Google Pixel 3 XL Is The Best Camera Smartphone You Can Buy Right Now, But It Isn't Perfect

Google Pixel 3 XL is evidence that Google's learning fast how to nail a top class hardware experience. But has it found the premium smartphone winning formula?

As an overall package, the Google Pixel 3 XL definitely improves from last year's Google Pixel 2 XL. It sports a better look and feel, cleanest Android 9 implementation, and the best single lens camera phone you can find -- hands down. Let's take a deeper look at Google's flagship smartphone of 2018.

Pixel 3 XL is all about photo wizardry

There's no better way to put it -- the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL are the best camera phones in the market. Other camera phones (Samsung Galaxy Note 9, iPhone XR, OnePlus 6T) come close, but none's as good as the Pixel 3 when it comes to capturing still images.

Take this random picture I clicked from inside a moving auto rickshaw. Look at the detail inside the rickshaw. Now zoom in and see through the auto's glass and admire the detail captured by the Pixel 3 XL camera.

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You can read number plates, shopping boards, and every vehicle in far greater detail than you'd ever imagine to capture from a phone's camera. It's mind-boggling. Here are some more pics:

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All of these images from the Pixel 3 XL, and the quality of the detail they capture without distortion, is something you haven't seen on a smartphone camera.

Even in the these low-light images captured from the Pixel 3 XL's 12MP rear camera, the phone captures a lot of detail without overdoing graininess and noise in the image.

The scooters are parked next to a single lightbulb outside a restaurant, and the image below shows a pickup truck with different kinds of chairs and furniture inside -- none of which was clearly visible because it was literally in the dark. Yet the Pixel 3's camera managed to show it pretty darn well.

The Pixel 3 XL's front camera system, hidden inside the notch, is equally good for selfies. Particularly, wide angle selfies.

Images in a variety of lighting conditions are better than the competition, no doubt.

The Pixel 3 XL hardly puts a foot wrong, whether it's capturing crisp images in bright daylight with an amazing amount of detail or extracting visuals from near dark scenery that makes your jaw drop.

Portrait mode on the Google Pixel 3XL has been blowing quite a few minds, dropping quite a few jaws in the office. It's quite something what this phone's capable of achieving with just a single lens! pic.twitter.com/LFHQYhaH2n

¡ª Jayesh Shinde (@jshinde) October 15, 2018

And when it comes to Portrait shots -- of human faces, objects, animals, plush toys, you name it -- the Pixel 3 XL is just at a whole different level. Yes, it's that good.

Google has really achieved something unique here on the Pixel 3 XL with the dedicated Pixel Visual Core -- a chip on the device that's dedicated for image processing -- and it's definitely improved from last year's Pixel 2 XL. Having said that, there's something about Pixel 3 XL's computational photography algorithm -- which is constantly trying to enhance every picture you click -- that sometimes makes the colours a tad oversaturated, and the resulting images a smidge unnatural. But that's about the only aberration on the Pixel 3 XL's otherwise exceptional camera prowess. The video capture on the Pixel 3 XL has improved from last year, but I still think it's behind what this year's iPhones can do.

The Pixel 3 XL is definitely a looker

Improved look

Compared to last year's Pixel 2 XL, the Pixel 3 XL looks more polished around the edges and especially on its back. The glass has a two-toned matte and glossy finish which feels elegant in your palm. I'm a little bummed about the black-n-white Panda colour variant being discontinued this year, but the Pixel 3 XL still comes in two alluring new colours -- Not Pink and Only White.The rear camera, flash, fingerprint sensor are placed just like they were on the Pixel 2 XL. The SIM card slot has moved down to the bottom edge, right next to the USB Type-C charging port on the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL.

Meet the "Bathtub" Notch

Nice screen ruined by a big notch

Even though the smaller Pixel 3 doesn't have a notch, the Pixel 3 XL has one -- and it's just too big and ugly. You can't not see it, especially while reading through a white-coloured web page or browsing through white-coloured social feed. Google will tell you that the Pixel 3 XL's notch is the reason why you can capture wide-angle selfies unlike any other, but it also botches the phone's aesthetics in the process.

Unlike last year's Pixel 2 XL which suffered from a colourshift issue on its screen, the Pixel 3 XL has no such problem. Its OLED display has thin side bezels, and reproduces text, images and moving visuals very well. It's right up close to this year's iPhone screen displays, in terms of overall quality.

Pure Android bliss, but gestures need work

The Pixel 3 XL lets you experience and enjoy the purest Android 9 Pie version as Google envisioned it. No ads, no skins, just bliss for the most part. Until you hit the Gesture UI implementation, which doesn't feel as smooth as the iPhone XS or XR's fluid iOS experience. Not saying there's anything broken with Pixel 3 XL's Gesture UI, it's nice and smooth, but not as great as the iPhone's yet.

Battery life isn't bad

The Pixel 3 XL comes with a 3,430 mAh battery, which you can stretch through a day, if you aren't consuming a lot of multimedia along the way. With just phone calls and responding to messages over 4G, with a bit of social browsing and music on earphones, the Pixel 3 XL lasted me for just over 20 hours -- on a conservative screen brightness. That's quite good, and it's quick to charge as well -- not as fast as the OnePlus 6T does through its Dash Charger, though.

Should you buy the Pixel 3 XL?

The Pixel 3 XL is the undoubted smartphone camera king of 2018, capturing beautifully detailed photos in a variety of modes and lighting conditions, both through its front and rear cameras. I'm still amazed at the image quality of pictures captured by Pixel 3 XL's single rear camera lens, where every single one of its competitors lags behind despite sporting two or more rear cameras.

Its design and look has improved from last year's Pixel 2 XL as well, offering colour choices that should appeal to a wider audience. However, the notch is ugly and Android's Gesture UI still seems unpolished when compared to the iPhone's iOS experience. Google still has some work to do here, no doubt.

Starting at Rs 71,000, the Pixel 3 isn't cheap, but it's meant to compete with the iPhones and Galaxys of the world. If the photos you capture from your smartphone's camera matters to you the most, the Pixel 3 XL is the best phone to buy right now. If you don't like the Pixel 3 XL's bigger size, you can get the Pixel 3 which is smaller and more portable. Best thing is that both versions of the phone have the exact same camera setup on the rear.