So after a ton of leaks, Google Pixel 4 and Pixel 4XL finally launched last night. And while the device might be tempting to many -- with its camera prowess and access to latest and greatest of Android -- The device has a ton of shortcomings on paper that gives a strong edge to the other phones in the market.
AP/Reuters
While the device isn't coming to India, you don't really have anything to be sad about. Here are six reasons why buying a Pixel 4 doesn't make sense in 2019.
This has been one of the biggest flaws with every Pixel phone that has launched in the past. It always comes equipped with relatively outdated hardware or something that soon is going to be outdated. The Pixel 4's are no exception to this. We're getting Qualcomm's Snapdragon 855 instead of the slightly newer and powerful Snapdragon 855+. Sure the latter is just an overclocked version of the 855, but the standard 855 that comes on board the Pixel 4 will soon be pretty outdated when Qualcomm decides to unveil its new processor to the world in a few months.?
This comes paired with 6GB of RAM. While 6GB of RAM should be fine to run things smoothly, it won't be for long. Apps tend to take up RAM on Android. Even previous Pixel 3's and 2's have faced a jittery experience with just 4GB RAM at their disposal. With other smartphone makers offering 8GB, 10GB even 12GB of RAM, it feels really outdated.
Pixel 4 comes equipped with a 2800mAh battery whereas the Pixel 4XL gets a slightly decent 3700mAh battery. Both the phones have 90Hz high-refresh-rate display. While Pixel 4XL could probably survive the day, the 2800mAh on the Pixel 4 is just disappointing.?
One of the coolest reasons to pick a Pixel, apart from the amazing camera hardware was the fact that it offered unlimited storage of photos and videos on Google Photos on the best quality -- something that would otherwise be chargeable. However, Google stops this with the Pixel 4's, making it an even less tempting deal to go for.?
Google decided to equip the Pixel 4 with the Soli Radar (killing its chances of being sold in one of the biggest smartphone market in the world) tech that allows users to do certain hand gestures to do basic activities like silence calls, increase volume or skip a track during music playback, among others. But I just have one question -- Will this feature even matter in the long run? If I can recollect, Samsung brought these gimmicky gesture-based features on the Galaxy S4 almost 6 years ago and people clearly didn't care back then, will they care now?
With the plethora of sensors at the front of the device, the display on the Pixel 4 and Pixel 4XL has a considerably thick forehead. Moreover, even the chin on the phone isn't very minimal either. The Pixel 4 feels like it is straight out of 2016, coming nowhere close to competitors like the Samsung Galaxy Note 10 or even the OnePlus 7T Pro.?
In conclusion, even though the Pixel 4 and Pixel 4XL aren't coming to India, we aren't missing anything big. If you really want a Pixel though, wait for sometime, as Google could soon unveil a Pixel 4a and Pixel 4a XL (just like Pixel 3a and 3a XL) without the Soli Radar at a much-affordable price point, in a few months.