Google Pixel 4 XL 64GB Just Black

Product Information

We and our partners also use cookies that allow us to measure traffic and show you personalised content and ads rather than basic shiz. With the Pixel 4, the cost isn’t about the hardware — it’s about Google’s software, camera, and those new features.

As I’m sitting here right now typing on my laptop, I can simply swing my left hand out quickly to skip tracks without having to look for the right button. Instead of more physical buttons, you can summon Google Assistant by squeezing the sides below the volume rocker. Google has also added an Astro Mode, which captures up to 16 images per burst and combines them, creating ultimate HDR images.Sure, it will probably get better with later updates, but it’s less consistent than we’d expect coming from the tech giant, especially since it features the promising debut of the long-awaited Soli radar technology. While the latter aren’t widely implemented enough to be useful, the rest of the device lives up to its predecessors’ legacy, and it’s a supreme vehicle for the newly-improved camera. On the front, Google has done away with the grim notch from last year, instead offering a small but noticeable top bezel. I do miss the fingerprint sensor as it means codes have to be entered every time for banking apps etc. For our full selection and best deals on refurbished Google Pixel devices see our landing page here.

Compared to the smartphones from the competitors, the wide frame above the display stands out, which is due to the built-in sensors built-in underneath the screen. For students, journalists, or anybody who needs to turn speech into text on a regular basis, it will be a godsend. Still, it’s less annoying to groggily fling your hand over the phone than it is to pick the thing up and fumble for the right spot on the touchscreen to silence an alarm.

You’ll be able to capture cityscapes and the night sky in one image which - while not perfect - is the best nocturnal phone photography we’ve seen yet. This poses a potential security risk, as your face could be used to unlock your phone when you’re asleep or unconscious or even worse yet, against your will. This can be tweaked to take more or less force to activate (we set it to lower sensitivity as we kept accidentally activating it when picking the handset up).

With the new Dual Exposure mode just a screen tap away in the main camera modes (which lets you fiddle with brightness and shadow), we found it plenty easy to tweak your image before you take it. Once I figured out that it requires a clean sweep across the entire top of the phone, though, I really liked using it. The other reason that using the Pixel 4 feels significantly better than other Android phones is the New Google Assistant. The iPhone, on the other hand, overcompensates with sharpening and just ends up throwing all sorts of artifacts all over the place.

Since we ran our detailed test of the Google Pixel 4, the rumors about an affordable Pixel 4a have been coming hard and fast, and there were also several feature drops, where Google improved its smartphones with some new functionalities. It might not be the fastest Android phone, and the Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 certainly can’t compete with the silicon on an iPhone, but I haven’t had any issues during my first week of testing. For whatever reason, the Pixel 4 won’t let you use the New Assistant if you have a GSuite account activated — even if it’s not the primary account.

However, the DeltaE and DeltaE 2000 deviations are slightly elevated and are only surpassed by the LG G8X ThinQ in our test field.Dual speakers poke out the bottom around a USB-C port, while the right side has a lock button and volume rocker. About this Google Pixel 4 XL review: David Imel and I used the Pixel 4 XL and Pixel 4 starting October 15 for several weeks.