Google Pixel 4 buyer’s guide - Everything you need to know - Android
The Google Pixel 4 and 4 XL have plenty to offer, including great performance, fantastic cameras, and a terrific build quality. But they also fall short in many areas that are important to a lot of consumers, with battery life being at the top of the list.
To help you figure out whether or not you should buy the Pixel 4 or 4 XL, we prepared this buyer’s guide that brings together all the best resources on Google’s flagships. We’ll take a look at what reviewers and users think of the two handsets, how well the cameras perform, what are the best alternative handsets available, and much more. Let’s get started.
Editor’s note: This Pixel 4 buyer’s guide is current as of June 2020. We will update it with new content regularly.
Google took the wraps off the Pixel 4 phones at its Made By Google event on October 15, 2019, in New York City. Both models went up for pre-order the same day, with sales officially kicking off on October 24.
As you can tell by its name, the Pixel 4 XL (launch price: $899) is the larger of the two phones. It comes with a 6.3-inch QHD+ display, a 3,700mAh battery, and 64GB of base storage. You’ll find the Snapdragon 855 chipset under the hood along with 6GB of RAM. The phone also sports two rear cameras, an IP68 rating, and wireless charging. It even has a Soli radar up front that lets you do things like skip tracks, snooze alarms, and silence calls with swiping gestures above the device — without touching it.
The smaller Pixel 4 (launch price: $799) is similar to the XL model in many ways. It has the same chipset, memory configurations, cameras, and waterproof rating, among other things. But it does come with a smaller 5.7-inch display sporting a lower Full HD+ resolution. It also has a smaller battery, coming in at 2,800mAh.
The Pixel 4 series is a mixed bag and is definitely not for everyone. The simplest way to put it is that the two phones feel like they are designed for Google engineers rather than average consumers.
They have poor battery life, which is one of their biggest drawbacks. The Pixel 4 XL is the better of the two options in this regard, but it’s still far from great compared to the competition. The phones only have two cameras on the back instead of three or more you get with the competition. There’s no wide-angle lens on board, as Google thinks the 2x telephoto lens the phones sport is much more useful. We tend to disagree.
You also don’t get a lot of base storage at just 64GB, and you have to pay a whopping $100 to upgrade to a 128GB model. There’s 6GB of RAM available, which is enough for now, but that may change a few years down the line. Also, a lot of rivals offer at least 8GB of base RAM.
However, there’s still a lot of good things to say about the Pixel 4 and 4 XL. The cameras are arguably the best ones you can get on any smartphone at the moment. They take fantastic photos, especially in low-light situations. You can also capture images of the stars thanks to the innovative Astro mode.
In addition to the cameras, the phones also have great software. Sure, stock Android isn’t as feature-packed as custom skins like OxygenOS or One UI, but it offers a clean, bloat-free experience. The bigger advantage is that the handsets will be among the first to get updated to the latest versions of Google’s OS when they are released. With Samsung, LG, and other phones, you have to wait for months and months to experience the latest Android.
Other advantages of the Pixel 4 series include a fantastic build quality, great displays, and a simple yet attractive design, although this depends on personal preference.
So, are the Pixel 4 phones worth buying? Yes and no. If you’re looking for a phone with stock Android that can take great images, especially at night, the Pixel 4 or 4 XL is worth considering. But if you care about things like battery life, need a wide-angle lens, want loads of RAM, or just want to get a lot of value for your money, you may have to look somewhere else.
Our very own Kris Carlon and David Imel reviewed the Pixel 4 phones, and they both had a kind of love-hate relationship with the flagships.
Their overall opinion is that Google Pixel 4 and Pixel 4 XL are great phones in several respects, but they misfire far more often than they should at this price point. The major problems are the battery life as well as reliability of the phone’s new hardware features. For example, the Soli radar that lets you control certain aspects of the phone with swiping gestures without touching it didn’t work most of the time on the Pixel 4 XL. It was a lot more reliable on the smaller Pixel 4, though, so the XL model we had might have been defective.
The Pixel 4 has the best camera you can get on a smartphone.
David and Kris both agreed that the Pixel 4 has the best camera you can get on a phone, although the gap between Google’s flagships and rivals isn’t as big anymore as it was in previous years. They would prefer a wide-angle camera on the devices instead of a telephoto lens, although both would be better.
In addition to the cameras, our reviewers loved the software experience and praised the displays, performance, and build quality. However, they didn’t think the phones offer great value for money.
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