Google Pixel 3 XL

At a glance

• 6.3 inch Full HD+ OLED display
• 3 cameras
• 64 or 128 GB storage
• Wireless charging
• USB-C port (no headphone jack) but comes with Google headphones and a USB-3.5mm headphone jack adapter.

Highlights

Wireless charging - bid farewell to tangled wires and pop your phone on a charging disc. To get the fastest speeds, you’ll want a Google-made Pixel charging stand but you’ll still have no problem with another branded one.  

Google Assistant – this clever smart tool can screen unwanted calls by answering your phone for you. It’s like Siri, but has the ability to tap into the whole of Google’s knowledge, so is far more fine-tuned.

Fingerprint Scanning – use your fingerprint at the rear to authenticate your phone.

Design & Appearance

The Pixel 3 XL’s dimensions are 6.2in x 3.0in x 0.3in, so it’s great if you’re already used to using a bigger-sized phone. It weighs 184g and is slim and light, but durable. It’s also got a glass and matte back, making it easier to grip; however, this can show scratches. It’s also the first Pixel release to use a screen notch, meaning a greater display ratio.

And the colours? It’s available in Clearly White, Just Black and Not Pink (which, FYI, is essentially a pale pink).

Camera

It’s got a 12.2mpx rear camera and two front-facing 8mpx cameras (for wide selfies). At the rear, it’s a machine-learning camera, so it recognises what makes the best photographs. A few features of the Pixel 3XL camera are Top Shot (to select the best picture in a series), Night Sight (so no more woes with poor lighting at night) and Super Res Zoom. Oh, and the Photobooth feature uses artificial intelligence to automatically snap photos when there’s a great moment to capture.

Display

The 3 XL has a resolution of 2960 x 1440 pixels, with a ppi of 551. So, it’s really clear and crisp for seeing your social media-worthy snaps, and the screen is made of Corning Gorilla glass.

Software & features

Some more of our favourite features of the Pixel 3 XL are the rear-mounted fingerprint sensor and front-forward speakers. But we also like the Playground feature you can make your photos come to life with Playmoji, by acting reactive characters to your photos and videos.

The Pixel 3 XL runs on Android 9.0 (Pie) but is upgradable to Android 11.  

Performance

Let’s look at some performance specs. The 3 XL uses the Snapdragon 845 chipset, paired with 4GB RAM and has the Titan M security chip to keep your data safe.

With the 3 XL, it’s certainly the case that a bigger device means a bigger battery life. It has a 3430 mAh battery to keep that big display and super camera going.