Google Pixel 4/Pixel 4 XL

[5105973]

I’m all over the place right now so I haven’t gotten to see all the reviews. Is the video that bad? Jelly roll panning? Crappy sound? Dodgy exposure adjustments and focusing? Those were some of the things I’ve noticed plaguing Pixel videos over the years. Is all that still a problem? I’m not worried about 4K so much. I do film in 1080p because okay damn you Google, you are right, 4K 60 FPS eats storage and brings other issues.

Ok just popping in to ask that. Gotta run off yet again.

 

[slitherjef]

So... You gonna root it? Hint hint 😉

 

[5105973]

I kinda like the matte finish. But for me the phone is just a little small in my hands. Something is missing.
Can't quite put my finger on it. I mean I love how fast and convenient Face Unlock is . Love the camera. Love how the notifications are displayed on AOD. It is fast and speedy and responsive.

Oops meant to ask before I leave, is it as tall as the pixel 3XL? That one feels like a pancake to hold because it’s a bit too wide for my hands. But it is nice and light.

I suppose the phones feel odd without a case. I’ll be using a Pixel cloth case so I’m not sure I will notice what y’all are noticing.

I’m keeping Snowball by the way. I thought I could part with Snowball in donations or trade, but no. I can’t believe I’ve put my sim back in this older phone and feel as excited about it as a new one. There is such a thing as Pixel Charm. I think it’s a legacy from HTC charm. I babble and must really go now. Bye.

 

[Lava Lamp Freak]

I’m all over the place right now so I haven’t gotten to see all the reviews. Is the video that bad? Jelly roll panning? Crappy sound? Dodgy exposure adjustments and focusing? Those were some of the things I’ve noticed plaguing Pixel videos over the years. Is all that still a problem? I’m not worried about 4K so much. I do film in 1080p because okay damn you Google, you are right, 4K 60 FPS eats storage and brings other issues.

Ok just popping in to ask that. Gotta run off yet again.

I'm also curious what the complaints are with video. I see many people commenting that Pixel 4 video is poor quality, but DXOMARK gave it a higher rating than any other mobile device for video.

Below is what DXOMARK wrote.

The Pixel 4 is also a top performer for video, ranking at the top of our database alongside the Samsung Galaxy Note 10+ 5G with a Video score of 101 points. All other recent top-ranked video devices have captured 4K (2160p) footage by default, however, making the Pixel 4 the first 1080p HD device to hit the top of our video rankings since the introduction of 4K recording at default settings. Excellent results for video noise, well-managed in all conditions, as well as video color with pleasant white balance and vivid rendering, are its key strengths. Video autofocus is also fast and accurate, and its gyro-EIS stabilization system is fairly effective, aside from some residual motion in walking videos. Automatic frame switching between 30/60fps in 1080p mode is also pretty handy for smoother video capture to keep pace with lighting or movement changes within a scene without having to manually adjust settings.

...

With an overall Video score 101 points, the Google Pixel 4 is the joint leader in our video ranking, sharing the top spot with the Samsung Galaxy Note 10+ 5G. The overall Video score is derived from performance and results across a range of attributes in the same way as the Photo score: Exposure (87), Color (92), Autofocus (95), Texture (61), Noise (86), Artifacts (90), and Stabilization (94).

What’s particularly unusual about the Pixel 4’s excellent video score is that it achieved it when recording at 1080p Full-HD resolution as opposed to the 4K resolution that all other top-performing video devices use at default settings. Naturally, this means that the Pixel 4 scores a little lower for texture than most direct competitors, with a particular lack of fine detail in low light, but it makes up for it in almost all remaining test categories.

Updated: Google Pixel 4 Camera review: Excellent color and skin tones

Please note: In October 2020, we updated the DXOMARK Camera test protocol. Version 4 now includes image preview tests and a wide range of new test scenes as part of our new trustability evaluation which measures the camera’s ability to deliver consistent still image and video quality across all...

www.dxomark.com

 

[Awesomesince86]

I'm also curious what the complaints are with video. I see many people commenting that Pixel 4 video is poor quality, but DXOMARK gave it a higher rating than any other mobile device for video.

Below is what DXOMARK wrote.

Updated: Google Pixel 4 Camera review: Excellent color and skin tones

Please note: In October 2020, we updated the DXOMARK Camera test protocol. Version 4 now includes image preview tests and a wide range of new test scenes as part of our new trustability evaluation which measures the camera’s ability to deliver consistent still image and video quality across all...

www.dxomark.com

DXOMARK scoring system has a lot of flaws and scores that dont reflect real world usage. I remember them giving the OnePlus 7 a higher camera score than the Pixel 3 and anyone with eyes knows thats not accurate. So just saying, take their ratings with a grain of salt.

 

[michael9891]

Pixel 4 video isn’t terrible, but how DXO can rank it above iPhone is a mystery. 4K 60 on an iPhone is as good as it gets on a mobile device.

 

[SapperMike]

I kinda like the matte finish. But for me the phone is just a little small in my hands. Something is missing.
Can't quite put my finger on it. I mean I love how fast and convenient Face Unlock is . Love the camera. Love how the notifications are displayed on AOD. It is fast and speedy and responsive.

Are you ready to make this your daily driver going forward?

 

[Awesomesince86]

Pixel 4 video isn’t terrible, but how DXO can rank it above iPhone is a mystery. 4K 60 on an iPhone is as good as it gets on a mobile device.

The current batch of iPhones are pretty unrivaled when it comes to video recording. The Note series is the only one that comes close.

 

[michael9891]

The current batch of iPhones are pretty unrivaled when it comes to video recording. The Note series is the only one that comes close.

Just goes to show what a crock of **** DXO mark is.

Sent my Pixel back this afternoon. But wish I'd have at least tried out the astrophotography mode. Stars are out tonight and I have a tripod for my phone. Oh well, there's always the 4a XL down the line. lol

 

[jamezr]

Are you ready to make this your daily driver going forward?

Right now my Nite 10+ is my daily driver then the 11 Pro Max. Not sure it will make the rotation tbh. Size and battery are holding it back.....

 

[Tig Bitties]

Today was my first full workday with the phone, and I have to say I am utterly shocked at the battery life ( in a great way ). By now, after dinner evening time, my Pixel 3 XL would be in the 25% to 30% battery life left, currently my Pixel 4 XL is at 70%. I have 3h 7m SoT, been unplugged off the charger since like 8:00am, it is now 8:45pm
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[slitherjef]

Today was my first full workday with the phone, and I have to say I am utterly shocked at the battery life ( in a great way ). By now, after dinner evening time, my Pixel 3 XL would be in the 25% to 30% battery life left, currently my Pixel 4 XL is at 70%. I have 3h 7m SoT, been unplugged off the charger since like 8:00am, it is now 8:45pm
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View attachment 873189View attachment 873190

It just means you're not using your phone enough lol 😜

 

[MarkX]

Just goes to show what a crock of **** DXO mark is.

Sent my Pixel back this afternoon. But wish I'd have at least tried out the astrophotography mode. Stars are out tonight and I have a tripod for my phone. Oh well, there's always the 4a XL down the line. lol

I’m sending mine back this afternoon, whilst the 4XL has a lot going for it I think it’s just not quite ready for prime time.

The lack of support for third party app face unlock is more annoying than I thought it would be, not only are my banking apps not supported but others like WhatsApp and Evernote aren’t either.

I contacted my bank through online chat and they said they had no immediate plans to update their apps biometric login! Not what I wanted to hear.

A couple of trivial things: I have found the brightness lacking in certain occasions and I have experienced less than stellar battery life. I have been spoiled by the new iPhone Pro battery, it’s outstanding. No wide angle lens is also a bummer, I have gotten used to having one.

For me, there are too many shortcomings. User experience only goes so far. Just my opinion.

 

[michael9891]

I definitely feel like the 4a will be the one to buy. Much cheaper and Face Unlock will surely be supported by the majority of major apps by then.

 

[JaySoul]

The video quality is a definite issue - it's OK, but Rick Osterloh apparently said they aren't really focusing on it for now because they can't quite figure out "computational videography" in the same way they've excelled within "computational photography".

So effectively, don't expect any major jumps in video quality for the next couple of years.

 

[AustinIllini]

Remember when Google made DXO Mark a thing? After about 18 months everyone pretty much new it was a fraud.

On a scale of 1 to DisplayMate, DXO is pretty high on the BS side.

 

[MarkX]

I definitely feel like the 4a will be the one to buy. Much cheaper and Face Unlock will surely be supported by the majority of major apps by then.

Is it the 3a or 3a XL you have? I fancy picking one up but can’t decide on which one 🤔.

 

[michael9891]

Is it the 3a or 3a XL you have? I fancy picking one up but can’t decide on which one 🤔.

3a XL. Will be selling it next week as I'm waiting on a Note 10+ to be delivered. Hopefully I can get around £250 for it.

 

[Aneres11]

I mean the camera is just ridiculous.

 

[Tig Bitties]

For still shots, and portrait, the Pixel 4 is still the leader.

 

[nospleen]

I mean the camera is just ridiculous.

View attachment 873367

As a father to two labs, yours is absolutely beautiful. Gorgeous!!

 

[Aneres11]

As a father to two labs, yours is absolutely beautiful. Gorgeous!!

Thanks so much! He is extremely handsome. 😍

 

[comper]

So coming from an 11 Pro Max (still have it), I'm a lot more impressed in the 4 XL than I should be compared to the reviews / seemingly negative hivemind against it at the moment.

I prefer the feel in hand and weight compared to the iPhone. The screen looks really great. The haptics are very nice, still not on iPhone's level, but better than any Android phone I've had recently. The audio is good as well.

The only thing that might make me not switch is battery life. But here's the thing, it's not because the battery is bad on the 4 XL, it's just because it's so darn good on the Pro Max. I am getting the roughly the same percentage drop per use as I did on the S10+ I had earlier in the year. Oh, not having face unlock available for 95% of my apps that are functional on iOS is also a huge negative.

The software package is as nice as ever. The radar stuff has worked very well for me when testing it switching Spotify songs. The assistant and new dictation features are as fast and reliable as ever. I think there's still a lot to like about this phone, it's just a shame they didn't up the battery capacity for both models. I think that one change would have made it much more viable. I'm still going to use it for a few days because I'm having a good time with it, but Apple put out a really no-compromises phone this year as long as you like iOS and it may be hard to permanently switch away from.

 

[Awesomesince86]

So coming from an 11 Pro Max (still have it), I'm a lot more impressed in the 4 XL than I should be compared to the reviews / seemingly negative hivemind against it at the moment.

I prefer the feel in hand and weight compared to the iPhone. The screen looks really great. The haptics are very nice, still not on iPhone's level, but better than any Android phone I've had recently. The audio is good as well.

The only thing that might make me not switch is battery life. But here's the thing, it's not because the battery is bad on the 4 XL, it's just because it's so darn good on the Pro Max. I am getting the roughly the same percentage drop per use as I did on the S10+ I had earlier in the year. Oh, not having face unlock available for 95% of my apps that are functional on iOS is also a huge negative.

The software package is as nice as ever. The radar stuff has worked very well for me when testing it switching Spotify songs. The assistant and new dictation features are as fast and reliable as ever. I think there's still a lot to like about this phone, it's just a shame they didn't up the battery capacity for both models. I think that one change would have made it much more viable. I'm still going to use it for a few days because I'm having a good time with it, but Apple put out a really no-compromises phone this year as long as you like iOS and it may be hard to permanently switch away from.

Because smartphones are rated based on their competition, doesn’t the great battery on the Pro Max and the Note 10 plus in turn make the Pixel 4 xl battery life bad? Those are the two phones that its competing with sure to google pricing.

 

[comper]

Because smartphones are rated based on their competition, doesn’t the great battery on the Pro Max and the Note 10 plus in turn make the Pixel 4 xl battery life bad? Those are the two phones that its competing with sure to google pricing.

I already said in comparison it makes it seem worse. But no, I don't agree that makes it objectively bad on the 4XL. It would get 90 percent of people through the day reliably. That's all you can really count on from a smartphone nowadays, even including the Pro Max and other battery champs.