Google Pixel 4 XL review

29 Oct 2019
The Google Pixel 4 duo was not Google's best-kept secret. We saw pictures of the phone weeks before the event, and we even learned about Face unlock while Google teased the Motion Sense features ahead of its event. The Google Pixel 4 XL represents everything that Google has learned in the first four iterations of the Google Pixel, including a mid-cycle and mid-range Pixel 3a which was very well received.

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  • Fmx
  • 30 Oct 2019

I disagree. Star rating is very good and fair 4.0! too many compromises for that price tag!
Look mate30pro 5g after us-huawei ban goes down after 2-3 weeks. Untouchable. 4500mah, fastest wireless charge, 1 of fastest cable charge, best cameras, yes no 90hz but brilliant waterfall screen. a lot other tech. integrated 5g modul in cpu with 5 5g bands!

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    • Anonymous
    • Hx6
    • 30 Oct 2019

    Don’t care about SD card and headphones jack, but when it comes to design and screen brightness no google it’s important

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      • Anonymous
      • Hx6
      • 30 Oct 2019

      Quame, 30 Oct 2019Best camera on any phone = iPhones 11, 11 pro & pro Max... moreWith that dim OLED that not even in par with S10e when it comes to brightness level no. Best rounded phones are IPhone 11pro, 11pro Max, note 10 plus and S10 plus.

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        • Nair
        • s8H
        • 30 Oct 2019

        Its like Google dont even want to compete, they are just releasing phones every year to showcase their software To hell with hardware and design, lol

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          • Atrax
          • s0M
          • 30 Oct 2019

          With all due respect, you guys should really ditch the star rating system because it's starting to make less and less sense. Rating system on anything makes very little sense, there is context and details that should matter to the user, points and stars tell you nothing. You might buy a five star phone and be completely unsatisfied with it. When I read the entire review, I expected it would get 3 stars max. On Pros you admire the face unlock (which is essentially broken and shouldn't be used at the moment), but you also condemn it in Cons, it makes no sense. It has hyped essential features broken or unpolished and unfinished, how many stars and points does that camera bring in to justify all the issues?
          If this was a Sony, it would get obliterated by stars and points and reviews in general. The reason I mention Sony is because I was on the fence between Xperia 5 and Pixel 4, wasn't sure what to buy. Either way, this review helped me decide, but what I'm saying is just in good intention and with all respect, revamp or eliminate the star rating, it's useless and often misleading and contradictory. The battery performance alone would cripple the rating a lot for some reviewers, not to mention the rest of the issues. And the price...Jesus...How good is that camera really, is it 800$ good and the rest is for the actual phone? Come on...
          It's like you gave it a rating for in the future when maybe eventually the issues get fixed, if they do fix them. I'm all for making updates to reviews, if a phone gets a major update that fixes serious problems, great, give it another precious star, but not before and in advance.
          Also updating reviews with newly found negative remarks, like for example with the S10 or Note10, whichever it is that can be unlocked with an unregistered fingerprint... That stuff should be added in bold red and all capitals in the reviews, not to mention Samsung should notify their users with a service message, a pop-up of sorts, warn them not to use the feature or whatever, it's a serious security risk. I bet you Samsung will never be able to fully solve this because it is the essential flaw in how that fingerprint reader is designed, it was flawed when they first introduced it, still is, I'm amazed they're sticking with it.

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            • Anonymous
            • wvR
            • 30 Oct 2019

            Noncy, 30 Oct 2019Samsung note 10+ is a much better phoneUnfortunately it's true. Nothing to add. Actually I think even Note10 is a way better phone.

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              • Love the Community
              • Fv4
              • 30 Oct 2019

              I guess that Apple's DeepFusion software finally beat Google at their own game. If Google coughed up more cash to get IMX586, none of the camera woes would've happened.

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                • Anonymous
                • wvR
                • 30 Oct 2019

                Nick Tagataka, 30 Oct 2019When Google announced Pixel 4 series I thought it was so me... moreGoogle seems don't care. They step in the same s**** from year to year.

                  Just as we expected. This phone has far too many compromises to be considered for purchase at that price point.

                  And you know the camera isn't that special when it has to be compared with 7T instead of Mate 30 Pro or iPhone 11 Pro.

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                    • Anonymous
                    • wvR
                    • 30 Oct 2019

                    Julian M, 30 Oct 20194/5 seems awfully generous given the phone's shortcomings (... moreCompletely agree with what you said. It's not worth the money they're asking for it right now. I'm very disappointed with what Google did this time. A lackluster, sub-bar phone for nearly $1k. No, thanks!

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                      • Gnu
                      • 6wx
                      • 30 Oct 2019

                      acemang, 30 Oct 2019they don't sell on those markets not because they are stupi... moreThat is a BS. I bought a Pixel in Germany, and I live in Poland. Everything is working, even G asistant in Polish, so what You are saying is not true i guess. Android supports every possible language so to sell Pixels in most countries they dont have to do anything. The easiest way would be creating oine store for european market with warranty support, but no, Google doesnt want money from Polish users or, Hungarian users. That is just stupid. Look at chinese brands. Many niche chinese manufacturers have better market distribution than Google. In Poland i can buy Xiaomi, Oppo and many many more chinese junk, but not the Android "flagship". That is just stupid.

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                        • Fmx
                        • 30 Oct 2019

                        KnightX, 30 Oct 2019Iphones are no match against Huawei Mate 30 pro you can cry... moremate30pro will have full google services after 17th of november when Trump and China will have huge trading deal (in a good way)

                          Quame, 30 Oct 2019Best camera on any phone = iPhones 11, 11 pro & pro Max... moreIphones are no match against Huawei Mate 30 pro you can cry as much as you want! But the cameras of Mate 30 is way ahead, lack of Gapps is thr only downside it has!

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                            • Fmx
                            • 30 Oct 2019

                            "All phones have 90Hz screens, but the smoothness in display and hardware is seemingly more apparent on OnePlus devices. It's a little ironic that an OEM can create a better UI for Android than Google itself." So OnePlus does better UI than Google themselves. And if this is not high praises!
                            Oneplus 7t pro - 4.6 star rating
                            Pricier Pixel 4 xl - 4.0 star rating

                            Now I know my best2019 phones - Mate30Pro 5G (soon to be released in ~2 weeks) and Oneplus 7T Pro 5G (Mclaren 12gb USA market model but it supports all global bands possible)

                            17th of november 2019 huawei-US ban will be shut down and simple OTA will give all mate30 and mate30pro / 5g full google services and stuff

                              When Google announced Pixel 4 series I thought it was so mediocre, but then reading this review made me realise how pathetic this thing really is. So Google put an average sized battery since it's Google and needs to compromise something for no reason, used 90Hz display for show-off but ended up as such a mess due to very poor calibration and such low max brightness, opted for face unlock ONLY that has no compatibility whatsoever with banking apps and was forced to clock down the CPU so that they could stop their small battery from draining in half a day. Camera was their last saving grace but they threw that away as well by not putting a larger sensor or ultra wide lens and limiting the video recording to 4K30. Like, what did they want to achieve with this product?

                              Honestly at this point the only device I recommend Pixel 4 over is Mate 30 Pro, a phone that has no official Google app support and comes with very limited availability outside China. Note 10+ is better than Pixel 4 in every single way apart from the still image quality from its main camera, iPhone 11 Pro obliviates this poor iPhone wannabe and OnePlus 7T Pro is a cheaper but better alternative to Pixel 4 series as it's comparable to Pixel in some area but does many things better. Google should be ashamed of themselves for releasing this mess ffs.

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                                • Anonymous
                                • ICd
                                • 30 Oct 2019

                                Aakash7T, 30 Oct 2019I was eagerly waiting for the Pixel 4. As soon as the Launc... moreDid the same. I had used my neighbor's 3XL and was waiting for the P4/XL. Went for the 7t instead. Best smartphone experience I've ever had.

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                                  • Extreme_Boky
                                  • Xr0
                                  • 30 Oct 2019

                                  dPreview managed to produce the best looking photos of any phone tested, quite stunning in fact for a phone camera. The price justifies itself just by having this phone as a travel camera, in my opinion. I am not sure what happened here... Anyway, I provided the link for those who'd like to have a look
                                  The link: https://www.dpreview.com/samples/1317603536/pixel-peeping-the-everyday-explore-our-google-pixel-4-sample-gallery?utm_source=self-desktop&utm_medium=marquee&utm_campaign=traffic_source

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                                    • Anonymous
                                    • MkE
                                    • 30 Oct 2019

                                    "The Google Pixel really excels in the camera department, but Google doesn't seem too worried about the competition when it should be. It feels like Google is relying solely on its camera prowess to push sales of the Pixel 4 and 4 XL while merely getting by in other aspects like display technology (we want a brighter AMOLED display) but more specifically, battery life."

                                    This sentence describes current state of Google. Oneplus is doing a remarkable job polishing stock android even further, why can´t Google do the same?!

                                    This has got to be the worst flagship batery performer of 2019. I like Android but for the asking price i´d go for the iPhone instead

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                                      • Ayva
                                      • gqw
                                      • 30 Oct 2019

                                      All of those cons and it still gets 4 stars?

                                        they don't sell on those markets not because they are stupid, but because they sell a pixel with custom software. The price you pay includes that. If that software doesn't work well on some countries, usually because of the language, they just don't sell it because it would not be fair to them. If you don't mind with those short comes there are lots of ways you can get your pixel from those stores.

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