Is the Pixel 3 the 2018 Phone of the year?

[Mike Dee]

I would like everyone to please stop using the Redneck reference.

 

[mustang7757]

I would like everyone to please stop using the Redneck reference.

Lmfaoo

 

[anon(10092459)]

What they call the feature is irrelevant. Just because it's called 'photobooth' doesn't mean it has to function exactly like a photobooth does - which it doesn't anyway as a photobooth takes a timed shot, whereas the Pixel looks for eyes and smiles to take a photo.

The point is that it only works on the front facing camera and not the rear facing camera. Are open eyes and smiles not important for the rear camera? For me, they're more important as I don't use the selfie cameras at all. It's something they should have implemented into the rear camera.

And Top Shot would be great if the image quality wasn't so poor. I agree, shots of kids/pets etc, anything can go wrong, so having multiple photos is great, but what good is it when one of the 14 images taken is a crisp, clear 12MP 6mb photo and the other 13 are blurry, 0.8MP 150kb photo that looks like it was sent via MMS? IMO it's an unusable feature. You're better off just holding down the shutter button and take bust shots, then selecting one that looks good.

Regardless of desired personal configurations, the technology behind both are forward thinking. What other OEM is even offering anything close to the level of computational photography sophistication that the Pixel 3 has brought to the industry? What other OEM is using AI to have their cameras operate on their own? What other OEM is even offering anything like Top Shot?? Pixel 3 is simply the tip of the spear!

If you still have criticisms of the Pixel 3 technology, then gracious man, every other camera out right now must be completely in the gutter by your standards. Because nothing else is pushing the industry to this advanced level.

 

[subboy]

I am loving this thread, and so many awesome responses (amongst the fun times being had also) .. Whilst in the midst of looking at upgrading to a new phone, you have all shared an insight which in turn has helped my decision (and answered a few questions I was ready to ask).. sorry I am not contributing as such here, just wanted to shout out and thank you all for your time and comments.. BIG help!

 

[mustang7757]

I am loving this thread, and so many awesome responses (amongst the fun times being had also) .. Whilst in the midst of looking at upgrading to a new phone, you have all shared an insight which in turn has helped my decision (and answered a few questions I was ready to ask).. sorry I am not contributing as such here, just wanted to shout out and thank you all for your time and comments.. BIG help!

You getting the pixel 3?

 

[I Can Be Your Hero]

Regardless of desired personal configurations, the technology behind both are forward thinking. What other OEM is even offering anything close to the level of computational photography sophistication that the Pixel 3 has brought to the industry? What other OEM is using AI to have their cameras operate on their own? What other OEM is even offering anything like Top Shot?? Pixel 3 is simply the tip of the spear!

If you still have criticisms of the Pixel 3 technology, then gracious man, every other camera out right now must be completely in the gutter by your standards. Because nothing else is pushing the industry to this advanced level.

I'm interested in results. Photobooth is a half-baked feature that only works on one side of the phone, rendering it useless to people who don't use the front facing cameras. On top of that it takes more time for the camera to figure out everyone is looking and smiling than it is for the camera holder to say 'cheese' and have everyone look and smile to snap the shot. I'm not very impressed with it at all.

Top Shot sucks because every photo except the one you press the shutter on is of terrible quality. I mean who at Google honestly thought a 0.8MP, 150kb photo is acceptable for a feature they're advertising? You're better off holding down the camera shutter button to take burst shots - at least then the images are of somewhat decent quality and it takes many more shots than just the 14 or whatever from Top Shot. Top Shot is literally a useless, throwaway feature with an already better solution built into the camera.

My issue is that these two features aren't really any good and to me are just gimmicks. They sounded great in the presentation, but when you start testing them, you find out they're not very good at all. It's the type of stuff I'd expect Samsung or LG to put in their phones and label it 'Smart Capture' or something. If you're going to argue that Google are pushing innovation with these features, then the same can be said for the boat-load of Samsung features like Smart Stay, Smart Scroll etc, which I thought were gimmicks. In that case, Samsung are blitzing Google in terms of pushing the industry forward.

On the other side of the coin, I think Night Sight is jaw-droppingly amazing. *That* is a useful, legitimately good feature.

If Google want to put all that tech into the phone, but the results don't back up the claim, and as it is, it feels like the Android P on a whole is a beta version with a tonne of bugs and half-baked features thrown in and needs a gigantic update to fix and improve everything. I hope this December update is going to be big with a tonne of fixes.

 

[Mike Dee]

I'm interested in results. Photobooth is a half-baked feature that only works on one side of the phone, rendering it useless to people who don't use the front facing cameras. On top of that it takes more time for the camera to figure out everyone is looking and smiling than it is for the camera holder to say 'cheese' and have everyone look and smile to snap the shot. I'm not very impressed with it at all.

Top Shot sucks because every photo except the one you press the shutter on is of terrible quality. I mean who at Google honestly thought a 0.8MP, 150kb photo is acceptable for a feature they're advertising? You're better off holding down the camera shutter button to take burst shots - at least then the images are of somewhat decent quality and it takes many more shots than just the 14 or whatever from Top Shot. Top Shot is literally a useless, throwaway feature with an already better solution built into the camera.

My issue is that these two features aren't really any good and to me are just gimmicks. They sounded great in the presentation, but when you start testing them, you find out they're not very good at all. It's the type of stuff I'd expect Samsung or LG to put in their phones and label it 'Smart Capture' or something. If you're going to argue that Google are pushing innovation with these features, then the same can be said for the boat-load of Samsung features like Smart Stay, Smart Scroll etc, which I thought were gimmicks. In that case, Samsung are blitzing Google in terms of pushing the industry forward.

On the other side of the coin, I think Night Sight is jaw-droppingly amazing. *That* is a useful, legitimately good feature.

If Google want to put all that tech into the phone, but the results don't back up the claim, and as it is, it feels like the Android P on a whole is a beta version with a tonne of bugs and half-baked features thrown in and needs a gigantic update to fix and improve everything. I hope this December update is going to be big with a tonne of fixes.

I don't think you're the target Top Shot was aimed at....no pun intended. The target audience for Top Shot will most likely be fine with those images.

 

[the_boon]

In my book:

Best communicator: BlackBerry KEY2

Best slab: Samsung Galaxy Note 9

 

[Morty2264]

In my book:

Best communicator: BlackBerry KEY2

Best slab: Samsung Galaxy Note 9

I still typed way better on my BlackBerry devices than I ever have on my full-touch phones.

 

[anon(10092459)]

I'm interested in results. Photobooth is a half-baked feature that only works on one side of the phone, rendering it useless to people who don't use the front facing cameras. On top of that it takes more time for the camera to figure out everyone is looking and smiling than it is for the camera holder to say 'cheese' and have everyone look and smile to snap the shot. I'm not very impressed with it at all.

Top Shot sucks because every photo except the one you press the shutter on is of terrible quality. I mean who at Google honestly thought a 0.8MP, 150kb photo is acceptable for a feature they're advertising? You're better off holding down the camera shutter button to take burst shots - at least then the images are of somewhat decent quality and it takes many more shots than just the 14 or whatever from Top Shot. Top Shot is literally a useless, throwaway feature with an already better solution built into the camera.

My issue is that these two features aren't really any good and to me are just gimmicks. They sounded great in the presentation, but when you start testing them, you find out they're not very good at all. It's the type of stuff I'd expect Samsung or LG to put in their phones and label it 'Smart Capture' or something. If you're going to argue that Google are pushing innovation with these features, then the same can be said for the boat-load of Samsung features like Smart Stay, Smart Scroll etc, which I thought were gimmicks. In that case, Samsung are blitzing Google in terms of pushing the industry forward.

On the other side of the coin, I think Night Sight is jaw-droppingly amazing. *That* is a useful, legitimately good feature.

If Google want to put all that tech into the phone, but the results don't back up the claim, and as it is, it feels like the Android P on a whole is a beta version with a tonne of bugs and half-baked features thrown in and needs a gigantic update to fix and improve everything. I hope this December update is going to be big with a tonne of fixes.

I disagree about the technologies being gimmicky. The main consideration is how these things are done. Apple's Face ID is great because of the technology and security behind it, not the fact that it unlocks the phone.

Just because they don't serve a purpose for you doesn't mean they don't serve a purpose at all. Top shot is implemented to be backup for a mishap during shooting. I don't think it's supposed to be viewed as the primary shot in the first place. Same applies to photobooth. Just because you find no use for them, doesn't mean it's not useful for others. You say you don't take selfies, though I think you secretly do, so of course you wouldn't find much use in that or the wide angle selfie camera. However, others do. Both features sovle the issue of the "selfie stick" and having to carry that around.

Night sight is without question the blue ribbon feature for the camera. The technology there is incredible and definitely demands a response from the competiton.

The spirit of the thread is to discuss the best phones put to market this year. IMO, that's the Pixel 3. I don't see any other brand of phone pushing forward technology the way I do the Pixel. Nobody was even talking AI at all until Google started talking "AI First" in 2016. Nobody is close to pushing forward computational photography like the Pixels do. GA is the best and most comprensive Assistant on the market right now, and has improved with every generation of device. There's just not a smarter phone out right now, IMO.

I see a lot of sizzle and some steak, but not a lot, when I look around the marketplace today. Apple is close and Samsung as well, but neither are doing that much new for any of their devices.

 

[manni1to]

I currently have the pixel 3 xl after having the note 9 AND iPhone XS max. So yes I would say phone of the year. Very happy.

 

[Milt K]

Dave Lee (Dave2D) a well-known YouTuber (1.8M subs) picks the Galaxy S9 and S9Plus as his picks for 2018 phone of the year. The recent sales make them even more of a no-brainer decision.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7LVgdfCNOw

 

[the_boon]

Dave Lee (Dave2D) a well-known YouTuber (1.8M subs) picks the Galaxy S9 and S9Plus as his picks for 2018 phone of the year. The recent sales make them even more of a no-brainer decision.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7LVgdfCNOw

Battery too damn small on the S9 to reliably get through a full heavy day.

3000mAh just ain't enough to power a 5.8" AMOLED imo, and it'll just get worse with time as the battery degrades further and apps get heavier etc...

 

[Milt K]

Battery too damn small on the S9 to reliably get through a full heavy day.

3000mAh just ain't enough to power a 5.8" AMOLED imo, and it'll just get worse with time as the battery degrades further and apps get heavier etc...

Battery life is so dependent on use case though. That's why battery life evaluations are usually all over the place when people review phones. The similar-sized Pixel 3s only have 2915mAh and there are reports that these don't last a whole day as well on a single charge with heavy use.

The essence of the review above was what that the value proposition of the feature set you get with the S9 and S9 Plus for their given prices is greater than other flagships.

 

[Mike Dee]

Battery life is so dependent on use case though. That's why battery life evaluations are usually all over the place when people review phones. The similar-sized Pixel 3s only have 2915mAh and there are reports that these don't last a whole day as well on a single charge with heavy use.

The essence of the review above was what that the value proposition of the feature set you get with the S9 and S9 Plus for their given prices is greater than other flagships.

It still boils down to what an individual views as important. For me the Samsung software and curved display kills it for me. I don't mind curved glass but curved OLED display is a no go for me.

 

[anon(10092459)]

The essence of the review above was what that the value proposition of the feature set you get with the S9 and S9 Plus for their given prices is greater than other flagships.

I think that's the main issue I have with the review and I'm a huge fan of Dave Lee. He didn't even make a case for why, outside of "It's cheap right now" (more or less).

 

[mustang7757]

to be fair guys the s9/s9+ is a very good all around phone ..it would tic a lot of people boxes

 

[anon(10092459)]

to be fair guys the s9/s9+ is a very good all around phone ..it would tic a lot of people boxes

No doubt. It's definitely a contender even for me. I just would like to see more objective reasoning, especially from a reviewer, than what he offered.

 

[mustang7757]

No doubt. It's definitely a contender even for me. I just would like to see more objective reasoning, especially from a reviewer, than what he offered.

I think what really good is the price point right now and what they offer

 

[Milt K]

I think that's the main issue I have with the review and I'm a huge fan of Dave Lee. He didn't even make a case for why, outside of "It's cheap right now" (more or less).

He did make a case. He said value for the feature set (which encompasses both hardware and software features) for the price. This was based on individual reviews of all the phones he's tested on his channel. I don't think there is any doubt that the S and Note series tick all the hardware boxes compared to other flagships. The difference is how you weigh the software experience, which is highly subjective in itself.