Pixel 3/Pixel 3 XL

[epicrayban]

First, let me clearly qualify that I am in no way a fan of, nor advocate of notches. I don’t enjoy them and the resulting asymmetry mildly triggers some level of OCD in my brain. That being said, how Apple utilizes it bothers me the least and there is actually a small bit of functional advantage vs. how the phone would have to be designed/implemented without using one. The notch on the Pixel 3 XL is just absurd. Again, this is just my own personal perspective.

Speaking specifically in regard’s to the iPhone’s implementation, the notch affords a space for all the sensors they need for Face ID, the proximity sensor and front facing camera. The alternative would be to just have them housed in a full top bezel. That would mean either a larger device to have the same amount of usable screen space or less usable display area. The information presently in the ears would be part of the status bar and need to be pushed down into the top of full display area, meaning less space usable by apps, home screens, etc—in both portrait and landscape. I might mean a loss of only .3 inches but it would be less.

The hallmark feature of the iPhone that I love is the absence of a chin. I still don’t understand why no other manufacturer has been able to pull this design element off. So as I see it, assuming an implementation of the exact same amount of usable display space, we have 3 display design options (I’m not including designs like the Find X or Nex as I find them functionally compromised)—a larger iPhone with no chin but a full top bezel, an even larger iPhone with matching full top and bottom bezels (a la Note or Galaxy, for symmetry, of course ), or the current design, smallest overall of the 3 options, with no chin and a notch. I personally am glad Apple choose the implementation that they did. For my preference, it’s the best fit.

The only screen you're gaining with any notch, including the iPhone's, is the size of the operating system's status bar. That's it. So whatever the size of the status bar of iOS is, that's all you're gaining. I don't believe it's even .3 inches. I think it's .1 inch maybe...?

And this .1 inch gain is only in portrait mode. In landscape, you either have the ears blacked out (it's not always necessarily black, the point is the ears get filled out) or you go truly full screen and the notch actually intrudes on your viewing. In the latter scenario, you actually lose screen space.

And that's it.

There's no sound argument for the notch, whether it houses good tech in it or not (you can still house good tech in a regular ol' bezel) or whether one uses the argument of "you get more screen space." The screen space argument is only true in the most basic meaning. You're only gaining about .1 inches or so of screen space. The trade-offs for that are not worth it.

Use of these arguments in favor of a notch come from people who have grossly miscalculated the pros and cons. And they're typically users who have no choice but to accept the notch in their device. Not describing you here. I know you're not a fan of the notch either. Just saying, there is no good argument for it no matter how it's spun.

 

[Michael Goff]

It’s all well and good that the notch can be disabled making the phone look better. But three notification icons only and a gap looks just as bad.
Unless disabling the notch means it uses the available space to behave like a non-notch Android would?

Fewer notifications is just Android P behavior.

 

[epicrayban]

Fewer notifications is just Android P behavior.

Sadly, a software casualty of a hardware mistake.
[doublepost=1539214944][/doublepost]

a larger iPhone with no chin but a full top bezel.

You deal with this currently with your XS. What you describe is what happens in landscape mode.

That's why the screen gain-argument is only in portrait mode. If you use full screen in landscape and use the ears, so to speak, you're losing screen space via a chunk on the side, like it got bitten out.
[doublepost=1539217018][/doublepost]Great article on the Verge knocking Google's notch.

In short, it's just the worst.

 

[Michael Goff]

Bigger concern for me is what it will be like in 1yr. Will it bog down?


Edited for typo.

 

[epicrayban]

Bigger concern for me is what it will be lik in 1yr. Will it bog down?

Valid question.
[doublepost=1539218525][/doublepost]First review? No, more of an in-depth hands on.

 

[tbayrgs]

The only screen you're gaining with any notch, including the iPhone's, is the size of the operating system's status bar. That's it. So whatever the size of the status bar of iOS is, that's all you're gaining. I don't believe it's even .3 inches. I think it's .1 inch maybe...?

And this .1 inch gain is only in portrait mode. In landscape, you either have the ears blacked out (it's not always necessarily black, the point is the ears get filled out) or you go truly full screen and the notch actually intrudes on your viewing. In the latter scenario, you actually lose screen space.

And that's it.

There's no sound argument for the notch, whether it houses good tech in it or not (you can still house good tech in a regular ol' bezel) or whether one uses the argument of "you get more screen space." The screen space argument is only true in the most basic meaning. You're only gaining about .1 inches or so of screen space. The trade-offs for that are not worth it.

Use of these arguments in favor of a notch come from people who have grossly miscalculated the pros and cons. And they're typically users who have no choice but to accept the notch in their device. Not describing you here. I know you're not a fan of the notch either. Just saying, there is no good argument for it no matter how it's spun.

Well, on the iPhone, it is bigger than .1 inch--I've measured it. The notch area itself on the Max is approximately .3 and the status bar on the older Plus model phones is at least .2". You can disqualify it if you like but regardless, it's factually, measurable, usable space. And the trade offs are clearly worth it for some of us. Use a full bezel and screen space is reduced--that's a fact that cannot be argued. You may not like it but, that's not an opinion, there will quantitatively be less usable display. In landscape, except for some gaming and a small portion of video content, the usable space is the same regardless. When I use an app like email or a web browser, content is displayed up the the bottom edge of the notch, exactly as it would be if the ears were gone. Most videos aren't impacted by the notch as their aspect ratio is usually less than the iPhone's display, so I'm seeing black side bars regardless. The only way the notch impedes on those videos is if I zoom in which means I'm cutting off a whole lot more of the video on the top and bottom.

Your distaste for the notch is purely aesthetics because functionally, the notch design offers advantages over a full top bezel. And not liking it because of the visual asymmetry is absolutely valid, but that's all it is. Not using a notch design on the iPhone means either a bigger phone to have the same amount of display space or the same sized phone with less display.

EDIT: One more point I meant to mention in an earlier post. Maybe I don't dislike the notch quite as much because the status bar on the iPhone carries much less information than Android has historically. A notch on an Android phone means less room to display status and notification icons. If I relied on those, I'd likely be a bit more pissed off as well.

 

[Tig Bitties]

Valid question.
[doublepost=1539218525][/doublepost]First review? No, more of an in-depth hands on.

Ah man great review by Josh. Love that YouTuber. Now he's almost making me thinking of getting a 3 XL.

 

[tbayrgs]

The only screen you're gaining with any notch, including the iPhone's, is the size of the operating system's status bar. That's it. So whatever the size of the status bar of iOS is, that's all you're gaining. I don't believe it's even .3 inches. I think it's .1 inch maybe...?

And this .1 inch gain is only in portrait mode. In landscape, you either have the ears blacked out (it's not always necessarily black, the point is the ears get filled out) or you go truly full screen and the notch actually intrudes on your viewing. In the latter scenario, you actually lose screen space.

And that's it.

There's no sound argument for the notch, whether it houses good tech in it or not (you can still house good tech in a regular ol' bezel) or whether one uses the argument of "you get more screen space." The screen space argument is only true in the most basic meaning. You're only gaining about .1 inches or so of screen space. The trade-offs for that are not worth it.

Use of these arguments in favor of a notch come from people who have grossly miscalculated the pros and cons. And they're typically users who have no choice but to accept the notch in their device. Not describing you here. I know you're not a fan of the notch either. Just saying, there is no good argument for it no matter how it's spun.

To bring this back around to the Pixel 3 XL and its notch...I agree much more with your points for that device. The status bar is naturally much smaller than that huge bucket of a cutout. It's a much nicer looking design, with much more usable space for notifications and status icons when the notch layout is disabled. But compared to just about every other recent smartphone, it has significantly larger forehead/chin bezels. And I tend to agree with you about front firing speakers...unnecessary, especially if it means taking up that much front real estate. The iPhone managed to fold the OLED back under itself AND include a great sounding stereo speakers without needing a bottom bezel or full top bezel, so it can be done.

Regardless, if the 3 XL design necessitates that large of a bottom bezel, just match it up top already.

 

[epicrayban]

Ah man great review by Josh. Love that YouTuber. Now he's almost making me thinking of getting a 3 XL.

I'm probably going to pull the plug on the 3 soon. With a bigger and better screen and wireless charging, the hardware is good enough. I'll like the size better than the S9+, too.

 

[Baldilocks]

I just can’t this time. That 4GB of RAM in the 2 XL meant that it was always refreshing apps. I don’t think I want that experience again.

 

[Michael Goff]

I just can’t this time. That 4GB of RAM in the 2 XL meant that it was always refreshing apps. I don’t think I want that experience again.

Yeah, I never understood that. People seem to forget that the main thing using RAM has little to do with how optimized their version of Android is.

 

[drinkingtea]

My Best Buy didn’t have the new 3s on display today. I’ve been watching a lot of 3 XL videos throughout the day. The device looks great; even the notch doesn’t bother me. I just worry about the phone only having 4GB of RAM. I think next year, I’ll have to decide between an XR or a Pixel 3 (or 4). The white 3 XL is so beautiful.

 

[epicrayban]

Google absolutely should have future-proofed both devices with 6gb of RAM. It'll have software updates for three years. Will the hardware be enough to keep up?

We know what happened to the 2XL already.

 

[Michael Goff]

Google absolutely should have future-proofed both devices with 6gb of RAM. It'll have software updates for three years. Will the hardware be enough to keep up?

We know what happened to the 2XL already.

As more and more people are using the phone as their main computer, I wouldn't say 6gb is a future proof issue. There's a reason why phones with 6gb are just a better experience today.

 

[Lloydbm41]

Bigger concern for me is what it will be like in 1yr. Will it bog down?


Edited for typo.

Why would it? There's no skin overlay to bog down the OS. There's no added software leaching RAM like in a Samsung phone. And unlike phones from Samsung, LG, Motorola, etc... updates are quick, which means a continually streamlined OS. Just like with the iPhone. Now the hardware and software are inhouse. Which is why I am guessing they only needed 4GB of RAM.

 

[Michael Goff]

Why would it? There's no skin overlay to bog down the OS. There's no added software leaching RAM like in a Samsung phone. And unlike phones from Samsung, LG, Motorola, etc... updates are quick, which means a continually streamlined OS. Just like with the iPhone. Now the hardware and software are inhouse. Which is why I am guessing they only needed 4GB of RAM.

The Pixel 2XL had a lot of complaints about bogging down after a year. So obviously there's something else wrong.

 

[drinkingtea]

MKBHD at about 23:00 makes the Pixel 3 really enticing.

 

[Ralfi]

For what amounts to about .3 inches of "additional screen" and only strictly when in portrait mode.

Is that the actual height of the notch?

If it is, then it = 7.62mm in my dialect , which is a useful bonus imo. If they'd also cut the chin, then it'd be over 1.5cm of extra useful screen.

I think one-handed users who want a smaller form factor (non iPhone MAX people for eg.) appreciate the notch more.
[doublepost=1539245556][/doublepost]

Here's another with the 3 XL notch disabled held up with the regular 3:

So.Much.Better.

And now you can lean into your decision for front firing speakers (especially now that they're louder and better quality) and the dual-front cameras without attracting ridicule for an insanely ugly notch and gigantic chin. If there is no notch, there is no chin, just good ol' fashion bezels that house good features. I personally don't think it's worth having front firing speakers, but at least it isn't a notch/chin.

This would have been an entirely different launch if they had just stuck it out this way. The tone would have been entirely different. They would have been seen as refinements to last gen's, especially for the regular size one, with good upgrades in the right places: speakers, screen, cameras, etc.

It looks dated, but due to how deep the notch is, I think I'm with you, appearance-wise anyway.

Someone commented on the 3XL design that hit nail on head - it looks like a cheap Chinese knock off. & it really does. & the extra slap in the face to Google's design team as that Chinese manufacturers have released phones with much better notches (& no notches) with little to no chins.

 

[Tsepz]

It’s all well and good that the notch can be disabled making the phone look better. But three notification icons only and a gap looks just as bad.
Unless disabling the notch means it uses the available space to behave like a non-notch Android would?

I wonder this to.

 

[Tig Bitties]

MKBHD at about 23:00 makes the Pixel 3 really enticing.

Good one, thanks for the vid

 

[noobinator]

I wonder if the 3 XL will have blue tint and/or other screen issues? This is what prevented me from sticking with the 2 XL.

 

[epicrayban]

I wonder if the 3 XL will have blue tint and/or other screen issues? This is what prevented me from sticking with the 2 XL.

Apparently it's expected to get an A+ from display mate. And from interviews, tech sites have said a big focus this year for Google was getting the screen right.

 

[woozor1]

these are instore here in the uk I tried them out in o2 and in carphone warehouse within currys had them also.

 

[epicrayban]

Some Best Buys have them on display already, too. There's been photos and impressions at other forums.

 

[Lobwedgephil]

Some Best Buys have them on display already, too. There's been photos and impressions at other forums.

Yeah I went last night to check but my Best Buy didn't have them for some reason. But you are correct, have seen posts from others where Best Buy has them.