Google Pixel 3 Xl Hands On: A Lot Of Phone, A Lot Of Notch, And A Lot Of Money

It is what we thought it was.

- Michael Simon

Let’s just get this out of the way: The Pixel 3 XL is not a pretty phone. It’s got a canyon for a notch, a valley for a chin, and thick bezels around its screen. Put it in a Pepsi challenge with any 2018 phone—and even some 2017 models— and nearly everyone will pick the other handset based on looks alone. The smaller Pixel 3 may look slightly less homely, with a smaller Pixel 2 XL aesthetic, but you can pretty much throw a rock and hit a better-looking Android phone.

But while it might not be much to look at, the Pixel 3 XL is a joy to hold, with an incredible matte-glass back that feels like metal to the touch and won’t pick up nearly as many fingerprints as other phones. Seriously, you’re not going to want to put this phone in a case—it feels that good. Someone else will have to test the durability compared to other glass-backed phones, because I don’t want to get a scratch on mine.

The three colors of the Pixel 3 are fine, though I miss the two-tone “tuxedo” option of the 2 XL. The new Not Pink color is neutral to the point of being sanitized, and it looks more beige than pink to my eyes. My favorite of the three is white, which has a nice mintgreen accent on the power button.

Before we go any further, let’s talk about the notch. I don’t know why Google didn’t put one on the 5.5-inch model, but it only makes the 3 XL stand out more. And not in a good way. It’s big. And deep. Where other phone makers are trying to shrink and hide their notch behind software tricks, Google seems to be very proud of the “extra useful space at the top” of its phone (seriously, the company said that.)