My immediate reaction to the Google Pixel 4 was disappointment. While it offers a series of firsts for the Pixel range – two rear cameras rather than one, a Snapdragon 855 processor, a 90Hz screen, even radar-sensing gesture controls – there was still no immediate sense that it had jumped ahead of its rivals.
That’s despite a new design. Google has ditched the two-tone look of its previous three generations of Pixels, instead opting for a simple single-tone colour scheme available in “Just Black”, “Clearly White” and “Oh So Orange”. Each is surrounded by a curved, textured black trim, with a coloured power button and volume rocker on the right edge. There’s no notch, either; instead, the 8MP selfie camera and earpiece speaker are located inside a chunky forehead bezel.
The Pixel 4 is sandwiched between protective layers of Gorilla Glass 5, rated to the IP68 standard. The new rear camera module is distinctly iPhone-like, with the two cameras, infrared sensor and dual-LED flash arranged in a diamond pattern.
The dual front-facing speakers also reappear, and there’s still no 3.5mm headphone jack. This isn’t normally much of a problem, but miserly Google has decided not to include an adapter in the box this year. There’s also no fingerprint sensor, but you can still unlock the Pixel 4 with your face, or with a PIN or pattern lock.
This story is from the January 2020 edition of PC Pro.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the January 2020 edition of PC Pro.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Key things to look for when buying a mini PC
Buying a mini PC isn't like buying a laptop or a fully fledged desktop PC, but a pitfall-laden experience that sits somewhere in between
BRANDS YOU CAN TRUST
Whenever you buy something in the coming year, why not draw on the experience of thousands of discerning buyers?
5 things we learned from Lenovo Tech World'24
In a landmark event where the CEOs of AMD, Intel and Nvidia all took to the stage, the theme of \"smarter AI for all\" was never far away, writes Tim Danton
The Darktrace leading to government
British security firm Darktrace has been mired in controversy. Now its former CEO is a government minister. Rois Ni Thuama and Barry Collins investigate
Microsoft is doing more harm to Arm than good, argues Jon Honeyball
You know that sinking feeling you get when something is not quite right? That nagging doubt that it shouldn't be like this? It was like that when I read that Qualcomm has cancelled its Snapdragon X developer kit, a desktop Mac mini-like box designed for developers to create and test apps for Windows on Arm (WoA).
How do we know how smart AI really is?
Maths questions. Silly word puzzles. Counting the letter \"r\" in a sentence. Nicole Kobie reveals how we're trying to work out exactly how intelligent AI is
Missed call Whatever happened to the Acorn Communicator?
When Acorn launched its 16-bit Communicator computer with a built-in modem, it struggled to get potential buyers to listen, as David Crookes explains
STEVE CASSIDY-"Getting workers to do simple jobs in the 16th century was not much different from the 21st"
Why 16th century \"networking\" legislation still has an impact, and why the term AI is confusing to punters as well as a waste of natural resources
JON HONEYBALL -"The more I have to do with UK telcos, the more broken their systems seem to be"
After being tempted by the iPhone 16 Pro Max - for professional reasons, honest - and the Watch 2 Ultra, Jon discovers not everything is perfect in Apple's new generation
Apple iPhone 16 Pro
A bigger display, borrowed 5x tetraprism zoom from the Max and no price hike make this the best iPhone
