Pixel 3/Pixel 3 XL

[5105973]

I'm getting better battery life out of mine these days. I was surprised to be on the road and have the screen on for 5 hours for two movies and some videos, miscellaneous apps and surfing and still end up with about 30% left when I arrived at my destination. I think it's showing well against my XR.

I'm at a place with a nice thick carpet pad so I am letting Frosty go nekkid while indoors. It's a pretty phone. I hope Google keeps its unique aesthetic of colorful power buttons on non-black phones for the Pixel 4.

 

[jamezr]

I'm getting better battery life out of mine these days. I was surprised to be on the road and have the screen on for 5 hours for two movies and some videos, miscellaneous apps and surfing and still end up with about 30% left when I arrived at my destination. I think it's showing well against my XR.

I'm at a place with a nice thick carpet pad so I am letting Frosty go nekkid while indoors. It's a pretty phone. I hope Google keeps its unique aesthetic of colorful power buttons on non-black phones for the Pixel 4.

my phones are always nekkid...that's how we roll

 

[5105973]

my phones are always nekkid...that's how we roll

We only roll nekkid where there is plenty of soft carpet on a thick pad!

At home my flooring consists mainly of tile and hardwoods. Only the bedrooms have carpet.

 

[AustinIllini]

Because I cycle through phones fairly frequently (like once a year) and I have only cracked one screen, I use square trade's smartphone coverage for $9 a month. The deductible is high but I almost never have a real problem.

That being said, I do the cheapest clear thin case I can with the glass screen protector. For my Androids, I apply it myself and it turns out okay. For iPhones, I get them applied at the Apple Store and they're perfect. Both are a far cry from the old days when you would literally waste money trying to buy screen protection.

 

[5105973]

I'm living dangerously and am posting from a nekkid purple S9+. I used to take this phone to the beach without a case because MRU used to advise that. He said sand grains can easily get trapped inside a case and scratch the phone. I always thought he made a valid point.

Indoors though, dang this phone is slippery! Hah, I just noticed it still has a clear plastic protective sticker on the side! I never removed those. I slowly let them peel off on their own over time. This one stayed on nice and clear.

 

[5105973]

Well my husband's Pixel 3XL massively effed up. He was streaming Pandora and he saw a chance to take a video of some funny things going on outside with the animals. The XL lagged so hard getting the camera app to come up and then crashed right in the middle of taking the video. He lost the footage. Boy is he po'd. I think this is like the problems one of the writers over on Android Central wrote about a few weeks ago.

Sigh. Please get it together Google. This phone is our favorite to use but it has to work reliably and consistently. This level of unpredictability is unbecoming of a flagship at this price level. I wonder if this is due to insufficient RAM or something else. He has intermittent lag. My S9+ has animation lag now on Pie, but not performance lag. Edit: I just cleared the animation lag with a restart and running the optimization app built into the phone . Edit 2: and now it's back.

If I get an S10 I'm going for the crapton of ram on it.

My "Frosty" 3XL is behaving so far.

 

[slitherjef]

Well my husband's Pixel 3XL massively effed up. He was streaming Pandora and he saw a chance to take a video of some funny things going on outside with the animals. The XL lagged so hard getting the camera app to come up and then crashed right in the middle of taking the video. He lost the footage. Boy is he po'd. I think this is like the problems one of the writers over on Android Central wrote about a few weeks ago.

Sigh. Please get it together Google. This phone is our favorite to use but it has to work reliably and consistently. This level of unpredictability is unbecoming of a flagship at this price level. I wonder if this is due to insufficient RAM or something else. He has intermittent lag. My S9+ has animation lag now on Pie, but not performance lag. Edit: I just cleared the animation lag with a restart and running the optimization app built into the phone . Edit 2: and now it's back.

If I get an S10 I'm going for the crapton of ram on it.

My "Frosty" 3XL is behaving so far.

I've been sitting on the option to grab an unlocked note 9 for the sake of reliability and it's a shame I have to think about having a backup device to a device I really want to use as a daily driver.

Has anyone just have the camera focus on any of their pixels just go whack? Like completely out of focus and not focus for almost anything? almost need to close the camera and open it back up.

 

[5105973]

I've been sitting on the option to grab an unlocked note 9 for the sake of reliability and it's a shame I have to think about having a backup device to a device I really want to use as a daily driver.

Has anyone just have the camera focus on any of their pixels just go whack? Like completely out of focus and not focus for almost anything? almost need to close the camera and open it back up.

Egads no not yet. I will have moments where it hunts for focus but all my phones do that.

I went into developer mode to change my animation settings to help with my S9+ animation lag. There is still micro stutter on my home screen transitions. Sigh. I can see why it's hard for people to break out of iOS, though the most heartbreaking letdown we ever had from a phone was from an iPhone that crashed and lost the video we had taken of a kindergarten celebration of our kid's birthday. It was so cute and the iPhone crashed as it was saving the movie.

I've had dedicated video and camera equipment fail me, too. Technology has its ups and downs that's for sure. That's exactly why I think people who want to be cybernetically enhanced at this stage of technological development are bonkers. Give it at least another 100 years and skip me, please.

 

[tbayrgs]

Quick update on my personal experience using my new Pixel 3XL.

Hardware-wide, thankfully, I'm not noticing any of the issues documented here--no noticable lag or stutters, quite snappy performance. Admittedly, I'm not examining performance with a fine tooth comb, just using it and I don't feel it's a different experience than using my Max.

Played a YouTube music video on both this 3 XL and my Max side by side on Max volume and performance was about the same. Screen is nice, FP sensor is quick. Notch is big and while I notice it a bit more when watching video in landscape than when using the Max, it is what it is and has pretty much just faded into the background. Actually, correction, I notice it more on the Pixel because of it's intrusion in the notification/status bar--the little single dots on either side indicating there is additional info are there an awful lot. On Android, I think I'd just rather have a larger top bezel house all the sensors/speaker since notches/holes just interfere with notifications.

My personal issues using it as my daily driver don't pertain specifically to the Pixel but rather Android as a whole (won't get into it here as I don't want to derail the thread, TL;DR I still find most of my previous issues still exist and would exist in any Android phone). That being said, I think I'm keeping it and will keep an active SIM in it (using Mint--$20 for first 3 months of 8GB of data/month ). My main number will stay in an iPhone since there is no way I’m willing to give up my Apple Watch but, I'm very seriously considering selling my Max and picking up a lesser model just to maintain my iOS existence and watch connection. I'm willing to live with compromises as I've finally hit my personal breaking point with Apple's direction and business practices. I'm not going to liquidate my Apple gear but won't be purchasing anything else from them for the immediate future unless some serious changes happen. As existing hardware needs upgrading, I'll evaluate whether it not its replacement comes from Apple or not.

 

[AustinIllini]

Being back on iPhone for work has been interesting. There's definitely a degree of comfort I have with iOS which makes it feel like my OS of choice. iPhone X is still really, really impressive a year and a half in. The screen is a bit better than the Pixel 3 XL (and the notch, which really doesn't matter much, isn't all that distracting) because Apple simply nails the execution on that OLED display. The hardware is top notch and the quality of the device is unmatched. I am loving the screen size as the Max might have been a bit too big.

The usual problems are still there. While ALL the apps and services I use are supported on iOS, Siri sucks and nearly every native iOS app has a google or MSFT equivalent which can't entirely be made the default. No call screening sucks. I love that feature on Pixels. Also, while the camera is pretty great in bright sufficient light, the Pixel 3 is just miles ahead.

Right now, iPhone X suits me well and I have iMessage all set up. I hate how much I enjoy that service because it's basically just iPhone lock-in.

 

[Michael Goff]

My new phone comes in Wednesday. Can't wait.

 

[Harthag]

Being back on iPhone for work has been interesting. There's definitely a degree of comfort I have with iOS which makes it feel like my OS of choice. iPhone X is still really, really impressive a year and a half in. The screen is a bit better than the Pixel 3 XL (and the notch, which really doesn't matter much, isn't all that distracting) because Apple simply nails the execution on that OLED display. The hardware is top notch and the quality of the device is unmatched. I am loving the screen size as the Max might have been a bit too big.

The usual problems are still there. While ALL the apps and services I use are supported on iOS, Siri sucks and nearly every native iOS app has a google or MSFT equivalent which can't entirely be made the default. No call screening sucks. I love that feature on Pixels. Also, while the camera is pretty great in bright sufficient light, the Pixel 3 is just miles ahead.

Right now, iPhone X suits me well and I have iMessage all set up. I hate how much I enjoy that service because it's basically just iPhone lock-in.

My feeling almost exactly. Though I haven't used my iPhone at all yet since getting the Pixel but for 1 night when wifi calling was broken. iMessage is the only redeeming quality of the iPhone to me at this point. Everything else, I'm managing just fine (and better in certain respects) with the Pixel.

My entire family, immediate and extended, friends, girlfriend, all use iPhones. I have 1 friend who uses Android. They are all 100% locked into Apple so much over so many years, they can't live without iDevices. My brother told me yesterday he's annoyed he can't message me from his (Mac) laptop. I said deal with it haha. It really is scary how deeply entrenched people are in the Apple ecosystem.

I've really enjoyed the camera much more than on any other phone. GF and I were taking selfies over the weekend and people volunteered to hold the phone to zoom out. They were shocked when they saw I could zoom out myself using the selfie cam .

I also can't give up the call screening, it's too much fun using it with telemarketers. My favorite Pixel and Android to date.

 

[Tsepz]

Interesting comparison:

Pocketnow: Mate 20 Pro vs. Google Pixel 3 XL

 

[tbayrgs]

My brother told me yesterday he's annoyed he can't message me from his (Mac) laptop. I said deal with it haha. It really is scary how deeply entrenched people are in the Apple ecosystem.

Sorry, I know this wasn’t the key point of your post but it caught my eye. Why can’t he message you from his Mac? One of the beauties of Apple Messages is cross device syncing. I can send a message to any number, Android or iPhone, in the Messages app in my Mac. For Android phones, it sends as a SMS with green message color, same as it would in my iPhone. No reason I can think of that he can’t do the same.

 

[AustinIllini]

Sorry, I know this wasn’t the key point of your post but it caught my eye. Why can’t he message you from his Mac? One of the beauties of Apple Messages is cross device syncing. I can send a message to any number, Android or iPhone, in the Messages app in my Mac. For Android phones, it sends as a SMS with green message color, same as it would in my iPhone. No reason I can think of that he can’t do the same.

Sounds like he needs to check his text message forwarding settings.

 

[Harthag]

Sorry, I know this wasn’t the key point of your post but it caught my eye. Why can’t he message you from his Mac? One of the beauties of Apple Messages is cross device syncing. I can send a message to any number, Android or iPhone, in the Messages app in my Mac. For Android phones, it sends as a SMS with green message color, same as it would in my iPhone. No reason I can think of that he can’t do the same.

My brother doesn't know that that is an option, I tried to help him along but he's not getting it.

 

[tbayrgs]

Just saw this article demostrating an early version of a new guesture paradigm in Android Q. I would welcome replacing the back button with a guesture. Navigation on Pie is just a bit too inconsistent and disjointed with it’s mix of taps and swipes. That being said, I’m also a fan of the guestures used on iOS and these changes are pretty close to those.

 

[mjschabow]

So I am thinking about switching to the Pixel 3 from my iPhone. I’m curious though, a lot of talk about ram management right after it was released. Is that still an issue? Are there any other glaring issues I should know about?

 

[AustinIllini]

So I am thinking about switching to the Pixel 3 from my iPhone. I’m curious though, a lot of talk about ram management right after it was released. Is that still an issue? Are there any other glaring issues I should know about?

It was fixed in the November security patch. I never have a problem

 

[bandrews]

I've just got a Pixel 3 to run alongside my iPhone XS. Its a great device - fast, well made, not so keen on the screen but it's sharp. Going back to a fingerprint scanner it challenging my muscle memory and getting to grips with some gestures.

But the one thing that really bugs me is the bottom bar with the back button and home bar (the thing that looks like a squished version of the bar on an iPhone). It's so damn big - and in a lot of apps its black when the rest of the app is black making the screen look much smaller than it is (as though the forehead/chin weren't big enough). Also, because the top of the screen is rounded and the bottom often cuts off sharply it just looks wrong. And this is even on some of Google's apps.

The earbuds it came with however are fantastic.

 

[jamezr]

Being back on iPhone for work has been interesting. There's definitely a degree of comfort I have with iOS which makes it feel like my OS of choice. iPhone X is still really, really impressive a year and a half in. The screen is a bit better than the Pixel 3 XL (and the notch, which really doesn't matter much, isn't all that distracting) because Apple simply nails the execution on that OLED display. The hardware is top notch and the quality of the device is unmatched. I am loving the screen size as the Max might have been a bit too big.

The usual problems are still there. While ALL the apps and services I use are supported on iOS, Siri sucks and nearly every native iOS app has a google or MSFT equivalent which can't entirely be made the default. No call screening sucks. I love that feature on Pixels. Also, while the camera is pretty great in bright sufficient light, the Pixel 3 is just miles ahead.

Right now, iPhone X suits me well and I have iMessage all set up. I hate how much I enjoy that service because it's basically just iPhone lock-in.

Very well said...I think you nailed my experiences with IOS as well

 

[AustinIllini]

Very well said...I think you nailed my experiences with IOS as well

I love the aesthetic of iOS and I love how well it performs on the A series chips but I am NOT a fan of the way some defaults simply cannot be set. This thing is a Google Assistant and a few native apps away from perfection.

 

[jamezr]

I love the aesthetic of iOS and I love how well it performs on the A series chips but I am NOT a fan of the way some defaults simply cannot be set. This thing is a Google Assistant and a few native apps away from perfection.

I love the overall user experience on my iPhone. It does a certain set of functions very well .
However i get bored with it quickly as it prevents me from doing some things. I feel I am constrained to service channels that end up costing me $$ instead of adding functionality.

 

[mjschabow]

What are all your thoughts on the display and brightness. I just watched Flossy Carter’s hate film about the Pixel 3XL and he had mentioned that the display even at 50% brightness is abnormally dim.

 

[nospleen]

What are all your thoughts on the display and brightness. I just watched Flossy Carter’s hate film about the Pixel 3XL and he had mentioned that the display even at 50% brightness is abnormally dim.

I generally set the brightness close to 90%. For reference, I set my Xr to around 60%.

It definitely seems dimmer to me, but at 90% it is plenty bright for my taste.