Smackdown Flagship Smartphone: What Does Google’s Pixel 4 Look Like?
The Google Pixel 4, released last month, comes with a host of new features such as face unlock, a telephoto lens on the back, and the ability to take astrophotography. Is that enough for the Pixel to be at the top of your shopping list in a few weeks? Let’s take a quick look at how the Pixel 4 compares to the most popular devices from Samsung, Apple and everyone else.
With the holiday shopping season approaching, it is undoubtedly time to consider upgrading your device. In this guide, we’ll break down the Pixel 4 features for you and help you figure out if the upgrade is worth it if you already have an older Pixel device.
(And if all you care about is specs, we have that comparison too ! Remember, though: numbers aren’t everything.)
What about the Pixel 4 size?
Starting at $ 799, the Pixel 4 comes with a 5.7-inch Full HD + display, while the Pixel 4 XL starts at $ 899 and offers a 6.3-inch Quad HD + display. However, the size of the screen does not necessarily indicate the size of the phone.
At 147.1 x 68.8 x 8.2mm, the Pixel 4 is comfortable enough for small hands and comfortable for those wearing jeans. It’s smaller than the iPhone 11 and nearly the same size as the regular Samsung Galaxy S10 launched earlier this year. The Pixel 4 can be operated with one hand and features the same 90Hz display as its larger counterpart, but more of a “phone” than a “portable multitasking device.” Although those accustomed to the relative weight of the Pixel 3 will find the Pixel 4 tighter than its predecessor.
Pixel 4 XL measures 160.4 x 75.1 x 8.2mm. It’s slightly larger than the Galaxy Note 10 , a giant phone in itself, and the iPhone 11 Pro . Those looking for a performance or gaming device may find the Pixel 4 XL display that better suits their needs. But this is a larger phone, and larger devices require you to keep it close at hand.
Opening up the Pixel 4 and looking into its brain
The bummer of the relatively new smartphones launched at the end of the year is that while their hardware is modern, their insides are inevitably eclipsed by something else a few months before the start of the new year.
The Pixel 4 and Pixel 4 XL are powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 processor and 6GB of RAM. The processor is on par with other phones released earlier this year. However, the OnePlus 7T and Asus ROG Phone 2 already have the Snapdragon 855+ inside, which are clearly aimed at avid mobile gamers. The advantage of this particular chip is that it is slightly more optimized for gaming performance and machine learning, although this is not necessary to get decent performance going forward. And the Snapdragon 855 did a great job with the LG G8 ThinQ , OnePlus 7 Pro , Galaxy S10, and Galaxy Note 10 .
Hardcore phone users are always pleased to have more memory. If you are always switching between video streaming and a mobile game that requires glasses in the background, then using 8GB or more can provide a smoother gaming experience. Both the Galaxy S10 and Galaxy S10 Plus , the OnePlus 7T and its predecessor, the OnePlus 7 Pro, offer up to 12GB of RAM. Regular smartphone users are unlikely to need that much memory, but if your main concern is securing the future, it might seem worth the extra money.
It is difficult to make an apples-to-apples comparison between Android devices and Apple’s iPhones. All iPhone 11 , iPhone 11 Pro, and iPhone 11 Pro Max are equipped with a Cupertino-made Apple A13 Bionic six-core processor and 4GB of RAM. Apple is optimizing its chip specifically for use with its devices, so while it might not sound very powerful on paper, tests have shown that recent iPhones are just as capable of gaming and multitasking.
More storage space, but not enough
Pixel 4 and Pixel 4 XL are available in 64GB or 128GB configurations. The first option may seem enough for you to take photos for several years, save memes, upload documents and deal with everything else that accumulates on your mobile device over time. But that’s paltry when compared to 256GB OnePlus smartphones, which typically hit the max capacities, Apple’s 256GB and 512GB capacities for the iPhone 11 and 11 Pro, and Samsung’s offerings up to 1TB. It’s also worth noting that Google Photos no longer offers unlimited storage for images captured with the Pixel 4, as it did with the Pixel 3 and Pixel 2. The Pixel 4 also lacks an expansion slot.
Life is moving fast and mobile apps are getting bigger. You will need extra space so you don’t have to worry about phone maintenance and cloud backups. If 64GB sounds too limited and you don’t rely primarily on streaming services for content, you’ll want to spend the extra money on a Pixel 4 with more storage capacity, or upgrade to another device.
Battery life
The Pixel 4’s small battery leaves people wondering if it will last a full day of use. The Pixel 4 has a 2,800mAh battery, making it the smallest battery in its class. The battery is not much larger than the second-gen 2,700mAh Pixel 2 , and even smaller than last year’s Pixel 3 . (Both of its predecessors had smaller screens.)
The 3,700mAh Pixel 4 XL will probably be enough, though that’s if you plan on not using a 90Hz OLED display at full brightness. That’s meager compared to the 4,100mAh Galaxy S10 Plus and 4,300mAh Galaxy Note 10 Plus batteries that are marketed as power-user devices, although there is criticism that the latter isn’t nearly as economical as its battery size. lead you to faith.
If battery life is your main concern and you’re not interested in taking high-resolution photos or playing a lot of games, ditch any of the flagships mentioned here and go for the Motorola Moto G7 Power . It has a 5,000mAh battery and misses out on high-end specs, so durability is the last thing you have to worry about.
How many cameras do you need?
As you browse through this list of phones, you’ll find that several Pixel 4 camera lenses compete with Samsung, OnePlus, and Apple phones. The Pixel 4’s main camera is a 12.2-megapixel dual-pixel phase-detection lens with optical image stabilization (OIS), f / 1.7 aperture for low-light photography and a 77-degree field of view. There is an optional 16MP telephoto lens with OIS, f / 24 aperture and 52-degree field of view. The front camera is 8MP with 4K video capture, but it loses the second Pixel 3 camera that helped take wide-angle selfies. It was great for great family photos, but hardly lost if you haven’t used it a lot.
Multiple rear-facing lenses have become an integral part of the latest generation flagship devices. The Samsung Galaxy S10 and Galaxy Note 10 offer a telephoto lens and an ultra-wide-angle lens, while the OnePlus 7T combines it all with a wide-angle, ultra-wide-angle and telephoto lens. The iPhone 11 also offers two ultra-wide and wide-angle cameras, while the iPhone 11 Pro Max has a third telephoto lens. If you need a variety of angles, there are many options to choose between ecosystems.
Google’s big plus for the Pixel 4 is that it uses computational photography to put together a beautiful photograph. Features like Live HDR +, which uses machine learning to calculate HDR + in real time through the viewfinder, now offers sliders for both exposure brightness and shadows. The Pixel 4 also uses machine learning to automatically adjust white balance in all shooting modes, and when you turn on the telephoto lens, there are smart features to help you map depth as you zoom in and out. Finally, the Pixel line’s Night Sight marker has been updated to enable astrophotography, so you don’t have to lug a full-size camera, lens, and tripod out into the desert to get a clear image of the Milky Way – just some of the kind of mount that can hold your Pixel 4 stationary. condition.
While Google usually provides backward compatibility for its camera functions, the Pixel 3 won’t get Live HDR + or double exposure controls. Astrophotography mode is set to arrive on the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3a via an app update, however.
Most flagship devices like the Galaxy Note 10 and OnePlus 7T offer a dedicated Night Mode, but the Pixel’s capabilities have often surpassed both in the past. Apple’s iPhone 11 now has Night Mode, which is capable , but still a little way ahead of it before it can produce what the pixels were able to do.
Hello radar
One of the main features of the Pixel 4 is the presence of a tiny radar chip inside. The feature that uses it is called Motion Sense, and it is limited at launch. It lets you swipe from left to right to switch between music playlists, or wave your hand to reject a call or snooze an alarm. He can also feel your hand moving closer to the phone. This technology is a derivative of Project Soli, introduced back in 2015 and originally intended for Google wearable devices. Hopefully it will be of more use in the future, but that’s not exactly a reason to pick the Pixel 4 over anything else.
Scan your face, not your fingers
The Pixel 4 lacks a fingerprint scanner in exchange for a new face unlock mechanism. Like iPhone’s Face ID, the Pixel 4’s face unlock feature uses infrared cameras to project dots on your face and identify who you are.
However, this feature is already overshadowed by reservations. In addition to limited launch support, Google’s support page warns that not only can you look at your phone to unlock it even if you don’t intend to, but that it can be unlocked by your identical twin.
If you go on with life with a fingerprint sensor instead, the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3a will still use the fingerprint unlocking mechanism. It also has widespread support from third parties, including commonly used banking applications.
What if I need an iPhone, not Android?
Here’s the thing: if you’re choosing between the Pixel 4 and the iPhone 11 or the iPhone 11 Pro (or the Pixel 4 XL and the iPhone 11 Pro Max ), you’re choosing the ecosystem, not the device. With a Google product, you enter a world led by Google, with Google Maps, Google Docs and Google Photos at the forefront. Choosing a Pixel also gives you the added benefit of getting software and security updates directly from Google.
Conversely, if you opt for the Apple iPhone, you will be taken to a neatly walled garden. While there, you will still have access to most of Google’s apps and services, such as Maps, Documents, and Photos, but you can get updates and features for them later. Again, you have Apple’s customer support, including ongoing software and security updates, and full integration with other Apple products. And don’t forget – you also get access to the Apple Watch, which remains one of the top-selling wearables.