
Pixel 3 Review - endorphone
https://www.anandtech.com/print/13474/the-google-pixel-3-review
======
rackforms
The basic point and shoot camera tests are fascinating. A cursory glance shows
the Pixel 3's camera the best of the bunch, sometimes by _far_.

That said, as an iPhone user it's annoying to see Apple purposely hobbling
itself with its overly aggressive (re: terrible) image processing.

In this image, for example:

[https://images.anandtech.com/galleries/6731/A_iX_IMG_0308.jp...](https://images.anandtech.com/galleries/6731/A_iX_IMG_0308.jpg)

The cobblestone ground is literally left unrecognizable, a shame considering
the sensor is capable of so much more.

Since iOS 7 we're able to shoot raw, and Apps like ProCam show just how much
better our sensor can be if it weren't for all that blurring.

If you shoot with an iPhone I highly recommend using RAW, your shots will
easily match the Pixels excellent results for basic point and shoot detail.

~~~
threeseed
Based on EXIF data that image was taken with an iPhone X back in October.

Which means the OS was 12.0 which had a widely reported bug where the image
processing was interpolating images incorrectly. This has been fixed in 12.1.
Would be interesting to see the photo taken again to see if the quality has
improved.

Also why are you comparing an iPhone X against the Pixel 3. The iPhone Xs has
had significant improvements to the camera.

~~~
epmaybe
Something I've been trying to figure out without much luck is how different
the raw images are between the iPhone X and XS. Any idea where I could find a
comparison?

The reason I ask is because feature such as smart HDR have shown great promise
but I don't know how much is software and how much is sensor performance.

~~~
matwood
This might help. Also, check a few other posts on the same blog.

[https://blog.halide.cam/iphone-xs-why-its-a-whole-new-
camera...](https://blog.halide.cam/iphone-xs-why-its-a-whole-new-camera-
ddf9780d714c)

------
ken
I see a bunch of numbers, a bunch of graphs, 10,000+ words analyzing them, and
a bunch of photos that all look _perfectly fine_ to me. The top two comments
here say that Google and Apple, respectively, are clearly the best.

If I didn't know any better, I'd say I was in audiophile territory.

~~~
tyingq
Personally, I buy cheap Motorola G4/G5/G6, etc phones. $150 or less, new. They
are fast enough, and work well enough for me. And, cheap enough that buying
next year's model when it comes out isn't a problem. And no anxiety about
dropping it.

~~~
xmichael999
Yah, I've been doing the - buy a generation or two back of the flag ship
release. Just bought the LG g5 which was their flagship 2 years ago, amazing
phone.

~~~
secfirstmd
I wouldn't mind doing that but the security update patch problem for Android
phones that suddenly stop getting them is a nightmare.

~~~
riquito
GP mentioned the LG G5 which is still receiving security updates

------
awill
I really appreciated the critical honesty here. With a Pixel you're getting an
8 month old SoC. The reason this detail is important is because the 8 month
old Galaxy S9 is now selling far below MSRP. You can get them new for around
$500. That makes the Pixel FAR more expensive than it's SD845 brothers.

Also, it's crazy to me that Apple has such a huge lead in single threaded CPU
performance. They've been ahead for years, and no one seems to be catching up.

~~~
kodablah
> the 8 month old Galaxy S9 is now selling far below MSRP. You can get them
> new for around $500

I am only seeing them ~$800 (not plus or note which are obviously even
higher), e.g. from AT&T [0] and Verizon [1]. That's quite the difference from
$500, can you link where you are seeing this or do you mean second hand or
when you switch carriers or something?

0 -
[https://www.att.com/cellphones/samsung/galaxy-s9.html#sku=sk...](https://www.att.com/cellphones/samsung/galaxy-s9.html#sku=sku8730723)

1 - [https://www.verizonwireless.com/smartphones/samsung-
galaxy-s...](https://www.verizonwireless.com/smartphones/samsung-
galaxy-s9/#sku=sku2930295)

~~~
culot
\- Unlocked: [https://swappa.com/buy/samsung-
galaxy-s9-g960u1-unlocked?con...](https://swappa.com/buy/samsung-
galaxy-s9-g960u1-unlocked?condition=new)

$600 looks to be the most reasonable price for a sealed new unlocked Galaxy S9
[in the US]. The lower priced 'new' copies on Swappa look open-box, which are
likely not new, but a refurb/return, or someone selling their used device as
new. Most of the new copies on Swappa are apparently open-box units, as are
most of the new units on Ebay. Definitely hard pass there.

Best Buy has new copies for $700 - that'd probably be the... best buy. Maybe
you can find a like-new refurb for $500, but it seems like a sealed actual new
copy will be harder to find for that price.

So like $150-250 saved by choosing Samsung, and probably getting a superior
package in most ways. Google has reduced the warranty period in the US of the
newest waves of Pixels by 1 year, so really they aren't offering a ton of
value for that high price.

~~~
fireattack
I don't think the price from private seller should count, so yeah, That BB's
price ($700) should be the one used for comparison.

~~~
pound
B&H for 600:
[https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1406055-REG/samsung_s...](https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1406055-REG/samsung_smg960064b_galaxy_s9_sm_g9600_64gb.html)

~~~
trimbo
That's an international model. Who gives a warranty, B&H?

The NA model is still $720.

~~~
pound
Oh, right. I've missed that, thanks.

At the same time - yes, B&H gives it their own warranty.

------
wcfields
What I'd like to see in addition to raw stats is stacking up service and
warranty.

What's kept me an Apple user for high-end laptops and phones is being able to
go to a brick and mortar store and walk-out with a replacement device.

~~~
robertAngst
Ive been doing the 'buy 2' high quality products instead of the 'buy 1 apple
product'.

Now, I dont actually buy 2 products, but I simply replace with the latest high
end product when I want/need to. I am unsure whats cheaper and better quality.

Im curious in studying this for comparison(I run a consumer website), what are
your quality metrics for service and warrenty?

So far I have:

>Time to fix/repair(downtime)

>Cost/deductible/copay

>Annoyance(losing contacts/photos/etc...)

Can you think of anything else?

~~~
wcfields
Yeah that's pretty much it, for me at least. I'd consider myself very
technically inclined (replaced screens on my iPhone 5's, build dozens of
PCs...), but as I've learned from experience I'd rather just pay slightly more
and expect it to work for my personal stuff.

I guess one can view it as buying the cheapest new car with a long warranty
versus a reliable as-is used car just so I never have to worry about it not
working.

------
mherdeg
I distinctly remember working with grad students in 2006 whose project was
"collaborating with Nokia to make super high quality cameras in cell phones".

At the time, I laughed inside and thought, "ha, it's gonna be tough to beat a
D2Hs and a decent set of lenses."

I was very wrong. Image sensors have come a long way incredibly fast.

~~~
on_and_off
I am considering selling my camera.

To be fair my 500$ lens on a $1000 consistently takes better looking portraits
(I know it is subjective) than a phone .. but my phone already takes good
pictures and is always with me.

It also automatically updloads my pictures to google photos, which is both
creepy and incredibly useful.

~~~
matwood
It’s not even subjective. I would love to leave my dslr behind, but phones are
just not there yet. My d7100 with a 50mm takes amazing portrait shots, even in
my amateur hands. The d7100 isn’t even a newer body.

------
fireattack
The buttons to toggle photos from different phones don't seem to work here.

Got "ReferenceError: ifg is not defined" error every time I click it.

~~~
gniv
I had the same problem. Try going to individual pages:
[https://www.anandtech.com/show/13474/the-google-
pixel-3-revi...](https://www.anandtech.com/show/13474/the-google-
pixel-3-review/6)

------
Yhippa
Very thorough review!

Phone reviews are pretty tough to go by. I'm including users comments on
phones. If you're going with a major brand like Google or Apple chances are
that your phone will be damn good. For the other tiers do some research to
make sure the phone is obviously not bad or you can live with purported
issues.

Hopefully you can go with a phone that has a decent return policy in case it's
not great.

The reason I'm typing this is because if you go online for phone reviews you
will probably only get an iPhone. There are plenty of great phones out there
where minor issues get blown out of proportion.

~~~
fermienrico
I don’t know why people like MKBHD. I much prefer reading a thorough objective
analysis like they do on Anandtech than some anecdotal opinions. It’s
entertaining to watch MKBHD though.

I want data. Not entertainment in my reviews.

~~~
usaphp
> I don’t know why people like MKBHD

> it’s entertaining to watch MKBHD thought.

~~~
B1FF_PSUVM
He's a likeable fellow, doesn't ham it up too much.

I watch very little video, broadcast TV nearly gives me hives listening to
their anxious desperate voices, but do not mind an occasional Marques Brownlee
video. Actually kind of soothing ...

------
bufferoverflow
The phone is good, but the price is nuts. I'd rather have a disposable Chinese
phone and spend the difference on Sony A7 III.

~~~
nickthemagicman
Ive had cheap phones. They're miserable. You're waiting for 30 seconds for
google maps to open up while you're in traffic and need the directions...no
thank you.

~~~
yorwba
Depends on how cheap you go. "Disposable" phones aren't going to be
comfortable to use, but you can get much better value for your money with a
Chinese phone that failed on the international market and is massively
discounted one year after launch.

My current phone cost 1/6 of the new Pixel but has more than 1/6 of the
hardware. My only hard requirement was support for LineageOS 15.1, which is
already somewhat of a quality filter because no volunteer is going to support
a phone that's too shitty to use.

------
niuzeta
It looks like a decent phone and I would love to use a Google phone for that
clean-Android experience.

Unfortunately headphone jack _is_ still the dealbreaker for me.

~~~
aembleton
Get a Nokia. Clean Android experience and my Nokia 8 had a headphone jack. I'm
on Android 8.1, 9 should arrive later this month so it's not too far behind.
Only £260.

[https://www.amazon.co.uk/Nokia-SIM-Free-Smartphone-
Tempered-...](https://www.amazon.co.uk/Nokia-SIM-Free-Smartphone-Tempered-
Blue-
Black/dp/B075GWYH37/ref=sr_1_4?s=telephone&ie=UTF8&qid=1541324303&sr=1-4&keywords=nokia+8)

------
Jedd
There's been a few stories & comments about the Qi Fast charging not working
except on approved chargers - defaulting to 5W rather than 10W.

I've looked for (but can not find) some graphs showing what a 5W vs 10W
wireless charge over time actually looks like. I assume it's non-linear, and
it's not a 2x factor at _any_ battery %. For all the talk it's odd there's no
good actual numbers though.

------
Findeton
Those pictures... that's Luxembourg. Beautiful city.

------
asenna
Anyone considering this phone and Project Fi, there's a really good offer
going one if you get two of these and get a friend to sign on to Fi JUST for a
month, you get $799 in credits. Really good if you're already paying monthly
Fi.

~~~
amerkhalid
I hate these BOGO offers. I was so close to buying it but saw the offer. So I
stopped, called up bunch of friends, one was looking to buy Pixel 3 but
already had Project Fi.

We did more research and it looked like we could still get this offer as long
as we get a new line for 30 days. Seemed a bit crazy but there were people on
Reddit who had confirmed this with customer service.

So again ready to place order and there is new post on Reddit where it claimed
that customer service is now saying you cannot deactivate the 3rd line. Time
to do more research.

Friend backed out. I am waiting for people who bought extra phone for the deal
to start selling their phones. Or maybe I will wait for Black Friday deals or
get LG G7 ($400 after $150 service credit).

I wish Google had released it for just $400 without BOGO deal. This whole
thing was such a waste of time.

------
ballsyballsman
I got new Huawei Nova 3 and photos are excellent, battery life 1.5 days. Super
fast with 128gb storage for (edit 3-4 times) times cheaper than pixel or any
apple crap.

No wonder trumbo wants to block huawei phones from US market. Would sell like
hot cakes.

------
StephenAmar
As a Pixel 1 owner, I'm a bit disappointed by this new version. It just does
not seem worth it to spend that much money on what looks like a small
incremental improvement.

~~~
lern_too_spel
There's no headphone jack. It's a downgrade.

------
ballsyballsman
Anybody bothered by the Google's evil privacy flaws and deep integration of
software?

~~~
sanketskasar
Yeah. Everyone seems to miss the fact that in addition to your messages and
emails, the always on microphone, google is now going to listen to your calls
as well. Why everybody seems so delighted by that feature when it seems to be
the root of a new evil is beyond me.

------
browsercoin
im very excited of being able to take photos at night but what about videos?

can I record really edgy, film fps, at night? usually in downtown alleys.

