Google Pixel 4 XL revisited - The good and bad after six months - Android

The Pixel 4 series was divisive at launch, but how does it stack up six months later, and should you buy it?

I think it’s fair to say the Google Pixel 4 has been a divisive phone.

In our review of the Pixel 4 and its larger twin, the Pixel 4 XL, we talked about the “untapped potential” that both phones represented as a product of Google’s ever-expanding hardware division. We also questioned the value for money of both devices due to the big G’s continued habit of overpricing its marquee smartphones.

Since its launch in late October 2019, we’ve witnessed the rise of flagships that push well beyond the $1,000 mark, including several phones with obscene camera specs that threaten the Pixel series’ key appeal: offering the best mobile photography suite in the business. With all this in mind, and knowing that Google has a habit of gradually improving its phones through software, now feels like as good a time as any to re-evaluate the fourth-generation Pixels.

Related: The best Google Pixel 4 cases you can buy

The Pixel 4 XL has been my daily driver since it hit the market. Does it still hold up? Have any of the early issues and criticisms been addressed? Should you still buy a Pixel 4 series phone in 2020? Let’s find out.

Google Pixel 4 XL revisited: The good stuff

Camera

Shocker: the Google Pixel 4 series’ best feature is still pretty darn great. Unfortunately, the ongoing COVID-19 situation prevented me from pushing the Pixel 4 XL’s dual camera to its limits for this article, but below are just a few of the snaps I’ve taken on the phone over the past six months. My amateurish photography skills aside, the actual image quality is still pretty astounding.