Google Pixel 4 XL review: A solid upgrade with a few shortcomings

Google's Pixel 4 series follows the excellent Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL, and outstanding Pixel 3a duo that kind of took us by surprise. After reviewing the $399 Pixel 3a that hit way above its weight class (the Pixel 3a XL is $479), I found myself a bit underwhelmed with the Pixel 4 XL and its high $899 starting price. Don't get me wrong, it's one of the best Android phones you can buy with a large screen in a relatively compact body, class leading cameras and unadulterated software that's first in line for updates. But the uninspired design, decent but not stellar battery life and dim OLED screen were a little off-putting. It's still a competent upgrade from last year's Pixel 3 with a faster processor, better cameras and so on, and after the better part of a month using a Pixel 4 XL as my daily driver, I have mixed feelings. It's a great phone in a bubble, but this is a fiercely competitive landscape with heavyweights like Samsung, OnePlus and Apple fighting for market share. It's the first time that a standard Pixel series is available on all four major US carriers, bucking the trend of being a Verizon exclusive (the in-between Pixel 3a and 3a XL were on all but AT&T). This is a big deal and really widens the playing field, but will customers bite? Let's take a closer look.

Design

The front of the Pixel 4 and 4 XL seems like a half step back. The top bezel is larger than the bottom, throwing symmetry out the window, although it's admittedly better than a notch. Compared to Samsung's latest S and Note series, which are all screen with virtually no bezels and sloping sides, this looks positively dated. I dare say that the Pixel 3 devices were aesthetically better. The top bezel does serve a purpose, however, housing new facial recognition and Motion Sense tech, but it comes at the expense of the rear fingerprint scanner. And no, there's no in-display fingerprint reader. The dual front-facing speakers from the Pixel 3 models are also gone, replaced with a stereo setup like the Pixel 3a – top front speaker with a bottom firing one. It's perfectly fine and comparable to Apple's latest, but there's just no substitute for twin speakers pointed right at you. Are these sacrifices worth having better facial recognition and new gesture control? Well, I'll get to that later. There's just one 8MP selfie camera this time around, but a second shooter has finally been added to the back. And that's a worthwhile swap.

There are three different glass backs available, two having matte finishes with the third being glossy black. Clearly White and Oh So Orange have that matte finish, which is both unique and very fingerprint resistant. Why Google went the glossy route with the Just Black model is a mystery, especially when the black Pixel 3 models had matte finishes. A large protruding square on the top left houses two main cameras, one being a 12.2 MP wide (28mm) and the other a 16 MP telephoto (45mm), and a dual-LED flash sits below. Does it look a little like an iPhone setup? It is what it is. A tasteful G is printed near the bottom, resulting in a nice, clean look overall. With the glass backs, all models feature Qi wireless charging as well.

The bottom has a USB-C port and twin grills, one with a speaker and the other a microphone. Fast charging is supported via the included 18W charger.

The top is clean with just a microphone port, while the left side only has a discreet SIM card tray near the top (there's also an internal eSIM). Unfortunately, there's no expandable storage.

The right side adds a fun contrast with a white power button (color differs on the Clearly White and Oh So Orange models), while the volume rocker sits below. The sides of all models have a grippy matte black finish, which feels secure in the hand. The phone certainly looks and feels premium with aluminum and Corning Gorilla Glass 5 (front and back), and it's IP68 rated for water and dust resistance. Although a big phone, it's impressively compact for a 6.3-inch screen at 160.4 x 75.1 x 8.2 mm. It also has a nice weight of 193 grams, feeling substantial without being heavy.

Hardware

Performance

The Pixel 4 XL is a bona fide flagship with high-end specs to match, including a Snapdragon 855, 6GB of RAM and either 64GB or 128GB of internal storage. These aren't the best of the best, however, with phones like the Samsung Galaxy Note 10 sporting 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, and the OnePlus 7T and Asus ROG Phone 2 using the upgraded Snapdragon 855 Plus. That's relatively inconsequential as the software is optimized for the specs and runs at blazing speeds in virtually all situations. 64GB of internal storage does fall short, however, especially considering the price and absence of microSD. I have yet to find a game with dropped frames or other visual hiccups, and the 90Hz screen makes everything incredibly smooth. Phones like the Razer Phone 2 have an even faster 120Hz display, but 90Hz is more than enough as most flagships still sputter along at 60Hz. There are two ways to utilize the 90Hz refresh rate – the phone can choose this automatically depending on what you're doing or you can simply force 90Hz to always run with Developer Options. Keep in mind that forcing this will significantly impact battery life.

The stereo speakers are nothing to complain about. The front facing speakers on the Pixel 3 models were better, but for a front and bottom firing combo, this setup is up there with the iPhone 11 models. Still, it feels like a step down from last year. And as always with such a design, your hand can accidentally cover the bottom speaker when holding the phone in landscape.

The 6.3-inch P-OLED display is Quad HD with a 19:9 aspect ratio. At 537ppi, everything is as sharp as it gets. You could even knock 100ppi off with minimal effect. Unlike Pixels of yore, the screen quality is (mostly) competitive with the best. Colors pop and blacks are deep as expected for OLED, viewing angles are outstanding and gaming on a 90Hz display is just awesome. As with previous Pixels, however, brightness is lacking, especially outdoors. The display maxes out at 444 nits, compared to the Galaxy Note 10 and iPhone 11 Pro that both reach well over 600 nits. This is disappointing and visibility is barely passable in direct sunlight. It was tolerable on the affordable Pixel 3a, but for an $899 flagship there's really no excuse.

Another disappointment is the lack of storage, which starts at 64GB. That was fine a couple of years ago, but with apps and games growing larger and more sophisticated, the ubiquity of 4K video, lack of expandable storage and loss of free unlimited uploads to Google Photos at original quality (they're now compressed to high quality), it's definitely a bummer. The Galaxy S10 starts at 128GB with a microSD slot, both the OnePlus 7 Pro and LG G8 ThinQ also start at 128GB while the Galaxy Note 10 starts at 256GB. All are priced at or below the Pixel 4 XL with the exception of the Note 10 ($50 higher). Such is life.

Battery

Battery life has been solid, but not exceptional. I usually made it through a full day and night, yet often worried on days when usage was particularly high. The 3700mAh battery left me below 20% far too often when I turned out the lights at night, but I'm also a relatively heavy user with a Galaxy Watch tethered most of the time. At this point in the flagship game with increasingly efficient processors and smarter software, I feel that battery life should be a non-issue for the entirety that I'm awake, especially for XL models. Perhaps they could've found space in such a large phone for something 4000mAh or above. Qi wireless fast charging is standard, along with a powerful 18W USB-C charger, and both are valuable assets if the battery needs a quick boost during the day.

Adaptive battery limits battery power to apps that are infrequently used and I recommend always keeping this setting on. You can also turn off the 90Hz refresh rate, sticking with the standard 60Hz rate that will save battery life as well. Unless you're an avid gamer, you probably won't notice the difference in day-to-day use, especially if it isn't forced via developer options.

Software

Both Pixel 4 models ship with Android 10 and we previously covered software highlights here with additional features covered in the Pixel 3a review here. However, here are a few things new and exclusive to the new Pixel 4 models (although some just initially).

Motion Sense – The thick bezel at the top houses a radar sensor that allows for hand gestures above the screen. This is mainly geared towards music for now as hand swipes can control music playback in apps like YouTube (skip and rewind songs). You can also use a gesture to snooze an alarm. Unfortunately, that's about it for now. It's cool and works better than previous attempts by other brands (Air Motion on the LG G8 ThinQ), but until more apps can utilize this, it's little more than a novelty.

That said, Motion Sense can also detect when you're reaching for the phone, displaying notifications on the lock screen and working in tandem with the next new feature, advanced facial recognition.

Face unlock – Similar to Apple's Face ID, the new Pixels' facial recognition uses radar to sense when you're approaching the phone and securely unlock it without simply relying on the front facing camera. It doesn't require any additional steps, such as swiping up on the lock screen, and works in both portrait and landscape orientations. One downside is that it works when your eyes are closed, so someone could conceivably unlock your phone while you sleep. Google is working on a future update to address this.

Live Caption – Initially only available on Pixel 4 phones, this feature will make it to older Pixels by the end of the year. It allows for live-caption on any video without the need for a data connection. Whether you're hearing impaired or just need to keep the volume down, it's a very useful feature. The caption can even be dragged to different parts of the screen.

Other features also available on older Pixel devices include Active Edge, allowing you to squeeze the phone to launch Google Assistant or silence a call, Dark theme that provides an almost system-wide dark mode, WiFi sharing via a generated QR code that can be scanned by guests and enhanced privacy settings that allow for more control over apps and permissions.

Camera

Google's recent Pixels had some of the best cameras ever put on a smartphone and that continues with the Pixel 4 models. This marks the first time that a second rear camera makes an appearance, providing a 16MP, f/2.4 telephoto option at 45mm. The standard camera is a 12MP, f/1.7 shooter at 28mm and both take advantage of Google's Pixel Visual Core, a custom Image Processing Unit (IPU) that was first seen in the Pixel 2. Everything you'd expect from a flagship setup is here, including auto-HDR, optical image stabilization (OIS), 2x optical zoom (via the second camera), portrait mode and dual pixel PDAF enhanced focusing. Outdoor shots were outstanding with color saturation, exposure and sharpness right on the money. HDR+ is great at balancing light and shadow, never blacking out darker areas. The same could be said for the Pixel 3 and budget Pixel 3a models, however, so I'll call this an incremental upgrade. The main advantage this time is the second telephoto lens, although there isn't a designated button to use it. You simply pinch to zoom on the screen to hit 2X, which is fine but slower in practice than a quick button that many competitors have.

As the sun set, the cameras kept their poise and everything remained sharp and well exposed. The balance between artificial and natural light was on point, and fine details like distant power lines never faded.

Night shots were just as impressive with balanced exposure, sharpness and colors, but a little noise crept into the night sky, similar but slightly better than shots from the Pixel 3. As mentioned before, improvements are slight as the previous generation already had best-in-class cameras.

Night Sight is as good as ever and even slightly improved from last year's Pixel 3. It seemed to balance light just a bit better, not blowing anything out as older models sometimes did. It remains the best night enhancing mode on any smartphone.

Indoor shots were predictably impressive as well. I stumbled on this petting zoo after hours in a dimly lit setting and the camera captured more light and detail than my eye could see.

A bulb was out in the kitchen so the room was unusually dim, but the Pixel 4 XL camera never skipped a beat. And don't even pretend that you don't want a slice of this chicken and BBQ pizza…

Portrait Mode is a bit better, but the Pixel 3 models were no slouch and as is the theme here, improvements are incremental. Two cameras now combine with software for the bokeh effect and they did an admirable job distinguishing cat hair and whiskers from the background. It's not always perfect and foreground sharpness is sometimes exaggerated a bit from overaggressive software, but this is about as close to a proper DSLR as you're going to get. The iPhone 11 Pro hangs right with it and may even have an edge (it's arguably more consistent), but you'll get top results with either one.

A new feature for the Pixel 4 models is Astrophotography Mode that automatically kicks in through Night Sight when the open sky is detected. Using a tripod or other secure way to prop up the phone, Astro Mode will keep the shutter open for up to five minutes to capture details of the night sky that are invisible to the naked eye. A countdown is provided while it's working with an audible tone signaling when it's finished. Unfortunately, there was simply too much light pollution around Los Angeles for me to really test this, but from what I've seen from other users, it works amazingly well. Just find a really dark and secluded area for best results. This feature will make its way to both Pixel 2 and Pixel 3 models with a future software update (Google Camera 7.2), so owners of older devices really have something to look forward to. Amateur astronomers rejoice.

Video hasn't changed much from the Pixel 3 series with 4K video topping off at 30fps. Google's reluctance to offer 4K at 60fps seems to be tied to the relatively limited storage on the device (128GB max with no microSD). Many competitors offer this like Apple and Samsung, so it's a notable omission. If you drop to 1080p, you'll get 30, 60 or 120fps and I suspect most users will stick with this mode. Optical Image Stabilization (OIS) and HDR ensure excellent video quality, but the Pixel 4 loses a bit of that professional edge to the iPhone 11 Pro and others that simply don't compromise. The 8MP, f/2.0 wide selfie camera shoots 1080p video at 30fps and also supports Night Sight and Portrait Mode. I personally have no complaints with the Pixel 4 XL's video prowess, but serious shooters may feel differently.

Closing

There are definitely some negative elements in this review. All are relatively minor and I could easily gloss over them, but for such an expensive phone that's meant to represent the best of Android, it's fair to nitpick. The design is solid, but also uninspired. Battery life is decent, but not exceptional. The screen is excellent, but too dim in direct sunlight. There's no headphone jack, storage is capped at 128GB, the fingerprint scanner is gone and so on. Each is a minor quibble, but taken together they lesson what could be the Android phone of the year.

Let's not just focus on the negatives, though. The aluminum and Gorilla Glass 5 build feel very premium, the 90Hz refresh rate makes gaming and overall navigation impressively smooth, the cameras are at the top of their class fighting only with Apple for valedictorian, and you're guaranteed to be first in line for software updates for the next three years. Is all that worth $899 for a 64GB model? I think it is as the overall package is worth more than the sum of its parts. Alternatives like the OnePlus 7 Pro and Galaxy S10 could give you pause, but it comes down to what you prioritize in a flagship.

Black Friday is upon us an you can snag a new Pixel 4 XL for $200 off at the Google Store and participating retailers. At only $699, this is a killer deal and you'd be hard pressed to find a better phone at this price. It's compatible with all four major US carriers and Google Fi, and carriers will have their own Black Friday deals as well (conditions apply). If you're in the market for a large-screen Android phone, these sale prices should definitely put the Pixel 4 XL at the top of your list.