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Pixel 4 and 4 XL: Industrially chic in glowing orange
The Pixel 4 and 4 XL come with a new industrial design and square camera element, all belted in on the sides by a slick-looking aluminum band. And good news, the Pixel 4 XL loses the Pixel 3 XL's ugly notch.
Google's flagship phones, the Pixel 4 and 4 XL, begin shipping on Oct. 24, and start at $800 and $900, respectively. They feature two rear cameras, 90Hz displays and Android 10.
For more information, read CNET's review of the Pixel 4 and 4 XL.
The Pixel 4 XL (left) has a 6.3-inch display while the Pixel 4 has a 5.7-inch screen. But other than their screens and battery, the phones are nearly identical.
While most phones refresh 60 times a second, the Pixel phones refresh at a rate of 90 frames a second. By refreshing more often, things like scrolling through webpages and apps feel incredibly fluid.
The phone's face unlock works fast. I don't have to tap-to-wake the screen or press any buttons beforehand, nor do I have to swipe after to use my phone. It's all just one fluent, cohesive process.
With the second telephoto lens, the camera takes better portrait shots and it does a better job at smoothing out tricky areas like hair and fur than before. You can also take portrait photos from farther away now too.
As far as the competition goes, the Pixel 3 (left) is discounted at $500 and has many things the Pixel 4 has for a lot less, including prompt software updates (including to Android 10), water resistance, and a camera that still holds its weight in 2019.
With their stylish design, great cameras and monster battery life, the Galaxy S10 Plus and Note 10 are two solid alternatives to the Pixel 4 XL. At $1,00 and $949, respectively, they start out more expensive than the Pixel 4 XL. But they have more storage, bi-lateral charging and the Note 10 has an embedded S Pen stylus.
If you are OS agnostic, the Pixel 4 and iPhone 11 both offer great dual cameras (and unseemly camera bumps!), wireless charging and face unlocking. The iPhone 11, however, is cheaper and there's a 256GB model if you're interested in having even more storage.
All in all, the Pixel 4 and 4 XL do have fantastic cameras. But so do many other phones now. On top of that, the Pixel phones don't offer expandable storage, earbuds bundled in the box or free unlimited photo storage at original quality (something Pixel users got for the last few years).
For more information, read CNET's review of the Pixel 4 and 4 XL.
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Be respectful, keep it civil and stay on topic. We delete comments that violate our policy, which we encourage you to read. Discussion threads can be closed at any time at our discretion.