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Pixel 3/Pixel 3 XL
- Thread starter nviz22
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I've used adblockers for quite some time and have also had periods where I didn't use them. I have noticed no performance or battery hit from them and think there's zero reason to root for adblockers, especially on a Pixel 3/ 3 XL. If there is a hit it's incredibly small and not worth the effort/risk of rooting.
Black crush is still an issue that existed with the Pixel 2 / 2XL.
I've tried Screen Balance app and it makes no difference or turns black to gray. Seriously, how has this not been a major issue in reviews or for people in general? Black Panther on Netflix is nearly unwatchable as is Dr. Strange. Also happens on YouTube videos. Turned off adaptive brightness and used 85% brightness, still black crush and blocky images.
Do you all just overlook it and enjoy the phone? Do people not watch any videos on their phones? Sincere questions, not bashing. I love the 3XL but this may be a deal breaker for me.
Have not experienced any performance drop or hit on the battery at all, a little better battery life actually.
I bet you have, but if it's so small that its not noticeable than that's great.
Heres a tip: you can use systemwide adblocking in android pie without installing the adguard app or running a VPN and without being rooted. Go to the following...
Settings - > Wifi & Internet - > Private DNS
Select "Private DNS provider hostname" and type
dns.adguard.com
Now you have systemwide adblocking using host files. But, it may have issues with work wifi networks due to their firewall settings.
I do watch movies and videos on my phones. That’s practically the only way I watch movies and videos outside of movie night with my family.
Black crush drives me nuts on my S9+. There was a patch that made it less hideous but it’s still there. I saw a little bit of it on the XS Max, too. Very little bit...Apple did something right on that account, although their OLED specs lead to me having migraines. Anyway, so I just assumed that was unavoidable with OLED.
It is really bad on my Pixel 2. I am sorry to hear it’s still so bad on the 3XL. For me personally, the reason it’s not a deal breaker is I will still be owning my LCD Xr which displays movies beautifully, even better than my iPhone 8 Plus does.
And I read more than I watch shows or movies so it’s a bit lower on the priority list. Just a bit. I’m disappointed to hear this. My husband hasn’t complained and when I tested out the video camera of his 3XL and played back very dark video I did not notice any black crush. But I was not reviewing the video in a very dark environment. Dark video in a dark environment is where black crush gets bad.
At least on my S9 (non-plus) the Screen Balance app worked and eliminated nearly all of the black crush. Like you I never had any issues with LCD phones. My XS doesn't have any black crush during daily use (videos, movies). That's where I draw the line. I don't care if I can't see squares in certain test apps. If it affects movies and video, it is a fatal flaw.
I tried again in my bright office and increased brightness to 90% and still black crush / blotchy video. It is just the calibration Google is using I'm sure of it.
It isn't all OLEDs, my 6T does not have observable black crush / blotches during daily use / media viewing either.
If I return the 3XL I will wait for the "cheap" LCD displays on the upcoming Pixel Lite phones. You should try playing dark movies on Netflix on your husband's phone to see if his does it. So torn on whether I want to keep the phone and just deal with it. Like you I read content on my phone much more than I view media, but when I view media I don't want it to be a blotchy pixelated mess.
Yeah I’ll go test it on his phone if he can spare it this evening. Or...mine is actually arriving tomorrow so I can look for black crush then.
I did not know about screen balance app. I’ll have to try it on my S9+. I was watching Star Trek Beyond on my S9+ and it really annoyed me to see the space backdrops look blotchy. It was so much worse with that movie on that phone before Samsung patched it.
I compared The Martian running side by side on an iPhone XR and XS Max. The movie actually looked better on the Xr, except in scenes with high dynamic range and then of course black items popped. In very dark scenes however, black crush was present enough to blend and murk up details in shadow that were still visible on the XR display. But it wasn’t something most people would notice unless they were making a direct side by side comparison like I was.
At that point I had sent back my own XS Max because something about the display made me sick enough to lose control of my speech in a type of migraine I suffer from. I just wanted to look one last time to see what I was being forced to give up. I really loved that phone, but now I usually pretend it doesn’t even exist. It’s just not an option anymore. If next year’s iPhones are just incremental improvements on the same options as this year, with no changes to the display, I’m done with Apple. Not in a sulky way. I just don’t have much choice if I want the model with most bells and whistles
Ya know, considering the issues I have had with almost every single Nexus / Pixel device I have had, I do wonder if it was a good idea to order the XL 3. 
Ya know, considering the issues I have had with almost every single Nexus / Pixel device I have had, I do wonder if it was a good idea to order the XL 3.
Nah, you are due for a good one. Lol
I feel that same kind of nervous uncertainty when I order any phone anymore. I got a really messed up iPhone 8 Plus that might have been assembled by sleep deprived workers—I exchanged it for a good one. My Xr sometimes starts overheating to alarming temperatures on news apps and even Reddit. My battery sometimes drains fast. And my ability to cut and paste on this forum is unreliable.Ya know, considering the issues I have had with almost every single Nexus / Pixel device I have had, I do wonder if it was a good idea to order the XL 3.
My iPhone 7 Plus needed to be traded in before I really wanted to part with it for similar behavior and my teenager now has my 8 plus for awhile because her 7 Plus, which she only lightly used, has had all kinds of different problems. We are going to trade it in on an Xr for her graduation since she wishes to remain on iOS and I do want my 8 Plus back.
I’ve told of my misadventures with Samsung numerous times.
Snowball has been the best performing phone I’ve had. The display is why I am trading up to a larger Snowball. The display is too small for me to comfortably type on, on a regular basis and it’s gone a bit pinkish.
I’m only going to be holding onto the 3XL until the 4 comes out. I can live with a bit of black crush until then. I am not expecting any other problems because so far I haven’t seen any other problems (on my husband's phone). If I do, back it goes for a replacement until they send me a good one.
My Xr also heats up like a mad dog when the sun shines on it through the window in winter. My 7 Plus did that, too. It’s likw whatever evil imp possessed my 7 Plus got into my Xr. Otherwise it’s been a likable phone.
If my switch to the Pixel 3XL proves successful and if Apple releases an iPad mini update this year I may seriously consider trading my Xr in for a store credit toward a new IPad mini. I’d still have my 8Plus.
My sister-in-law has an Xr since Christmas with no issues, so maybe I got a lemon. I had thought it was iOS but maybe it’s the phone. Or something with the battery. I don’t feel like dealing with a Genius Bar appointment for it. They’re a hassle to get here and I have been practically living at hospital waiting areas and elder care facilities since my mother-in-law took ill over the summer, plus dealing with my own parents’ needs and dealing with teenagers, so I would rather be well shot of the whole thing rather than open myself up to a back and forth at the mall, which is a place I hate, trying to troubleshoot a phone that can easily be set aside for something with better features.
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Okay I just took a look at Star Trek Beyond on my husband’s 3XL. We both saw the black crush but it’s at the same level as on our S9 Pluses after the patch. It’s nowhere near as bad as what I saw on my Pixel 2 several months ago. I haven’t really tried to watch a movie on my Pixel 2 since then. We watched in a dark room lit only by some Christmas tree lights over in a corner.
I personally can put up with that. In daylight conditions I don’t know that I would see it at all, since I haven’t and he hasn’t until we went looking for it.
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Thank you for checking it out. I decided I can live with it as well, the positives of this phone far outweigh the negatives. I did manage to find a setting within the Screen Balance app that helps a bit.
Interestingly, I was able to reproduce the blotchiness issues in my 6T and my XS. I turned the brightness up to about 90% and both phones exhibited the same behavior as the 3XL.
Have you tried the call screening feature yet? I used it today for the first time and it was entertaining and worked perfectly. Also really like the zoomed out selfie cam. Good luck I hope you get a defect free 3XL and are able to enjoy it!
Thanks for mentioning that case. I've been looking at it and trying to decide between that to show off the phone itself and a Google cloth case for the 3XL, as a second case for when I want to switch cases. The cloth case has served me well on my Pixel 2. It does feel scratchy on the skin but I kind of am used to it in a familiar cozy way, oddly enough.
I'm going to really miss my Pixel2. I'm at a rough patch where my mother-in-law has been very sick and I don't know if she will ever be able to go on road trips with me again. I have been vacationing with that zany lady pretty much my entire adult life. The last one was a bit of a disaster as she got very ill.
The last good trip we took features my Pixel 2 coming to the rescue in a funny way showing up Siri when we were on the road at our wits end trying to find some place we wanted to see and trying to determine even if it was open at all. Siri on my husband's iPhone kept hearing us wrong and giving us hilarious nonsensical answers that were no help at all.
So I pulled good ol Snowball out and give it a squeeze and Google Assistant just completely showed off and of course I had to play it up for laughs at my husband's expense and my in-laws were laughing so hard. We all were. My husband had returned and given up on his 2XL in favor of the iPhone, so I was being extra bratty about that.
Snowball kept showing up the iPhone the entire trip and my mother-in-law found the battle of the phones hilarious. She loves it when I am a brat to her son!
On top of that, I amused her by sticking Star Wars characters, especially porgs, into our vacation pictures. I have fond memories tied up in this phone because of that trip and other things this phone was a part of.
Practicality dictates I give it up for what money I can get to bring the price down on the replacement. Half the display has gone faintly pink and it can escape scrutiny now, but not for much longer. Gotta trade while trading is possible. I do get to keep the case and that will help.
So I wonder if I should go on and get a similar case that helps give me a feeling of continuity between the two phones. Probably. It would probably cheer me up a little. In my little sea of sleek cases and jewel like colored smartphones, my snowball white Pixel with its salt and pepper "sweater" does stand out with a bit of personality. It may be why I reserved a special affection for it that I never quite developed for the other phones.
Sorry I rambled a bit.
It’s out for delivery! Unfortunately I have no idea when it will get here despite having signed up for Fed Ex delivery manager and supposedly having that option. I have to pick up kids today and tomorrow, so I’m out of luck if the truck arrives when I do that. And it always has.
Normally my husband could arrange to be here as I am leaving, but of course today there’s an elder care appointment that popped up at the last minute, so I don’t know what will happen. I hope one of us can sign for it. I tried changing delivery options last night when I found out about the appointment, but it’s not being allowed by Google.
Normally my husband could arrange to be here as I am leaving, but of course today there’s an elder care appointment that popped up at the last minute, so I don’t know what will happen. I hope one of us can sign for it. I tried changing delivery options last night when I found out about the appointment, but it’s not being allowed by Google.
It’s out for delivery! Unfortunately I have no idea when it will get here despite having signed up for Fed Ex delivery manager and supposedly having that option. I have to pick up kids today and tomorrow, so I’m out of luck if the truck arrives when I do that. And it always has.
Normally my husband could arrange to be here as I am leaving, but of course today there’s an elder care appointment that popped up at the last minute, so I don’t know what will happen. I hope one of us can sign for it. I tried changing delivery options last night when I found out about the appointment, but it’s not being allowed by Google.
Mine still says due today by end of day and I'm thinking that is a stretch... Or if it does show up, it'd be tonight and FedEx is likely to toss it from the truck into the freshly snow covered doorstep in the dark where we wouldn't see them despite having a window right there because they are sneaky and don't bother to knock or use the sidewalk and much prefer to walk through the yard. We would discover the late night delivery a day later by tripping over the box and face planting in the hard crusty snow damaging both ourselves and the XL 3 in the process...
Ok slightly being melodramatic, but FedEx tends to do pretty much just that...
This was the first year google/fedex required a signature for delivery. They didn't on the previous pixels. I think you can print off a form online and stick it to your door releasing it to be delivered / left at your door. If you trust your neighborhood that is.
No we can’t do anything to alter the delivery terms. Nothing. I tried. I would have to call and deal with Google. I will see what happens today and save that call as a last resort.
I think BB only sells the Verizon model Pixel 3. Not sure they will let you buy one without having Verizon as your carrier.
The verizon model has a locked bootloader. It should not affect things unless you plan on flashing custom roms and images.
I just got a text notification that my delivery is now set for tomorrow.Mine still says due today by end of day and I'm thinking that is a stretch... Or if it does show up, it'd be tonight and FedEx is likely to toss it from the truck into the freshly snow covered doorstep in the dark where we wouldn't see them despite having a window right there because they are sneaky and don't bother to knock or use the sidewalk and much prefer to walk through the yard. We would discover the late night delivery a day later by tripping over the box and face planting in the hard crusty snow damaging both ourselves and the XL 3 in the process...
Ok slightly being melodramatic, but FedEx tends to do pretty much just that...
Great. My husband was kind enough to make alternate arrangements for his mother’s appointment and work from home so he could be on hand to sign for the phone today while I went to pick up the kids. He can’t do that again tomorrow. Now I have no alternative arrangements for tomorrow and absolutely no way to set up an alternative delivery for the Pixel. I can’t even pick it up from what I can see of my online options. It goes back to a town that is miles away anyway.
There is absolutely no explanation being provided. It just shows Delivery Exception and we looked it up and there is no further explanation. Every day I see the Fed Ex truck go through my neighborhood as I leave to pick up the kids. The one day they have something for me, they don’t make it over. I suppose there is some reason.
I’m at the end of their delivery route and the UPS and the Postal Delivery route. It is fairly common for them not to deliver at all and wait for the next day or just send it back if they feel like not completing their route two days in a row. It wasn’t always like this. FedEx used to be reliable.
I just got a text notification that my delivery is now set for tomorrow.
Now I have no alternative arrangements for tomorrow and absolutely no way to set up an alternative delivery for the Pixel. I can’t even pick it up from what I can see of my online options. It goes back to a town that is miles away anyway.
There is absolutely no explanation being provided. It just shows Delivery Exception and we looked it up and there is no further explanation. Every day I see the Fed Ex truck go through my neighborhood as I leave to pick up the kids. The one day they have something for me, they don’t make it over. I suppose there is some reason.
I’m at the end of their delivery route and the UPS and the Postal Delivery route. It is fairly common for them not to deliver at all and wait for the next day or just send it back if they feel like not completing their route two days in a row. It wasn’t always like this. FedEx used to be reliable.
Ugh!
Didn't, at least at one time, be considered the standard for getting shipments? You'd think with more delivery companies out there and even Amazon, they would get their act together. I haven't even checked my tracking this afternoon, I did have the thought cross my mind and I kind of wish I could send mine back for a refund without issue
Why!? Because I thought I bricked my XL 2 so I ordered the XL 3. Turns out I got my XL 2 working and thus don't really need the 3But, I guess it is already paid for, shipped and almost here. I can slap my fi sim in it (its in the 2 now), upgrade my sprint s7e or update my AT&T spare line.
Hopefully you get yours no issues. Does fedex retain all shipments till night time anymore?
Oh wow you got the 2XL working! That’s great. I think they retain the shipments at their central hub which is an hour away from me in this time of day’s traffic. Tracking is showing that it was headed back or already there around 4:30 but I didn’t get the notice texted to me until 5Ugh!
I haven't even checked my tracking this afternoon, I did have the thought cross my mind and I kind of wish I could send mine back for a refund without issue
But, I guess it is already paid for, shipped and almost here. I can slap my fi sim in it (its in the 2 now), upgrade my sprint s7e or update my AT&T spare line.
Hopefully you get yours no issues. Does fedex retain all shipments till night time anymore?
I was looking over more semi-transparent case options when this case caught my eye. The reason I'm sharing the screenshot with you mostly male forum participants is not because I want to interest you in the pretty flower motif, but because of the brain bending description. As an Asian woman who has actually been overseas to visit extended family, I have seen many funny examples of the natives throwing some random English out and hoping it means something appealing. But this takes the prize!
And what is being done to poor Dad?
And what is being done to poor Dad?
lol @GrumpyMom that one is hilarious! sorry to hear about your troubles with FedEx. Nothing is more frustrating than waiting for a new toy and changing plans to be home to sign for it only for them to say, eh maybe not today.
As for clear cases, I'm using the ESR case for now. It's TPU so it's a fingerprint / oil magnet (as are all clear cases) but it's going on 2 months and no yellowing yet.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07H848Y5P/ref=oh_aui_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
As for clear cases, I'm using the ESR case for now. It's TPU so it's a fingerprint / oil magnet (as are all clear cases) but it's going on 2 months and no yellowing yet.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07H848Y5P/ref=oh_aui_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1