What are YOUR impressions of the Pixel 3/3 XL?

[I Can Be Your Hero]

So the cat(s) are out of the bag, so to speak. We've read and watched the early impressions, so what did you think about the new Pixel phones?

My thoughts:

- Very impressed with what the camera looks like it can do. Seemingly great low light performance, motion tracking etc all looked great. I like that Google are using their AI/machine learning prowess to make the camera smarter and more useful.

- Hearing the screens are *substantially* better than the Pixel 2/2 XL gave me a sigh of relief as that was one of the biggest complaints I had with the Pixel 2 XL.

- Hearing that the build quality is substantially better than the Pixel 2/2 XL also gave me a sigh of relief as that was another complaint I had with the Pixel 2 XL.

- Call screening looked like a fantastic feature that will be really useful. Great surprise there.

- Google duplex rolling out soon to Pixel owners sounds great and can't wait to use it.

- Titan M chip for extra security. Most probably won't care, but I'm glad that they're taking security seriously and put additional security into the phones.

I think overall I'm really happy with what was presented. I had major reservations early on and every leak made the phone look worse and worse, but the event filled me with confidence. Would I like the 3 XL to not have such a giant notch, have the phones with more ram, larger batteries and more on board storage for the base model? Sure, but to trade that off for another phone, I'll be missing out on something the Pixel provides that you simply can't get on any other phone, and that's the the A+ user experience.

I'll be preordering the Pixel 3.

So what are your thoughts on the phones? Liked them? Hated them? Speak your mind.

 

[TraderGary]

I agree with most everything you've said, so I'll not repeat.

Kate and I are both getting the Pixel 3 XL 128.
Google Fi offers $800 of Fi credit when ordering two Pixel 3 XL's.
This make Kate's Pixel 3 XL costing only $200.
That's a real bargain in anybody's book!

Kate and I use Adobe Lightroom/Photoshop CC and the ability to shoot JPG + RAW with the Pixel 3 XL is a huge plus for processing flexibility.

From watching YouTube videos of actual notch use, I doubt if there will be any usability problems. Besides, there is an option to totally hide the notch if it becomes an issue.
We both prefer big phones and are definitely not one-handed users.
We both hold the phone in our left hand and the right index finger becomes the "mouse".

 

[anon(10092459)]

Phone of the year, hands down! No device out there is answering your phone calls for you. I mean, the camera is literally going to increase the Pixel’s lead on the competition. Nothing else comes close to this level computational power in 2018. Nothing.

 

[RaRa85]

Looks like a serious, no frills phone hardware wise. I don't know how they can justify the price hike for basically the same specs as last year even the camera is the same with some new AI tricks thrown on it. I think I'll love the feel in hand though and the extra wide selfie looks promising but this proves that Google could've done more on the rear since no one asked for dual front facing cameras anyway. Security looks to be a great feature. Having kids, I think the top shot feature would be perfect. Also curious to see how the Super res zoom will actually fair against optical telephoto and Huawei's P20 Pro 3X zoom. All in all a great phone that's not that exciting but will probably do everything well. Just waiting for battery life results. Also going to Best Buy tomorrow/today to check it out in person.

 

[Mike Dee]

Looks like a serious, no frills phone hardware wise. I don't know how they can justify the price hike for basically the same specs as last year even the camera is the same with some new AI tricks thrown on it. I think I'll love the feel in hand though and the extra wide selfie looks promising but this proves that Google could've done more on the rear since no one asked for dual front facing cameras anyway. Security looks to be a great feature. Having kids, I think the top shot feature would be perfect. Also curious to see how the Super res zoom will actually fair against optical telephoto and Huawei's P20 Pro 3X zoom. All in all a great phone that's not that exciting but will probably do everything well. Just waiting for battery life results. Also going to Best Buy tomorrow/today to check it out in person.

I wonder if they have all models or at least all colors. I ordered white and I think I'll be Ok with it. Wish I had seen it first.

 

[Mike Dee]

So the cat(s) are out of the bag, so to speak. We've read and watched the early impressions, so what did you think about the new Pixel phones?

My thoughts:

- Very impressed with what the camera looks like it can do. Seemingly great low light performance, motion tracking etc all looked great. I like that Google are using their AI/machine learning prowess to make the camera smarter and more useful.

- Hearing the screens are *substantially* better than the Pixel 2/2 XL gave me a sigh of relief as that was one of the biggest complaints I had with the Pixel 2 XL.

- Hearing that the build quality is substantially better than the Pixel 2/2 XL also gave me a sigh of relief as that was another complaint I had with the Pixel 2 XL.

- Call screening looked like a fantastic feature that will be really useful. Great surprise there.

- Google duplex rolling out soon to Pixel owners sounds great and can't wait to use it.

- Titan M chip for extra security. Most probably won't care, but I'm glad that they're taking security seriously and put additional security into the phones.

I think overall I'm really happy with what was presented. I had major reservations early on and every leak made the phone look worse and worse, but the event filled me with confidence. Would I like the 3 XL to not have such a giant notch, have the phones with more ram, larger batteries and more on board storage for the base model? Sure, but to trade that off for another phone, I'll be missing out on something the Pixel provides that you simply can't get on any other phone, and that's the the A+ user experience.

I'll be preordering the Pixel 3.

So what are your thoughts on the phones? Liked them? Hated them? Speak your mind.

I agree with the things you are pointing out.
The photography enhancements pretty much made me say I have to have it. Like you I'm not big on selfies but more true of solo selfies. The wide angle is great for group shots when no one is around to take a picture for you. Missed that feature from my LG phones. I do wish they had a wide rear camera but I'm good for now.
I like how the stand has more features than just charging. I also think it's nice that they included earbuds for those that don't like the dongle.

 

[BrwnSuga3]

I’m sold on the camera alone. I use my camera a lot when I’m on the go and I’m super excited to try this one out when it comes next week

 

[RaRa85]

I wonder if they have all models or at least all colors. I ordered white and I think I'll be Ok with it. Wish I had seen it first.

I gotta have the Just Black. Pure business, sleek looking type of phone.

 

[Mike Dee]

Marques Selfie

https://twitter.com/mkbhd/status/1049758977054167043?s=21

 

[RaRa85]

Marques Selfie

https://twitter.com/mkbhd/status/1049758977054167043?s=21

Lol wow. Well at least no "beauty gate" action with these although it's good the option is there for people who might want/need it.

 

[ndonnine]

I'm just stoked the Pixel 3 looks exactly like the 2xl but is the size of the 2. I prefer texting with one hand but 5.5" is the smallest screen I like to use. I watch Football on it sometimes so the 5" was rough.

Otherwise, I'm not too much of a photo taker but when I do, I'm glad they are increasing the HDR speeds.

The new colors are cool looking too.

 

[klau25]

I like the wireless charging feature, but everyone been saying how easily the back is getting scratched. That's one thing that is worrying for me. Will probably have to but a protector on the back also plus a case. Went with the smaller version this year, since I can't stand the notch. Looking forward to be able to use my phone with one hand again. I hope the battery will be as good or better than the pixel 2. It should since it has a bigger battery, newer chip and better battery management.

 

[Mr Segundus]

The camera is what got me to change my mind. I saw the night shot photos and I was blown away. What's even more cool is that despite the lack of a secondary telephoto lens, the camera uses AI to add in details to digitally zoomed images that don't look like crap!

I'll live with the notch and the 128GB storage option. I wish it had higher storage configurations and more RAM. But if the Pixel 3 XL is as fluid as my iPhone XS Max, which also only has 4GB of RAM, then the 4GB of RAM will be sufficient.

 

[Mike Dee]

I like the wireless charging feature, but everyone been saying how easily the back is getting scratched. That's one thing that is worrying for me. Will probably have to but a protector on the back also plus a case. Went with the smaller version this year, since I can't stand the notch. Looking forward to be able to use my phone with one hand again. I hope the battery will be as good or better than the pixel 2. It should since it has a bigger battery, newer chip and better battery management.

Glass scratches easily regardless of who's it is. I'm sure some coatings are less scratch resistant but I think most everyone will case it.

 

[RaRa85]

Ok so my impressions after actually seeing it and testing it out in Best Buy is I gotta have it. The size is perfect. The finish does not feel like glass at all on the Just Black version except for at the top part. It feels really smooth and matte. The audio recording from the camera sounded nice. They didn't have it connected to WiFi so I didn't get to test out the speakers from anything but the short videos I recorded. All in all great experience and I can't wait to have mine. Also if you like weighty phones this one is not for you. Very lightweight but comfortable.

 

[Mezzanine7]

I'm sure it'll be a great phone. that said, it doesn't appeal to me. To me it was bland, and they took a page out of Apple's book by selling you practically the same phone with little tweaks here and there. that said I am looking forward to the reports and feedback and people using the Pixel 3. From what I understand google didn't do so well selling pixels last year(correct me I I am wrong) and with the price I wonder if they can sell more this year.

Two good things I did like was they fixed the display and the front facing stereo speakers are %40 louder than last year's.

 

[Mike Dee]

Ok so my impressions after actually seeing it and testing it out in Best Buy is I gotta have it. The size is perfect. The finish does not feel like glass at all on the Just Black version except for at the top part. It feels really smooth and matte. The audio recording from the camera sounded nice. They didn't have it connected to WiFi so I didn't get to test out the speakers from anything but the short videos I recorded. All in all great experience and I can't wait to have mine. Also if you like weighty phones this one is not for you. Very lightweight but comfortable.//uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20181010/b290f6f71856ee395ea1ab7691a90d3a.jpg//uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20181010/2e46862ad6892ad0bf2598867e2b1a53.jpg

Any colors there besides black?

 

[RaRa85]

Any colors there besides black?

They had the P3XL in clearly white.

 

[Mike Dee]

I'm sure it'll be a great phone. that said, it doesn't appeal to me. To me it was bland, and they took a page out of Apple's book by selling you practically the same phone with little tweaks here and there. that said I am looking forward to the reports and feedback and people using the Pixel 3. From what I understand google didn't do so well selling pixels last year(correct me I I am wrong) and with the price I wonder if they can sell more this year.

Two good things I did like was they fixed the display and the front facing stereo speakers are %40 louder than last year's.

We all have different viewpoints.
From my angle I saw the camera changes in hardware and software as massive improvements in something that I thought would be difficult to improve.

 

[mgbosshogg]

We will get no offers or deals here.

When next to my Note 9, it's in the same league as an OP6 et al.
It's simply not a £969 device. Missing too many features. Still looks very cheap.

Screen looks better than the 2 though, which is not hard.

Always been interested in one. But won't be until it can compete with a real flagship.