regular, smaller models of phones. Not everyone buys the bigger versions.

 

[Aneres11]

This is a very silky smooth experience this Pixel 4.
I'm kinda in awe at it if I'm honest.
The 90hz goes along way to make the phone feel even more premium, as silly as that sounds.
Having said that though, you do get a lot of reviewers and general users saying that they couldn't go back to a screen without it. I personally wouldn't go that far.

If a phone didn't have it I certainly wouldn't be bothered, but it's a nice to have for sure.

This battery though. This is a problem.

One thing I do love about owning an Android though, is that my Chromebook charger works in them and it's a fast charger so I can sit on the sofa and charge mutliple devices from it. My Switch Lite, Chromebook, my phone. Obviously not all at the same time, but with how rapid it is it becomes a very handy one for all.

One thing I'm not a fan of is this matter black surround. I rest my little finger on the bottom of the phone and the speaker grill does scratch a bit.

 

[big samm]

May I ask if you've turned anything off etc to be getting that screen time as I'm only managing to get around 4 to 4 1/2 hours. Admittedly I haven't turned anything off and I'm running it as it came out if the box with brightness around 75%. I understand everyone uses their phones differently but that's a big difference in screen time. Thanks

Nothing turned off. Everything on included smooth display and motion sense. Ive pay for these features i shouldn't turn them off to save battery.

 

[michael9891]

Got my RMA for the 4XL. Great phone, just not worth the extra to me. If I’m paying a lot of money for a phone, it has to offer a very different or much improved experience. Bought a Snapdragon Note 10+ for a good price and will see if I’ll keep it in favour of the 3a XL.

 

[jamezr]

It's strange that I find the narrowness of the 4 makes the phone feel particularly small and cramped. Whilst I'm not struggling with typing on it, it does feel small.

I wish they had made the 4 just a tiiiiny bit bigger, but it's still a nice phone to use one handed.

That is my biggest complaint is the overall size. It just feels so dang small compared to last years Pixel models. I can live with the battery getting around 5-6 hours SOT. But the size for me might be the deal breaker.

 

[Tig Bitties]

I'm loving this phone. The feel in hand is so good, highest quality build in a Pixel.

Screen looks great, so vivid and crisp.

Performance, this phone is super smooth and fluid.

Only legit beef I may have is battery life, still too early for me to say, seems better then my 3 XL, but they phone got mediocre battery life. Jury's still out.
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I do have force 90hz on, it's so flipping smooth with it on, not sure I want to to turn it off and just use Smooth Display setting? I think Smooth Display will be good to use after a few update patches.

 

[Awesomesince86]

I'm loving this phone. The feel in hand is so good, highest quality build in a Pixel.

Screen looks great, so vivid and crisp.

Performance, this phone is super smooth and fluid.

Only legit beef I may have is battery life, still too early for me to say, seems better then my 3 XL, but they phone got mediocre battery life. Jury's still out.
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I do have force 90hz on, it's so flipping smooth with it on, not sure I want to to turn it off and just use Smooth Display setting? I think Smooth Display will be good to use after a few update patches.

I think they’ll alter smooth display to work around 50% and higher and it will negatively impact battery life, but how much who knows. I think it’ll be fine once that hammer things out. I was thinking about the phone earlier and really there’s only a few of the common complaints that really would bother me. That’s battery life and video quality. The wide angle doesn’t bother me, neither does the forehead. But battery and video quality are things I’m not sure I can look past. Still, I plan on either getting this or the Note 10 plus around Black Friday.

 

[Aneres11]

Just in case anyone wondered.
I set Face Unlock up without my glasses (I am a lens wearer, but do wear glasses at weekends or when I want to give my eyes a break), and when I have my glasses on, face unlock works perfectly.

So the reports of those misfires with specs may have just been device specific?