Google Pixel 3
Continuing my series of phone reviews, I’ve had the opportunity to use and test the Google Pixel 3. We’re a bit spoilt for choice at the moment with smartphones, and whether or not it’s a good or bad thing, they are beginning to look and perform quite similarly to each other. Read my Rapid Review to see if I felt the Pixel 3 stood out amongst the crowd.
Design and features
The design of
The phone I reviewed came in the aptly named, Just Black variety. You can also purchase this phone in the Clearly White and the Not Pink iterations. With the colourful offerings of the iPhone XR and the Huawei P20 Pro, I’m surprised that Google chose these colours as their only offerings.
The 5.5″ FHD+ flexible OLED display is presented in an 18:9 aspect ratio. The display fills most of the screen thanks to the minimum bezel. The colours are crisp and bright.
Performance
The Pixel 3 is a fast, capable, reliable phone. Throughout my time with the phone, I was able to play all of the most recent games, as well as multitasking. Not at any point did I notice the phone slow up or did I encounter any crashes.
Battery
I was impressed with the battery in the Pixel 3. On a single charge, I was able to get more than a day out if it after moderate use. If I played games for a couple of hours, I needed to make sure that I put the phone on charge overnight. Talking of charging, the Pixel 3 charges quickly with the charger you get in the box. You can also charge the Pixel 3 using a wireless charging pad.
Software
The Google Pixel 3 runs the latest version of Android 9.0, otherwise known as Android “Pie”. The way the phone handles multitasking is simple. You swipe up from the bottom to enter a cards screen of all of your open apps. From here you can close an app individually, or swipe to the right until you see the option to close all running apps. There is also a big push towards digital wellbeing built into Android 9.0.
An incredibly cool, if unnecessary, feature of the phone was the ability to “squeeze” the edges of the phone to access the Google Assistant. I enjoyed using this feature. However, I do think it’s a bit gimmicky. You can, of course, use your voice by saying “OK Google”.
Wind Down mode
A feature which I did find very useful was the wind-down mode. It’s Google’s way of encouraging you to take some time away from your phone, specifically at night before going to sleep. To do this, when enabled, wind-down mode turns the colourful display into greyscale. This has the effect of making the on-screen content less appealing, which in turn should make you put the phone down and get some much-needed sleep.
Camera
The Google Pixel’s camera is a real standout feature of the Google Pixel 3. Coupled with intelligent software, the 12.2 MP dual-pixel rear camera and the 8 MP wide-angle and telephoto cameras on the front, you’re going to get some excellent shots using this phone. An impressive feature of the camera was the top shot, and it automatically suggests when to take a good photo. The Google Pixel 3 takes some fantastic pictures at night and in low light settings.
Conclusion
There’s no denying that the Pixel 3 is a great phone. With its battery life, camera, the best-utilised version of Android 9 and wireless charging ability, the Pixel 3 is the best Pixel phone that Google has released to date. Whether or not it is the best smartphone on the market, that’s hard to say. If you’re a previous Pixel user, you’re going to love this phone.
Rapid Reviews UK Rating
A huge thank you to Vodafone UK for providing me with the device for review. You can read more about the Google Pixel 3 and purchase it on the following link, https://bit.ly/2DsOpmQ
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