Google Pixel 3 XL Review

Our Verdict

The Pixel 3 XL delivers the best photographic camera on a phone, an immersive half dozen.3-inch OLED screen and the handiest AI features yet.

For

All-time-in-class camera
Amazing Screen Phone call feature
Swift everyday performance
Android Pie makes life easier
Improved OLED screen

Against

Brandish dimmer than other flagships
Battery life could exist better

Tom's Guide Verdict

The Pixel 3 XL delivers the all-time camera on a telephone, an immersive 6.3-inch OLED screen and the handiest AI features still.

Pros

+
All-time-in-class camera
+
Amazing Screen Call feature
+
Swift everyday operation
+
Android Pie makes life easier
+
Improved OLED screen

Cons

-
Display dimmer than other flagships
-
Bombardment life could be better

Update 12/9/21: A dangerous bug has been discovered on the Pixel 3 that can cake the ability to punch 911. Read more about the problem and incoming solutions .

Update: Google has discontinued sales of the the Pixel 3 XL, though you can nonetheless find it on auction from some retailers. The mid-range Google Pixel 5a and the more premium Google Pixel 6 and Google Pixel vi Pro are currently the phones to become instead.

If you really care virtually photo quality, the Pixel 3 Twoscore is the smartphone you want to ain. It'due south one of the all-time camera phones y'all tin purchase, and it's also the best pure Android phone I've ever reviewed.

I tested the half-dozen.three-inch Pixel three Forty, and this flagship ranks right alongside the iPhone XS and other flagships on our list of the best smartphones, thanks to its superb camera quality, astonishing AI smarts and smooth performance. Withal, the design doesn't wow and the brandish — while improved — could exist brighter. If you're looking for a smaller screen, cheque out our Pixel 3 review.

Although the new Pixel 4 looks like a great phone with its Motion Sense gestures, improved dual cameras, Confront Unlock and faster Google Assistant, the Pixel 3 Xl is however a very good value, specially since it's going for less these days.

Pixel 3 Forty Crook Sheet

The 6.3-inch OLED display looks gorgeous, simply the brandish could be brighter and the notch is pretty deep.
The AI camera features make it easier to get the best photograph with less fuss, including Top Shot, Super Res Zoom and Night Sight. Night Sight in particular is astonishing, because information technology takes fantastic photos in the dak.
The dual front cameras characteristic a wide-angle lens and so you lot can fit a lot more scene into your selfies.
The Pixel 3 is smart plenty to screen your calls for you lot. It works amazingly well.
You don't get facial recognition or an in-screen fingerprint sensor.
The Pixel Stand accessory delivers wireless charging while turning your phone into a mini Google Home.

Pricing and Availability

At launch, the Pixel 3 XL toll $899, though that has now dropped to as depression equally $399 on retailers like Amazon for an unlocked version.

In the U.Due south. the Pixel three Twoscore started out as a Verizon exclusive among major carriers, just you lot can buy it unlocked through Google and other retail channels and bring it to your carrier of option.

Pattern

The Pixel 3 Twoscore doesn't look radically different than before, but you lot do get a bigger 6.3-inch display with QHD+ resolution (upwardly from six inches on the Pixel 2 XL). The screen looks colorful and immersive, though I'm non a large fan of the swooping notch. Information technology's narrower but deeper than the one on the iPhone XS Max.

Effectually back, Google has delivered a drinking glass dorsum with a matte terminate, which is a pretty great feat. Not only does it provide a good grip, merely it resists fingerprints. I tested the Just Black Model, simply you lot can too club the Pixel three in Clearly White and Non Pink (which is more like a blush hue). Some have complained well-nigh the back easily scratching, but I accept non found that to be the case so far.

The Pixel iii Twoscore has a fingerprint reader on the back, too, then you lot can forget nearly facial recognition or an in-screen fingerprint sensor, which is a scrap of a bummer.

Google Pixel iii vs Pixel 3XL Sepcs Compared

	Google Pixel 3	Google Pixel three 40
Price	$799/£739/AU$1,199	$899/£869/AU$ane,349
Processor	Qualcomm Snapdragon 845	Qualcomm Snapdragon 845
Screen	5.v-inch	6.3-inch
Cameras	Rear: 12.2MP f/i.viii aperture with OIS and EIS Front: Wide-bending lens with f/2.2 discontinuity, 2nd lens with f/one.viii discontinuity	Rear: 12.2MP f/1.8 aperture with OIS and EIS Front: Wide-angle lens with f/2.2 aperture, second lens with f/i.8 discontinuity
Battery	2915 mAh bombardment, with 18-watt fast charging and Qi wireless charging	3430 mAh battery, with 18-watt fast charging and Qi wireless charging
Memory	4GB	4GB
Storage	64GB or 128GB	64GB or 128GB
Damage Protection	IPX8	IPX8
Audio	ii front end-firing stereo speakers	2 front-firing stereo speakers
Software	Android ix Pie	Android 9 Pie
Bluetooth	Bluetooth five.0	Bluetooth five.0
Special Features	Wireless charging, upwardly to x watts	Wireless charging, upward to 10 watts
Materials	Aluminum frame, hybrid coating	Aluminum frame, hybrid blanket
Colors	Clearly White, Just Black, Not Pink	Clearly White, Just Blackness, Not Pink
Weight	v.2 ounces	6.five ounces
Size	v.7 x 2.seven x 0.iii inches	6.2 x three.0 10 0.3 inches

Display: Colorful but could exist brighter

The Pixel 3 XL is one of the improve looking OLED displays on a phone this year, and it looks similar Google has taken the criticism to center on the Pixel 2 Twoscore. This panel is colorful and authentic.

When watching an episode of Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee, the 1971 Ferrari in Fly Xanthous looked downright luscious, and the picture was so sharp--right down to the fly on the hood--I felt like I was driving effectually with Jerry Seinfeld.

On our lab tests, the Pixel 3 40'south screen turned registered a very skilful 170.2 percent of the sRGB color gamut. That's in between the iPhone XS Max (123 percent) and Galaxy Note nine (224 percent). The Pixel 3 Xl's panel also turned in a Delta-E score of 0.35 (0 is perfect), which means you should expect accurate hues.

However, the brightness could be ameliorate, as this panel emits only 362 nits. The iPhone XS striking a whopping 606 nits and the Galaxy Note 9 604 nits in our testing.

MORE: OnePlus seven Pro vs. Pixel 3: Which Phone Wins?

AI Cameras Steal the Show

Based on our testing, the Pixel 3 XL is now the best camera telephone you tin can buy. And information technology's also the smartest.

Google is leveraging AI in ways that Apple tree and Samsung are not. A new Acme Shot characteristic on the 12-MP rear photographic camera automatically snaps a bunch of photos in succession and attempts to choose the right i. This worked well when I snapped a photo of my colleague, Adam. I just swiped upward and could hands see which pics Google had picked out.

Super Res Zoom is too very impressive. I shot a photo of text on a wall from beyond the room, and I could easily make out the words, fifty-fifty though the Pixel three XL doesn't technically have an optical zoom. The camera is smart enough to reframe the photo and fill up in the details.

To exam low-calorie-free performance, we tried the Pixel 3 Xl's Dark Sight Way. The phone captures a succession of frames to simulate a long exposure time, then stitches those frames together to render color to spaces where it's been lost with the assist of AI. The results are merely astonishing, as yous can see in the to a higher place photos we took with Night Sight way on and off in our dark video lab.

Nighttime Sight besides works wonders with the front cameras. Normal photographic camera mode picked out some particular in the below selfie but the overall quality is night. Turn on Dark Sight, and the result is a assuming and vivid pic.

So how does the Pixel three 40 camera perform otherwise? Very, very well.

Take the above challenging scene, which was taken around 6 p.m. in Herald Square in New York City. The Pixel three XL'south HDR+ camera does a superb chore of exposing the people in the foreground while yet delivering detail in the heaven. You can also make out the reflections in the glass building on the left.

When we compared the Pixel 3 Forty confronting the iPhone XS Max and Milky way Notation 9, Google's camera performed best overall, but it didn't win in all cases.

In this shot at Bryant Park, the Pixel 3 Xl'due south paradigm delivered more than detail in the tree trunks and there's meliorate contrast overall. The photo from the iPhone XS Max looks great, but everything just pops a bit more than on the Pixel 3 40, including the leaves.

When we pointed both phones toward a building, the Pixel 3 Xl's shot came out overly warm, and the iPhone XS Max did a better task with the lite in the foreground. So perhaps the HDR was working better in this case. Information technology's a more balanced paradigm from the iPhone.

Click above to expand — Click in a higher place to expand

The Pixel 3 40 jumped back into the lead with this shot of Monica and Phillip. Everything is sharper, and the shadows come across the best here. With the iPhone XS Max, Philip's face takes on a yellow cast. The Galaxy Note 9 delivered a crisp shot, but there's a fleck of a green-bluish tint that'due south off-putting.

Last but non least, nosotros used the Pixel three Twoscore'south portrait mode to snap a shot of flowers. The Pixel 3 Twoscore's shot nails a more accurate purplish-pink, while the iPhone XS Max's pic had a much warmer cast. I actually prefer the await of Apple'southward photo in this case, only the Pixel's is more than realistic.

Some Pixel 3 owners take encountered a issues that prevents photos from saving, but Google says that an upcoming update will address the effect.

Broad-Angle Selfies

Google isn't the first to do this, but I similar the dual front cameras on the Pixel 3 Xl. The company says the broad-bending lens captures 184 percent more of the scene than the iPhone XS, and the results are impressive.

The standard lens captured pretty much just me and my colleague Adam, but switching to the wide-angle lens fit in much more than of the background. We could have easily squeezed a few more than people in.

If there's one are where the Pixel 3's camera falls behind the iPhone XS, it's video. In our in-depth video shootout, Apple'southward phone captured clearer and crisper footage in virtually situations along with better nighttime footage and audio quality.

Call Screen

As spammers become ameliorate and more sophisticated, information technology can exist all too like shooting fish in a barrel to autumn for a telemarketer when answering your phone. Google is fighting back with a new call screening characteristic.

Google Banana will step in and transcribe the phone call in existent time, and so you can decide whether information technology'due south worth answering. I tested this feature past calling the Pixel 3 from my iPhone XS. With a tap of the button at the peak of the display, I selected Screen Call and Google Assistant got to work, introducing herself and and then taking down every word as I spoke.

This is ane of the all-time implementations of AI that nosotros've seen, and I could meet other companies trying to copy this feature. Google says that Google Pixels will become transcription support for call screenings before the end of the year.

MORE: Pixel three Deals

Operation and Benchmarks

Featuring a Snapdragon 845 processor and 4GB of RAM, the Pixel iii XL delivers silky shine functioning in everyday use and specific tasks, but its criterion scores trail some other Android phones.

When transcoding a 4K video clip to 1080p in the Adobe Premiere Clip app, the Pixel 3 40 took 2 minutes and 42 seconds. The Galaxy S9+ was a bit faster at ii:32, while the A12 Bionic-powered iPhone XS took simply 39 seconds.

On Geekbench 4, which measures overall functioning, the Pixel 3 Xl scored a surprisingly depression 7,684. The Galaxy Note nine hit viii,876 and the OnePlus 6 9,088. The iPhone XS Max reached 11,515.

We also ran 3DMark Slingshot Farthermost to measure graphics performance. The Pixel 3 40 reached 4,396, which is comparable to the iPhone XS Max (four,339) just not every bit high as the Annotation 9 (4,639).

However, there have been reports of the Pixel three Forty (also as the smaller model) occasionally halting background processes abruptly. Initially, many theorized this was an indictment of the phones' 4GB of RAM compared to the 6GB and even 8GB in other flagships, but it turns out the problem may actually take more than to do with a glitch in the Pixels' memory management lawmaking.

To become effectually that, Google confirmed to 9to5Google that it volition distribute a software update "in the coming weeks" which will hopefully address the issue. For what its worth, our in-house units have sporadically closed background apps, similar Spotify while streaming music — though that'south only happened ii or three times subsequently almost a calendar month with the devices.

Battery Life

The Pixel 3 Xl packs a 3,430 mAh bombardment, which is slightly smaller than the 3,520 mAh bombardment in last yr's Pixel 2 40. On the Tom'southward Guide Bombardment Test, which involves continuous spider web surfing over T-Mobile'southward LTE network at 150 nits of screen brightness, the Pixel 3 Twoscore lasted a lackluster ix hours and thirty minutes. That's not terrible, only it's below the 9:48 smartphone boilerplate.

Strangely, this time is a lot less than the 12:09 the Pixel 2 XL turned in terminal yr on the aforementioned LTE network, and the somewhat small departure in battery size doesn't seem to business relationship for the delta in endurance. We will be running additional tests to confirm our results and will be adding anecdotal battery life data after a few more days of employ.

MORE: Smartphones with the Longest Battery Life

It's worth noting that the Pixel iii lasted a similarly brusque 8 hours and 27 minutes, which was well below the Pixel 2's runtime of 11 hours and seven minutes. The iPhone XS Max (3,174 mAh) lasted x:38 on our battery examination, and the Galaxy Note ix and its 4,000 mAh battery endured for a considerably longer eleven:16.

Software and Interface

If yous oasis't used Android 9 Pie yet — and most of us haven't — get prepare for a new fashion to interact with your phone. The Pixel 3 runs the new Google Os, and you use the Home push button to go dorsum habitation and swipe up to prove recent apps. It'due south fairly intuitive, and there's haptic feedback when yous press the software-based Home button.

You lot still swipe down from the top of the screen to access settings. I like that the Contempo Apps menu puts a Google search box from and center. Other welcome Android Pie features include App Slices, which allows yous to go things done without opening the app itself. For instance, you can start booking a Lyft right from the search results menu on the telephone.

If you're concerned about your phone addiction, there are Digital Wellbeing features offered, including the ability to gear up timers for app usage. Check out all of the top features of Android Pie.

Pixel Stand

Out of the box, the Pixel three supports fast charging via an eighteen-watt charger, but you tin also get the wireless road with the optional Pixel Stand ($79/69).

With this accessory, you can relish looking at your photos, control smart home gadgets and heed to music via the Pixel 3 40's dual front-firing speakers. Information technology's kind of like a mini Google Home dock.

Bottom Line

Among large-screen phones, the Pixel 3 Twoscore is the one to beat when it comes to camera performance and AI. The iPhone XS has a nicer design and more pure performance through its A12 Bionic chip. And the Annotation 9 has the Pixel 3 Forty beat for productivity with its S Pen. The new Huawei Mate xx Pro and its three rear cameras besides show a lot of promise.

But, for those serious about photography, the Pixel three Twoscore is an splendid value.

Google Pixel iii Easily-On Review: But Right
Pixel three Gives a New Meaning to Robocalls
Pixel 4 vs. Pixel 4 XL

Marking Spoonauer is the global editor in master of Tom's Guide and has covered technology for nearly xx years. In improver to overseeing the direction of Tom's Guide, Marking specializes in covering all things mobile, having reviewed dozens of smartphones and other gadgets. He has spoken at key industry events and appears regularly on TV to talk over the latest trends. Marking was previously editor in chief of Laptop Mag, and his work has appeared in Wired, Popular Science and Inc. Follow him on Twitter at @mspoonauer.