Google Pixel 3 Review: the ultimate test of the camera

Pixel 3 is Google's third-generation internal design, designed to present the company's point of view on what an Android device should be, while fully integrating Google's software applications and services. Pixel phones from Google have become synonymous with the experience of the camera. The Pixel 3 continues on this momentum and promises to be "the best smartphone camera", simply.

Along with Google's software, this year's Pixel family has advanced some hardware design choices, some of which may have been appreciated in the last year. The new units have updated panel technology, built-in wireless charging and even fast wireless charging. Still for Google, the Pixel 3 actually looks like a current flagship smartphone, compared to Pixel 2 which was not at the time.

This year's Pixel 3 phones are hoping to maintain the software benefits, adding a number of innovative features, including the camera side, while addressing the hardware aspects to be considered a true flagship of the generation of a highly competitive generation.

In this comprehensive analysis of Pixel 3, we will cover the hardware, design, software and a detailed look at what makes users complimentary about the camera. We have tested more than 18 current and older high-end camera cameras to draw the conclusions, with all the analysis contained in these few pages. The comments are of course more than welcome.

It should be noted that for this review, we unfortunately could only get hold of an ordinary Pixel 3, colored in "Not Pink". We hope that in the future, we will be able to update the battery of the biggest Pixel 3 XL as soon as we have the possibility.

Pixel Hardware and Design

In terms of hardware specifications, the new Pixel 3 family is in line with many of this year's flagship Android trends: at the heart of phones, the Snapdragon 845 SoC powers devices. 2018 was an excellent competitive year for Qualcomm and the S845 was able to lead performance among its Android competitors. One thing to note here if you are considering a Pixel device is that Google's publishing schedule is not synchronized with silicon supplier SoC alignments – which means that users who invest in a pixel are buying a flagship phone whose silicon is now 8 months old. and will probably be replaced by his successor in just a few months. For those who want the tip, the Pixel 3 could be a short-lived experience. However, this does not take anything away from what is under the hood today.

Google also equips the Pixel 3 with relatively conservative DRAM memory and storage options. Both phones come with 4GB of RAM and a basic storage variant of 64GB, with the ability to purchase a higher-level variant of 128GB. It should be noted that most Google's competitors offer versions of 6 GB or more at similar prices.

In order to combat this low memory, a new hardware / software feature is a daemon / application in the background of application memory management & # 39; lowmmemorykiller & # 39; which applies various settings to keep some software in memory in order to allow fast loading of applications. Although in general I do not value this as much as other people, I have noticed that in everyday use phones needed to recharge apps more often. Users have already reported that phones have trouble keeping things open and alive in memory. No doubt that an additional setting of memory management will be through updates and the unit's lifecycle.

Pixel 3 (left) and Pixel 2 (right)

From a design standpoint, Pixel 3 is an important upgrade from Pixel 2. The top and bottom frames of 2015 are over. We find instead a more contemporary design with an extended format of 18: 9 (or 2: 1), increase the screen-body ratio of the phone. The screen is still an OLED screen with FHD + resolution (2160 x 1080 pixels) – although this year, it seems that Google has divided suppliers between the Small and XL variants, the Pixel 3 panel is being manufactured by LG while the Pixel 3 XL a Samsung panel.

Fortunately, we do not need to engage in large controversial discussions on a notch because the small Pixel 3 (as opposed to the 3XL) does not have one. What's new for both Pixel 3 smartphones is a wide-angle secondary front-facing camera, allowing for wider shots or a wider field of view when recording video or front-end communications, which is in fact quite practical.

Pixel 3 (left) and Pixel 2 (right)

At the back of the phone we are also witnessing a big change in design: Google has gone from a metal monocoque design with a glass cutout top to a glass back panel. Google still maintains the same brilliant glossy glass design in the top of the phone and achieves it by chemically attacking the bottom of the glass until it gets a matte finish.

The matte feel of glass is extremely similar to the OnePlus 6 engraved patterns and stands out as a completely different sensation from glass phones. It really helps with taking, and totally avoids fingerprints. My only problem here is that Google did not extend this finish to the edges of the glass, while leaving a 1mm ring around the fingerprint sensor, the latter whose shadows on the glass look very weird and a little cheap.

Going to the bottom of the glass allows Google to now adopt wireless charging and supports the Qi standard. The phone also supports fast wireless charging up to 10W. Unfortunately, again, it seems that Google only allows it on certified chargers, so it does not really meet the Qi fast charge standard. This means that almost all existing "fast" wireless chargers will be limited to 5W.

Google has bundled its own charger kits with its Pixel Stand PSU (it does not come with commercial units), and it works just as well as what's on the box. A big problem that I noticed is that the stand only accepts some USB-C chargers with PD at certain voltages – so that users are limited to the supplied power supply as well as the to a limited number of USB C PD chargers so you can even turn it on. .

It should be noted that the glass at the back has some bending, even under slight pressure, and I can hear it touching the internal elements (charging coil and battery). This is one of the first things I noticed when unpacking the phone, which makes it much less well built, such as the glass racks of Samsung or Apple.

The Pixel 3 camera sees a minor upgrade of the IMX362 sensor from Sony to the IMX363 – both units are 12.2MP sensors with pixel heights of 1.4 μm. The aperture is also the same at f / 1.8. There are no secondary modules here, and Google prefers to resort to software innovation to enhance zooms on images: the Pixel 3 comes exclusively with a new "Superzoom" mode that promises to improve the digital zoom, further in the camera section where we will have a very big comparison with most of the flagship devices this year.

The left side of the phone is devoid of buttons and we find the power and volume rocker on the right side. Google accentuates the color of the power button. On my pink unit "Not Pink", it is a very neon orange that does not appear in the pictures as much as in the real world.

On the top of the phone we find a microphone hole.

The bottom sees the only nanoSIM slot as well as the USB-C charging port. As on Pixel 2, Pixel 3 units do not offer any headphone jack. One of the arguments in favor of removing the headphone jack, besides the assertion that it offers a larger internal space dedicated to batteries, is that it allows a better audio quality. Indeed, if the headphones have their own integrated DAC, they can be calibrated according to the sound profile of each headset, instead of relying on the phone to provide a correct frequency response. That said, the USB-C headphones provided with the Pixel 3 are unfortunately some of the worst I've ever listened to and can easily be described as garbage. I would easily pick up USB-C headphones from any other major smartphone provider.

As a result of this review, we cover the following:

1. Introduction and design (this page)
2. System performance
3. GPU performance
4. Display measurements and calibration tests
5. Battery life and power
6. Camera pt 1: Daylight with SuperZoom and Scenic
7. Camera pt 2: Daylight with dynamic range
8. Camera pt 3: Low light and NightSight
9. Camera pt 4: Video Recording and Speaker Evaluation
10. Pixel 3 Conclusion