Introduction
Bringing the small Pixel into the now with a tall display and less wasted space, we have this year's Google Pixel 3. Updated glass build and a couple of selfie cameras mark the other key changes compared to the 2017 vintage.
This being Google's hardware vehicle for Google's own software, the Pixel 3 comes with the latest Pie OS, almighty Assistant, and a main camera that makes up with machine learning and math for what it lacks in specs - an actual second module.
Google's aversion to the specs race continues and the Pixel 3 is one of few top-end handsets to make do with just 4GB of RAM and the 128GB storage maximum is where some current models start at. No memory card slot either - instead, it offers you unlimited cloud storage for a few years to come. Neat, but not quite the same thing, we reckon.
The Snapdragon 845 goes without saying, and as with RAM, Google's taken a conservative approach - clock speeds are lower than what you'd find on competing models. So be it.
The slight increase in battery capacity to match the bump in display size is welcome, naturally, and so is Google's continued effort to adopt and promote Power Delivery as the universal charging standard to rule them all. The addition of wireless charging, now that the glass back allows it, is also a nice development.
Google Pixel 3 specs
- Body: Aluminum frame, Gorilla Glass 5 front and back; IP68 certified for water and dust resistance. 145.6 x 68.2 x 7.9 mm, 148g. Just Black, Clearly White, Not Pink color schemes.
- Display: 5.5" P-OLED, 2160x1080px resolution, 18:9 (2:1) aspect ratio, 443ppi; HDR support.
- Rear camera: 12.2MP, Type 1/2.55" sensor, f/1.8 aperture, 27mm equiv. focal length (76-degree FOV), dual pixel PDAF, OIS. 2160p/30fps video recording, 1080p/120fps and 720p/240fps slow motion.
- Front camera: Primary 8MP, f/1.8 aperture, 28mm equiv. focal length, PDAF; Secondary 8MP, f/2.2 aperture, 19mm equiv. focal length, fixed focus. 1080p/30fps video recording.
- OS/Software: Android 9.0 Pie; Pixel launcher.
- Chipsets: Qualcomm Snapdragon 845: octa-core CPU (4x2.5GHz Kryo 385 Gold & 4x1.6GHz Kryo 385 Silver), Adreno 630 GPU.
- Memory: 4GB of RAM; 64/128GB of storage.
- Battery: 2,915mAh Li-Ion (sealed); Power Delivery fast charging; WPC(Qi) wireless charging; 18W charger in the bundle.
- Connectivity: Single nano SIM and eSIM; LTE-A, 5-Band carrier aggregation, Cat.16 (1.0Gbps/75Mbps); USB Type-C (v3.1); Wi-Fi a/b/g/n/ac MU-MIMO; GPS, GLONASS, Galileo; NFC; Bluetooth 5.0.
- Misc: Rear-mounted fingerprint sensor, front facing stereo speakers, Active Edge squeeze sensors.
Sure, computational photography is cool and all, but wouldn't it have been nice if there were a real telephoto cam, maybe? Yes, it would have been. Also, Google knows better probably, but we'd all have been happier with 6 gigs of RAM - if not even for futureproofing, then at least to look good next to the competition. Another of our usual complaints is addressed, sort of, inside the box.
Google Pixel 3 unboxing
That would be the lack of a 3.5mm jack. To make you feel better about the missing port, the Pixel 3 comes with a pair of USB-C Pixel earbuds, a nice addition given the lack of a headset in the previous two generations.
You'll only be able to get to those after disposing of several layers from the inside of the plain white cardboard box that is unmistakeably Google's. Remove the lid and the phone greets you from its tray. Underneath, a sleeve holds the documentation and the SIM pin, and covers another tray where the Pixel earbuds live.
Get that out of the way and even more stuff shows up. There's a USB-C to 3.5mm adapter and a USB-C to A adapter in a shared tray of their own, plus a USB-C to C cable. Another dedicated sleeve holds the charger - a Power Delivery unit rated at 5V/3A and 9V/2A. Mind you, the fabric case doesn't come in the box - you need to buy that separately.
Okay, with all of the peripherals accounted for, let's focus on the phone itself.
Design and 360-degree spin
Google Pixels were never really beauty pageant winners. The first-gen models almost had more bezel than screen, and while last year's XL was more in keeping with the trends, the small Pixel 2 looked dated. Well, this year the small one is no ugly duckling, while the big one... well, that notch is the subject of another discussion.
One of the main changes is the display - in both size and proportions. While last year's model with its classic 16:9 aspect stood pretty much alone in a world of 18+:9 handsets, the Pixel 3's display is a tall one. And stretching it up and down has increased the diagonal to 5.5 inches, compared to the Pixel 2's 5 inches. All this has resulted in a much more balanced front - for a change, not dominated by the chin and forehead. In fact, the Pixel 3 is the first small Pixel with a reasonable screen to body ratio.
That said, it's not remotely what you'd call 'bezelless' - the Galaxy S9, for example, still makes better use of what is essentially the same footprint. What's a bit irksome, more so than the large-ish top and bottom bezels is the fact that the top one is actually a millimeter thicker - as in, it's subjectively top-heavy.
The top does have to be large enough to accommodate the pair of cameras, so at least the size is warranted. And it's infinitely better this way than cutting out a notch the size of the 3 XL's in a phone as small as the 3. The list of top bezel stuff continues with the earpiece that also doubles as a second speaker and next to it are the ambient light and proximity sensors. Don't go looking for a status LED - you won't find one. Below the display is the grille for the other speaker.
5.5-inch display in the footprint of the 5-inch Pixel 2 • Top bezel stuff • In the hand
It's on the back that you'll see the biggest change in design, though it's not immediately apparent. The two-tone look is here to stay, but the coated aluminum has made way for a glass panel. The top part with the camera and flash (and spectral/flicker sensor in between?) is your regular glossy glass, while the rest of the back has a frosted finish. It feels magically silky smooth in your hand and you just want to keep caressing it.
Only, it's so slippery, that you'd want to put a case on it and leave it on. Which is what we did, so we can't really confirm the back scratches easily, but the entire internet can't be wrong. So another reason to keep your Pixel 3 in a case and only take it out in controlled environments for a few quick fondles. We're not saying we picked the absolute best color of fabric case to go with our Clearly White Pixel 3, though.
The glass is kept in place by an aluminum frame, the outside of it polished to a shine. The buttons are on the right, in an arrangement we keep complaining about, but it's not us who decide. The power button is high up, while the volume rocker is below it and it's a recipe for misclicks. Those are some nice positive hard clicks, though, unlike the Pixel 2's flimsy buttons. As usual, Google adds a color accent on the non-black phones and the power button of the Clearly White versions is mint.
The frame itself is pressure sensitive, and it can react to a squeeze by launching the Google Assistant as well as silencing incoming alerts and alarms. The feature's called Active Edge, its sensitivity is customizeable, and best of all, it can be switched off entirely.
On the bottom, you'll find the USB-C port in the center, and it's the only port around - there's no 3.5mm jack on board. The SIM card slot is down here as well - single nano SIM, no microSD, that's how Google does it.
On the top there's nothing to be found but a secondary mic, which is still more than what you can see on the left side - the frame goes uninterrupted.
Buttons on the right • SIM tray on the bottom • Mic up top
The Pixel 3 is one of the most compact top-tier Android handsets you can find on the market today with its 145.6x68.2x7.9mm and 148g. The Xperia XZ2 Compact may be a centimeter shorter but with a thickness of 12mm and a weight of 168g it's pretty chubby, plus it's got a tinier 5-inch display. The Galaxy S9 is marginally larger than the Pixel 3 in all three dimensions, and is also 15g heavier, but it's got some extra screen to show for it.
A tall, 5.5-inch P-OLED
Last year's Small-sized Phone by Google was out of touch with industry trends with its 16:9 display that was also a tiny 5-incher. For the Pixel 3, on the other hand, Google's gone with an 18:9 screen, and it's one without a notch - yay! Then again, the Pixel 3 XL has enough of a notch for both of them.
Anyway, the Pixel 3 has a 5.5-inch FullHD OLED panel with a pixel density of 443ppi. In our testing it reached a peak brightness of 426nits - a fairly typical maximum value for modern OLED displays. However, a lot of other makers allow for a boost in auto mode, which the Pixel 3 doesn't. The Galaxy S9 can go as high as 660nits when the ambient light sensor says so, and the iPhone XS can go as high at your own request with the slider. So, a good showing by the Pixel, but not class leading.
We measured a minimum brightness of 2.4nits, so it won't be a burden on the eyes in very dark environments.
| Display test | 100% brightness | ||
| Black, cd/m2 | White, cd/m2 | ||
| 0 | 432 | ∞ | |
| 0 | 426 | ∞ | |
| 0 | 370 | ∞ | |
| 0 | 658 | ∞ | |
| 0.2 | 366 | 1830 | |
| 0.214 | 389 | 1818 | |
| 0.225 | 460 | 2044 | |
| 0.499 | 920 | 1844 | |
| 0 | 458 | ∞ | |
| 0.002 | 624 | 312000 | |
| 0 | 426 | ∞ | |
| 0 | 464 | ∞ | |
| 0 | 652 | ∞ | |
| 0 | 442 | ∞ | |
| 0 | 620 | ∞ | |
| 0 | 660 | ∞ | |
| 0.401 | 380 | 948 | |
| 0.403 | 426 | 1057 | |
| 0 | 453 | ∞ | |
| 0 | 455 | ∞ | |
| 0.002 | 508 | 254000 | |
| 0.003 | 657 | 219000 | |
| 0.347 | 491 | 1415 | |
| 0.554 | 778 | 1404 | |
| 0 | 412 | ∞ | |
| 0 | 582 | ∞ | |
In our sunlight legibility test, the Pixel 3 doesn't disappoint, scoring just short of the industry leaders. At the current state of affairs, you really can't get a high-end device that performs poorly under direct light.
Sunlight contrast ratio
Out of the box, the Pixel 3's display color profile is set to Adaptive mode, which yields only marginally purplish whites, overall vivid colors and an average DeltaE of 6.0, when compared against an sRGB target. If genuine reproduction of the sRGB target space is what you're after, the Natural mode will deliver that (average DeltaE ot 1.6). Boosted mode was reasonably accurate to a DCI-P3 target posting an average DetlaE of 2.7.
Google Pixel 3 battery life
The Pixel 3 has a 2,915mAh power pack inside, for a 215mAh increase over the Pixel 2's capacity. The screen has grown up in size marginally as well, so the bump in capacity is just about proportional. Meanwhile, the 5.8-inch Galaxy S9 has a full 3,000mAh battery at its disposal, while the iPhone XS' L-shaped battery totals 2658mAh. The Xperia XZ3 6-incher has 3,300mAh in the battery capacity field in specs.
In our multi-discipline battery test, this year's Pixel matched the Pixel 2's result in looping videos almost to the minute, for a total of 11 hours of video playback. We measured a drop in the web browsing time from 12 full hours on the Pixel 2 to just over 10 hours on the 3. On the other hand, we observed an increase in call times by almost 50% to a little over 23 hours. We tested and re-tested, and then re-tested again, but standby times were consistently not great, which is what brought down the overall rating to 69 hours, 6 short of the Pixel 2's score.
Our endurance rating denotes how long a single battery charge will last you if you use the Google Pixel 3 for an hour each of telephony, web browsing, and video playback daily. We've established this usage pattern so our battery results are comparable across devices in the most common day-to-day tasks. The battery testing procedure is described in detail in case you're interested in the nitty-gritties. You can also check out our complete battery test table, where you can see how all of the smartphones we've tested will compare under your own typical use.
As for charging, the Pixel 3 supports the Power Delivery standard, just like every Pixel before it. It comes with an 18W charger in the box that takes it from flat to full in 1:42h which isn't half bad. At the 30-minute mark you'd be looking at a 45% charge.
The Pixel Stand is an optional wireless charger for the Pixel 3. It will itself only work with a Power Delivery adapter, and there's one in the box, just like the Pixel 3's own one. The Stand offers wireless charging at up to 10W (and as of now is the only wireless charger that can go this high with the Pixel 3), takes about 2:25h for a full charge from zero and the battery indicator shows 24% 30 minutes into it. That is, if you're not using the Pixel's Assistant in the meantime.
Loudspeaker
Google fitted stereo speakers on the second generation Pixels and there's no backtracking from there. The Pixel 3 has a driver above and a driver below the display, and treats the top one as the left channel in the stereo pair if you're holding the phone in portrait orientation, but changes accordingly in landscape. The bottom one is generally more powerful and boomier - that's where most of the low register comes out of.
We ran the Pixel 3 though our usual trio of tests and the numbers put it in the Excellent bracket. The Galaxy S9 and the iPhone XS are a notch below in Very Good, but the Xperia XZ3 is Excellent as well.
| Speakerphone test | Voice, dB | Ringing | Overall score | |
| 68.6 | 69.9 | 77.8 | Good | |
| 68.3 | 73.8 | 75.8 | Good | |
| 66.5 | 72.0 | 79.8 | Good | |
| 74.0 | 68.3 | 78.0 | Very Good | |
| 68.1 | 72.3 | 82.2 | Very Good | |
| 66.7 | 73.3 | 83.3 | Very Good | |
| 68.5 | 74.3 | 81.1 | Very Good | |
| 67.2 | 72.5 | 84.5 | Very Good | |
| 71.5 | 75.7 | 78.9 | Very Good | |
| 74.3 | 70.2 | 82.6 | Very Good | |
| 70.7 | 75.2 | 81.2 | Very Good | |
| 70.3 | 73.4 | 83.8 | Very Good | |
| 70.0 | 77.0 | 81.1 | Excellent | |
| 71.0 | 75.4 | 82.9 | Excellent | |
| 77.5 | 71.7 | 81.1 | Excellent | |
| 72.8 | 74.7 | 86.6 | Excellent | |
| 80.1 | 73.2 | 85.0 | Excellent |
Audio quality
The Google Pixel 3 came out rather disappointing in our audio quality test. It’s not that the phone does badly - it’s merely okay, but we certainly expected better from a flagship.
Signal-to-noise ratio is mediocre both with an active external amplifier and with headphones and the stereo crosstalk is not great in the first scenario either. At least headphones don’t worsen the stereo quality much further so it’s doing much better comparatively in the second part.
Now add the only average loudness and you get a performance that would be considered decent for a mid-ranger, but comes significantly short of expectations when you consider the Pixel 3 price tag.
| Test | Frequency response | Noise level | Dynamic range | THD | IMD + Noise | Stereo crosstalk |
| +0.02, -0.12 | -71.7 | 83.2 | 0.0031 | 0.032 | -70.1 | |
| +0.15, -0.15 | -68.4 | 80.2 | 0.0066 | 0.193 | -61.1 | |
| +0.03, -0.05 | -93.4 | 93.3 | 0.0010 | 0.0070 | -93.8 | |
| +0.17, -0.15 | -93.2 | 93.1 | 0.0056 | 0.245 | -61.1 | |
| +0.01, -0.02 | -91.2 | 93.2 | 0.0024 | 0.0080 | -88.7 | |
| +0.38, -0.21 | -93.1 | 92.5 | 0.0049 | 0.233 | -61.7 | |
| +0.03, -0.07 | -93.4 | 93.9 | 0.0012 | 0.0063 | -89.3 | |
| +0.01, -0.58 | -92.2 | 93.5 | 0.0088 | 0.330 | -55.7 | |
| +0.02, -0.15 | -94.3 | 94.3 | 0.0021 | 0.0069 | -94.3 | |
| +0.18, -0.13 | -93.7 | 93.6 | 0.0024 | 0.104 | -52.7 |
Google Pixel 3 frequency response
Google's recipe for Pie
The Pixel phones are meant to showcase Google's software, and the Pixel 3 comes with Android 9.0 Pie preinstalled. The Pixel launcher is on top - in a way, Google's custom skin over its own OS.
We're familiar with the Pie on Pixel combo from the beta we fooled around with for a bit, though things have evolved slightly since then. For one, gone is the option for tap-based navigation - it's all gestures now.
A tap on the pill button takes you Home, a quick flick from it to the right switches back and forth between the last two apps, while sliding it to the right takes you to one of the UIs for task switching. A short-ish swipe up from the bottom evokes the 'other' task switcher which is also the way to go into multi-window, and it's about as clumsy as they could have possibly made it.
A longer (like seriously-almost-all-the-way-to-the-top-longer) swipe up takes you straight to the app drawer, though a second swipe up from Task switcher 2 will also work. It's not all ideal, no. Ah, and there's a back button on top of all that, there's no gesture for that. There's also Active edge - the squeeze for Assistant shortcut that maybe someone uses?
Lockscreen • Homescreen • Folder view • Task switcher 1 • Task switcher 2 • Active edge
The notification shade has been redesigned yet again and now the quick toggles don't let you change stuff then and there, but take you to the respective settings menu. The settings have colorful icons, and there are display color modes out of the box unlike the Pixel 2's dull-only fiasco at launch. Best of all, the Now playing feature that recognizes ambient music now keeps history.
Notifications • Quick toggles • Settings • Display modes • Now playing keeps history now
The emphasis with this year's software is on your digital wellbeing - that is, taking proactive steps towards spending less time on your phone, and making sure that the time you do spend is quality time. Or, you know, just look at the stats once, and move on to the next cat video.
The Digital Wellbeing hub of sorts tells you what it is that you've done on your Pixel 3 today, and how much time you spent on each app, plus it counts the notifications and the number of times you've unlocked the phone. Delve into the Dashboard and you can get per-app stats, as well as set limits for the time spent in each one. There's a handy shortcut to Do Not Disturb mode called 'Flip to Shhh' - pretty self-explanatory, just... please, don't put your phone face down on a hard surface, please?
Digital Wellbeing homescreen • Dashboard with per-app statistics • Shhh
Then there's Wind Down. What a time it is to be alive, when you need your phone to change the tint of its display in low light, then go all grayscale at a predetermined time, and engage Do Not Disturb mode, so you can get some rest.
Wind Down
The Pixel Stand is where you could potentially keep the phone at night, so it can both charge and serve as a desktop office for your Google Assistant. Come morning, it can brighten up with warm colors before it blares the death metal alarm you've set up to get you out of bed on Mondays. Just don't take it out on the Stand, as it costs some $79.
Stuff the Pixel 3 can do on the Stand
Google Lens is an in-camera helper for copying texts, shopping for stuff you see around, scanning barcodes, and whatnot. Well, it fails miserably in the shopping part, and we so wanted to buy a PIxel 3, but it figured we should get ourselves an original Pixel. And purchasing a pair of Sony headphones isn't quite like purchasing Sony Corporation.
Google Lens
Synthetic benchmarks
Guess what, the Google Pixel 3 is powered by the Snapdragon 845 chipset like only every other top-tier droid on the market that isn't Huawei's or Samsung's (and even the Koreans use Qualcomm's chip for China and North America). As is customarily the case with Pixels, the CPU is slightly downclocked to 2.5GHz for the high performance cores (vs. the typical 2.7GHz), and 1.6GHz for the efficiency-focused cluster (nominally 1.7GHz).
Predictably, the Pixel 3 doesn't quite achieve the same results we've seen from competitors using the same chip. More importantly, however, the Pixel is unable to maintain its slightly lower results over repeated runs of most benchmarks and experiences severe throttling. Forcefully cooling it helps greatly and allows it to put out sustainable performance.
In GeekBench, for example, the cooled Pixel 3 could put out multi-core results upwards of 8,300 run after run. Off our activecooler, however, the highest it got was 8,146 and run after run the score would drop a little until eventually reaching a low in the 6,900s which it could then sustain. That's with major competitors pushing 9,000 points.
GeekBench 4.1 (multi-core)
Higher is better
There was a similar disparity in the single-core results where the cooled Pixel 3 could post figures just under 2,400, while otherwise the score would peak there and fall all the way down to around 1,800. Here, the other Snapdragon 845 handsets aren't that far ahead, but the current Exynos and the latest Kirin have a significant advantage.
GeekBench 4.1 (single-core)
Higher is better
In Antutu, cooling the Pixel 3 allowed it to reach very high scores, towards the top of the pack. Those numbers, however, were unattainable off the active cooler at all, not by a long stretch. There was some consistency between runs though, and not much of a drop in scores after multiple ones.
AnTuTu 7
Higher is better
Graphics-only tests yielded similar results, only here the uncooled Pixel 3 was often able to match its performance when cooled for the first benchmark run, and the differences weren't that drastic once the throttling did kick in.
GFX 3.1 Car scene (1080p offscreen)
Higher is better
GFX 3.1 Car scene (onscreen)
Higher is better
Single rear camera, still
The Pixel 3 only has one rear camera, where other top-tier models are equipped with two or even three. Well, Google reckons it can do just as well with one - for most things, at least. The numbers make it look familiar - 12.2MP of resolution (and that's just Google being overly precise, since 4,032x3,024 could easily have been rounded off to 12MP), 1/2.55" sensor, 1.4µm pixels, dual pixel autofocus, f/1.8 aperture, OIS. In one shape or form these are the specs of most flagship phone cameras today.
But then Google has its own thing on the software side and it has machine-learned to somehow make better use of this hardware than others. There's image stacking going on for HDR, the camera is taking shots before you hit the shutter so it has the necessary frames for when you actually do decide to tap, and the portrait mode uses not just depth data from the sensor but also checks against a vast library of images to make an educated guess what's subject and what's background.
You don't really get to tell what part of this is happening when just by using the camera app as it's pretty straightforward, though it has its weird bits. It launches into a stills viewfinder (that would be Camera mode) and you can flick left and right to change modes - Portrait and Panorama on the left, Video and More on the right. Alternatively, you can tap on the text labels. Google stubbornly refuses to make a vertical swipe switch from front to rear cam, so there's a button for that.
There's also a button to bring up the Super res zoom slider. The idea behind Super res zoom is that it uses the tiny motions from your hands and by taking several frames and stacking them compiles a higher-resolution image. It can then crop from the center portion of that to give you the field of view you'd get from a longer lens. Alternatively, if the phone is on a tripod, it'll wiggle the OIS elements around to get the slightly offset images it needs. It does sort of work.
Anyway, the slider has arbitrary positions that aren't marked and they don't correspond to any particular magnification. So if you're, say, trying to do a shootout between the Pixel 3, an iPhone XS, and a Galaxy Note9, the others will give you a convenient '2x' button, but on the Pixel you'll be fumbling to match their coverage every time.
Viewfinder • Some zoom • Modes • Basic settings • Gestures
Okay, let's say you've switched to the front cam, where there are two of them, and the default view is the main normal 75-degree one. You zoom out to the wide one, like what you see and switch to video. Well, you're back to the normal one, so you need to zoom out again. Effectively, switching modes resets you to the normal cam. Makes us wonder if we'd be complaining if it was the other way around.
The More pane in the modes selector is where you should look for settings and such an arrangement has always puzzled us. A cog wheel icon in one of the top corners seems to make more sense. It makes more sense to look for more modes in the More pane and that's where Night Sight will eventually reside once it goes official sometime next month.
This is also where the new Photobooth mode is. So you press the button and then start making funny faces and when the phone deems them funny enough, it'll take a picture. Either we're just plain boring, or it has its threshold set too high, but we found that Photobooth wasn't too trigger happy. Oh, well.
Photobooth • Top shot • Imagine the others...
Another new feature is Top shot. It's not a mode or a setting per se, it's just that after fact in the gallery you'll have access to multiple frames from around the time you actually pressed the shutter. The phone uses machine learning to suggest which is the best (everyone is looking at the camera, has their eyes open, and is smiling). Just make sure you have Motion set to On or Auto, because otherwise you'd be looking for Top shots to no avail (we did spend some time wondering what was wrong).
Image quality
Daylight shots from the Pixel 3 have good levels of detail, comparable to rivals with 12MP resolution (wink). Unlike those iPhone XSs and Galaxy Note9s, however, the Pixel's shots are quite noisy. Let's say that it's not in a bad way, but the difference is clear - a difference in approach. The color science is different between the three, with the iPhone presenting a slightly desaturated look, the Galaxy adding a bit of warmth to greenery and the Pixel having a colorful, but neutral take.
Camera samples, vs. archrivals: Pixel 3 • iPhone XS Max • Galaxy Note9
The HDR algorithm will give you a wide dynamic range with nicely preserved highlights and good contrast - gone are the days of out-of-this-world overdone HDR. Indoors and out, when there's a lot of light, the Pixel 3's images will look great.
Camera samples
We desperately wanted to believe Google had cracked it and managed to make zooming in possible without actually having a longer lens, but that's not really the case. In good light, the Pixel's super res zoom is simply no match for the telephoto cameras of the iPhone and the Galaxy.
It's not bad, and it certainly produces better results than cropping, upscaling and sharpening a wide angle image to match the FOV of a 2x zoom shot. Then there's the added benefit that the phone knows what you're framing and can expose for that, instead of the wider scene. And if there's not all that much texture to resolve, it'll compare more favorably. Still, per pixel sharpness is superior out of the iPhone and the Note.
Super res zoom vs. optical zoom: Pixel 3 • iPhone XS Max • Galaxy Note9
Moving on to low light. At the time of writing, the Pixel 3's Night Sight mode is not yet officially available, but previous Pixels did more than okay without it, so there was no reason not to expect a great performance. It's what we got.
The Pixel applies very light noise reduction and low-light images turn out pretty noisy, but are well detailed. Colors are very well preserved instead of falling victim to the high sensitivities and there's the characteristic Pixel bluish neon glow to cold light sources.
Low-light samples
If you had to choose between the Pixel 3, iPhone XS Max or Galaxy Note9 for low-light shots, it'll be a tough call with all of them doing a great job, though in different ways. The iPhone's shots are generally darker and duller, but somewhat better detailed, while the other two keep their colors livelier. The Pixel is the noisiest of the three, while the Galaxy is the cleanest, though it's an exercise in splitting hairs this.
Low-light samples, vs. archrivals: Pixel 3 • iPhone XS Max • Galaxy Note9
Alright then, just because Night Sight is not official yet, doesn't mean we won't jump at the opportunity to test it if someone was crafty enough to dig up a working but disabled preliminary version in a publicly available APK and was kind enough to flip the switch to enable it. We took shots in the Camera mode of the official app and then in the Camera mode and Night mode of the ported app.
We found that Night sight is best suited to super dark scenes where the regular camera modes just won't expose long enough to bring out the shadows. The pseudo long exposures and image stacking that happens under the hood in the Night mode processing does produce noticeably brighter shots with detail in the shadows recovered and dynamic range that the eyes don't really capture.
Low light: Official app, camera mode • Modded app, camera mode • Modded app, Night mode
Since you weren't there, trust us when we tell you that the scenes appeared to the eye the way they are rendered in the Camera mode. However, no one is saying that eyes are perfect and often you could want to capture a scene that you can't necessarily fully make out with in-body tech. In comes Night Sight.
The last shot below is perhaps an example when not to use the Night mode. The scene was pretty well lit and lifting the exposure to let in more light than necessary results in washed out colors. There's also a difference in how the official version of the camera app sees color compared to the modded one, though this could be a one-off example.
Low light: Official app, camera mode • Modded app, camera mode • Modded app, Night mode
And here's a couple more scenes we captured with just the modded app, before we came to our senses and started doing side-by-sides with the official release.
Low light: Modded app, camera mode • Modded app, Night mode
Google's prowess in computational photography is most readily apparent in the Portrait mode on the Pixel phones, doing things with one camera that others can't replicate despite having two to work with. While it's not infallible (none of them is), it does miracles for subject separation and also produces the most natural blur which also varies with distance - the farther, the blurrier.
Telephoto-based portrait mode implementations (those you'd find on the iPhone XS and the Galaxy Note9) put you at a certain distance from your subject. This is beneficial in that said subject (typically, a human) doesn't have a phone in their face, which is the case with wide-angle-based portrait modes (those you'd find on the iPhone XR and OnePlus 6T). The Pixel 3 puts its image stacking to use and delivers a slightly zoomed in perspective from its only (wide angle) camera, which is still 12MP in the end.
What all of that means for you is 1. The Pixel uses its high-quality camera for portraits, where telephoto-based solutions use the (let's face it) second-grade telephoto cams, so portraits taken in less than ideal light on the Pixel stand much better chances of looking good, and 2. Subject distance is such that it allows for a comfortable space between you and your...model?, so that they don't feel pressured, while it's also close enough that you can do self portraits with the main cam and be sure to fit your face in the frame - something that's not guaranteed with the 50-something mm equivalent telephotos.
Whew! Here's a bunch of portraits taken with the Pixel 3, iPhone XS Max and Galaxy Note9.
Portrait samples, vs. archrivals: Pixel 3 • iPhone XS Max • Galaxy Note9
You'll notice the Pixel's shots are sharper in all but the last sample thanks to the less than ideal light that's challenging for the tiny sensors of the telephotos and their dimmer apertures. That said, the Pixel's portraits have a ton of sharpening applied to compensate for the zooming in/upscaling so they're somewhat artificially crispy. The iPhone's skin tones are warmer, which we consider is more pleasing, but the Pixel's colors are more true to life.
Portrait samples, vs. archrivals: Pixel 3 • iPhone XS Max • Galaxy Note9
Of course, you can use the portrait mode to isolate everyday objects. The way the Pixel's edge detection works means it's better with stuff the machine learning algorithms have already seen and recognize. Hence the rose is super well isolated despite the busy background, and the colorful ball of interwoven loops is blurred somewhat randomly. The thing is, we would have liked to see some blur applied to the front and rear plants in the tri-plant installation - no luck, though.
Portrait mode, non-human subjects
This seems to be all about the main camera. Which is a good juncture to plug our Photo compare tool, where you can examine the Pixel 3's rendition of our test charts against current rivals or other phones of your choosing. We've pre-selected the iPhone XS and Galaxy S9, but the drop-down menus are full of other options.
Google Pixel 3 against the iPhone XS and the Galaxy S9 in our Photo compare tool
2 selfie cameras, though
While Google sticks with the one cam on the back, selfies are treated to double the hardware and there's a couple of modules on the front, because you can Super res zoom in, but you can't go wider than what the hardware has to offer. So one of the cameras is a regular wide angle (75-degree field of view, we'll call it normal), the other is even wider (97-degree FOV), letting you fit more in the frame, be it scenery or comrades. Both cameras capture 8MP of resolution, and the primary one has an f/1.8 aperture lens with autofocus while the fixed-focus wider one is slightly dimmer at f/2.2.
Regular selfies are sharp and detailed, with the familiar grittiness we've come to expect from Pixel photos of faces. Mug shots are well exposed and skin tones are rendered the way we think they look in real life.
Selfie samples
You'd think this reviewer could gather round some colleagues to illustrate the difference in coverage between the normal and the wide camera. Nah, but there are pointers such as the number of leaves in the outdoor scene, and the trash can that wasn't supposed to be in the shot, obviously.
Selfie samples: Normal • Wide
You can take selfie portrait shots with blurred backgrounds and you can do it with either cam. The ones with the wide angle shooter have more visible flaws, but they're easily forgivable.
Selfie samples, portrait mode, normal camera
Selfie samples, portrait mode, wide camera
Video recording
The Pixel 3's top video recording mode is 4K/30fps, there's no 4K/60fps. The funny thing is, even in 1080p, the 60fps mode sits behind a meaningless toggle that switches between 30fps and 'Auto fps'. Well, Auto=60 in this case, at least in the scenes we shoot. How's that intuitive?
Anyway, 4K videos have a bit rate of 48Mbps, 1080p/60fps makes do with 33Mbps and 1080p/30fps gets 22Mbps. All videos are encoded with the h.264 codec by default, but there's a toggle in Advanced settings to switch to h.265. Audio is recorded in stereo at 192kbps - a new development after the Pixel 2's mono audio, and one that Google didn't even make a big deal of like Apple did with the iPhone XS.
Electronic stabilization is available in all modes, and can be switched off if you have other means in place for stabilizing the phone (like, you know, a tripod, beanbag, someone's shoulder, anything) or in case you'd like to have the entire FOV of the lens (EIS introduces a slight crop).
The thing is, though, the Pixel 3's stabilization is good enough to make you forget about these. It's particularly impressive if you're standing still and have the phone pointed at a subject, but it does similarly well when having to stabilize against walking. Pans are not perfect, however - there's a slightly nervous transition between the pan and the unnaturally good stillness before and after.
In general, videos have a bit of a restrained processing, with color saturation and contrast set a little conservatively. There's a ton of fine detail in 4K capture, but also more than the usual amount of noise.
1080p footage looks identical in terms of recorded detail, whether you're shooting in 30fps or 60fps, and that's some pretty great 1080p footage. The color science is no different than in 4K.
For those of you who want to pixel peep on your own computers, we've uploaded short samples straight out of the phone (2160p/30fps, 1080p/60fps, 1080p/30fps).
If you'd like to stare at some test charts instead (before, after, or during works too), our Video compare tool is just the right spot for the task. We've pre-selected the iPhone XS and the Galaxy S9 to get you started.
Google Pixel 3 against the iPhone XS and the Galaxy S9 in our Video compare tool
Competition
For every Pixel sold, Apple will move fifty plus iPhones, and Samsung will part with 80 or so Galaxies (though in all fairness that would include a lot of... lesser Galaxies). It is, however, impossible not to treat the iPhone XS and the Galaxy S9 as the Pixel 3's main rivals, sales disparities aside.
The iPhone will come with twice as many rear cams as the Pixel and computational zooming isn't quite like the optical one. On the front it's the other way around, and if you've tried taking a selfie video with the iPhone you'd appreciate the Pixel's dedicated wide angle front facer. Battery life is largely identical, both have top quality displays, and if there's a droid that can rival the iPhone for fluidity of user experience, it's the Pixel. There's a tiny detail though - for the price of an iPhone XS in 64GB trim you could snatch a 128GB Pixel 3, a Pixel Stand and a fancy fabric case, and maybe end up with some change.
Okay then, there's the iPhone XR that's only marginally more expensive than a Pixel with the same storage, has as many rear cameras, and is as powerful as an XS but with an inferior display. Then again, if you're considering the small Pixel 3 in the first place, the XR might be a size too big.
Apple iPhone XS • Apple iPhone XR • Samsung Galaxy S9+ • Samsung Galaxy S9 • OnePlus 6T • Pixel 2
If size is a top priority, the Galaxy S9 non-Plus is sure to be a top contender for your money. Which is going be a significant amount of money less than what you'd have to shell out for a Pixel 3. In fact, you could probably even get the S9+ for Pixel 3 money in most places. Whichever Galaxy you pick, it'll be a more versatile device thanks to its microSD slot and headphone jack. That said, no Galaxy can offer the same pure Android that the Pixel has by design.
OnePlus has been making phones that have the feel of pure Android, only enhanced with just the right bits, and there's a brand new 6T to continue along that path. It's larger than a Pixel 3, obviously, but is more affordable, better specced, and has longer battery life (plus some super-fast charging).
Or, you know, just get the old Pixel. Last generation's small version is now discounted, has largely the same camera and slightly better battery life, though you'd be missing out on ultra wide selfies and you'll have to settle for a 16:9 display in 2018.
Verdict
Pixels have always been niche phones - in fact, since before they were even Pixels, though admittedly the Nexus line was niche in a different way. The number of Pixel 3s sold will very likely be a fraction of the major competitors' figures, but does that make the Pixel 3 a bad phone?
We reckon not. On the contrary - we enjoyed the time spent with the Pixel 3. It brought back a forgotten appreciation for compactness, the camera was every bit as good as it was hyped to be, and the display and battery life turned out fine, if not class-leading.
Pros
- Compact, with great in-hand feel.
- Awesome camera all around.
- Solid display and good battery life, though neither is chart-topping.
Cons
- The back is slippery (can confirm) and scratches easily (we've been told).
- Just the one cam on the back when everyone else has at least two.
- Severe throttling under sustained load, just 4GB of RAM, no storage options beyond 128GB, and no possibility for expansion.
- Disappointing audio quality through the dongle.
- No 4K/60fps video recording.
- Limited availability.
We can't help but wonder what Google could have done with an extra camera on the back and if better thermal design would have meant sacrificing pocketability in a significant way. Well, the upside of having a cons list is that we still have something to look forward to in next year's model. Meanwhile, high on the list of things we're looking forward to is a discount on this very Pixel 3.
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