The Google Pixel 4 XL Review: Stuck In The Past In 2019
by Andrei Frumusanu on November 8, 2019 11:30 AM EST- Posted in
- Mobile
- Smartphones
- Pixel 4
- Pixel 4 XL
Video Recording
Video recording on the Pixel 4 is a relatively simple topic as Google hasn’t changed much to the formula other than the inclusion of the new telephoto module. Even this one addition isn’t quite fully supported by the cameras as Google’s 60fps recording mode is only available for the main camera sensor. Another omission, is the lack of a 4K60 recording mode. It’s quite unfortunately that Google still hasn’t been able to expand the recording features over the past few years.
In terms of video quality, it’s relatively ok. Stabilisation and bit-rates are competitive. I would strongly recommend to switch over to HEVC recording in order to save storage space. Dynamic range of the capture on the other hand isn’t really up to par with what we see from the competition, and the Pixel 4 largely falls behind in this aspect.
What’s really unfortunate is the audio recording quality. Unfortunately, the phone doesn’t seem to have any good wind noise cancellation. It wasn’t particularly windy when I was recording the samples, yet the wind noise is particularly distinct in the recordings.
Speaker Evaluation
The speaker setup on the Pixel 4 has changed substantially compared to the Pixel 3. Google is no longer using two front-facing speakers, opting for a more traditional earpiece + bottom firing speaker setup.
This does cause some problems and represents a downgrade for the new Pixel. While last year the Pixel 3’s stereo bias was actually biased towards the earpiece speaker as the stronger and louder unit, this year it’s very much extremely biased in favour of the bottom firing speaker. Volume isn’t an issue as the phone gets plenty loud.
The audio quality of the phone isn’t bad, however there’s a notable lack of mid-range and especially lack of lower mid-range which unfortunately leads to a less “full” audio playback and the phone doesn’t really compete with either Samsung or Apple’s devices in terms of audio playback ability.
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MaxUserName - Saturday, November 9, 2019 - link
You especially do not take pictures in very high-contrast scenes to hide the fact that the Google Camera does not work real HDR?swood15 - Saturday, November 9, 2019 - link
I was in the market for a new phone but wanted to wait for the Pixel 4 to drop before making a decision, ended up going with a OP7 Pro. Same SoC, 2x the RAM, 4x the storage, arguably a better implementation of the 90Hz display, larger battery, no forehead/notch, a respectable camera, and a clean OS for $50 cheaper than the cheapest Pixel 4?! Google needs to get serious.Bragabondio - Saturday, November 9, 2019 - link
Love Pixel devices as specs are not all. My feeling is that in the last few years phones are fast enough so specs in terms of pure speed are mostly meaningless unless you have some special case that I don have. Unlocked boot-loader, guaranteed fastest updates for 3 years and freedom to sideload apps is a big plus. Best camera on the market, IP68 dust and water resistance are also a must in my book and both Pixel 4 have them.I agree that the original price is to high ($799 for the regular version and $899 for the XL version) but with a recent $200 discount the new price is $599 for the regular version and $699 for the XL version making them much more reasonable buy.
I am personally skipping Pixel 4 as I plan to upgrade my Pixel 2 next year with Pixel 5.
Arbie - Saturday, November 9, 2019 - link
• No 3.5mm headphone jack.• No sale.
s.yu - Sunday, November 10, 2019 - link
I agree, not that the rest of this package would appeal to me if it even had the jack.For example:
• No 256GB+ storage.
• No sale.
Medstar1 - Sunday, November 10, 2019 - link
Interesting that the reviewer rigged Google for not introducing an ultra wide lens like their rivals; thus, ignoring the fact that LG introduced this feature several years ago.Andrei Frumusanu - Sunday, November 10, 2019 - link
What's your point? LG being first to the UWA doesn't change the fact that Google's the only vendor this year not having it.LG was first to it and I've always said it's a great addition to the camera experience, but it was Huawei in 2018 which popularised it as the UWA quality was far ahead of what LG was able to ever offer.
Oliseo - Sunday, November 10, 2019 - link
I would have said that the Pixels MAIN issue is the woefully short support timeframe from Google.3 years of support IS NOT ENOUGH for the price, regardless of anything else.
bengoey - Saturday, November 23, 2019 - link
Agree, my original 2016 Pixel won't have anymore updates from January 2020, so 3 years update only. If I bought an iPhone instead it will still have software update at least until the end of 2020, may be more. The camera of the Pixel however was better than iPhone at the time. Now iPhone 11 camera has improved and the video is better than the Pixel 4, if I am to upgrade I would buy the Iphone 11 , not the Pixel 4. To upgrade the memory to 128Gb will cost me £50 for the iphone 11 and £100 for the Pixel 4SirKronan - Sunday, November 10, 2019 - link
Yet another newly released phone with its full review complete, but still no word on the Note 10/10+ review?Is Anandtech not going to review the new Note phones after all? That would be a shame.