Google Pixel 3 XL: Winning The Game By Rewriting The Rules

Google hasn’t just made a great Android phone, it’s made a whole new Pixel.

- Michael Simon

After spending nearly a week with the Pixel 3 XL, my three first impressions of Google’s newest handset haven’t changed: It’s the fastest Android phone I’ve ever used. The cameras are awesome. The notch is an eyesore.

Thankfully, the first two qualities make up for the third. Mostly. If the Pixel 3 XL didn’t have such an ostentatious notch, it would still be an ugly phone, but after a couple days I wouldn’t have cared anymore. Six days later, the notch is still the first thing my eyes go to every time I unlock my phone. It would be one thing if there was some next-generation camera or sensor that demanded such a large notch. But as it stands, there appears to be a lot of unnecessary space around the twin cameras, ambient light sensor, and speaker that live inside it.

But I don’t want to waste too many words debating the merits of the Pixel 3 XL’s notch. Google has already signaled that it will be adding a way to black it out via software— which may or may not improve things (go. pcworld.com/3xln)—and it basically comes down to preference. If you can deal with it, get the Pixel 3 XL. If not, get the notchless Pixel 3. It’s that simple.

Because otherwise, the Pixel 3 is more than just another great Android phone. It’s the emergence of the Pixel as a bona fide smartphone platform. There are features of other phones that may be better—the Galaxy S9’s design (go.pcworld.com/gs9r), the Huawei P20’s camera hardware (go.pcworld. com/9v20), the Note 9’s battery (go. pcworld.com/n9bt)—but no single Android phone can top the end-to-end performance that Google delivers with the Pixel 3.

A NICE BACK, A GREAT SCREEN