And since publishing this article I've heard from numerous Pixel 4 fans who love their phones, so I'll be sure to update this piece is my experiences chance dramatically after the January or February security updates. But as a whole, the Pixel 4 has enough nagging flaws, half-baked ideas, and frustrating limitations to earn it a spot near the top of your return list. My main problems with the Pixel 4 have nothing to do with its design, price, or specs.
I could deal with its small battery, lack of storage options, and giant bezels if it was the phone it was supposed to be. The Pixel 4 has all of the hallmarks of a Google phone—the latest processor, a great display, the newest version of Android, a few innovative features—but something about it is just off.
I experienced occasional lagginess during my testing, but since I published my review, the issues have grown: My home screen has regularly refused to load its wallpaper, the share menu is back to taking several seconds to load, and Android Auto has a habit of getting stuck in a loop of connecting and disconnecting. Even something as simple as wireless charging is a nuisance.
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Where I can mindlessly place a phone on a charging pad with any other phone, my Pixel 4 requires far more thought and precision just to make sure its coil is aligned. Several times I woke up to a depleted phone before I learned to pay better attention to its placement. Speaking of depleted, the battery life on the Pixel 4—even the XL model—is very not good. And you don't have to look too far to find other people with the same problems.
Some of the worst issues have been fixed with updates, but many remain—or crop up again after a few days. And Google continues to be non-committal about when fixes might arrive, only saying an update will arrive "in the coming weeks" or "soon. Google promises three years of security updates and two years of Android version updates, and most of the time the Pixel truly felt like the iPhone of Android when OTA updates would arrive as soon as they were available. Thus far, there have been two monthly updates November and December , and neither arrived on the first day.
Or the tenth day. I got the November update nearly three weeks after Google released it and the December update on Dec. Because the smaller Pixel 4 barely ekes out a day of battery life, you might find yourself recharging it often to avoid range anxiety. The Pixel 4 and 4 XL lack a headphone jack, which is becoming a common omission on flagship phones, though the Pixel 3a phones and the Samsung Galaxy S10e still have that jack. The S10e offers a brighter, more vibrant display than the Pixel 3a, and it has features the Pixel phones lack, such as a microSD card slot, the ability to wirelessly charge other devices, and a headphone jack which the Pixel 3a has but the Pixel 4 does not.
And configuring all the features takes time. Samsung is also much slower than Google to release new Android updates for its phones. The Galaxy S10 comes in three screen sizes: 5. Most people considering the S10 series would be happy with the S10e. It has almost no bezel surrounding the screen, so it fits a 5. The Galaxy S10e has a megapixel main camera sensor featuring an adjustable aperture, which means the camera lens can physically adjust to let in more or less light. It can take impressively bright low-light shots and crisp outdoor images, so it has more range than other phone cameras.
This leads to blurriness when your subject is moving, even with the help of above-average optical stabilization. Although the Galaxy S10e is one of the best phones for photography, the Pixel models take better pictures overall. The metal and glass body of the Galaxy 10e is solid, and it curves in the right places to fit comfortably in the hand.
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The phone looks beautiful, but it picks up fingerprints as soon as you handle it. Samsung moved the fingerprint sensor to the power button on the right edge of the S10e. The Galaxy S10e uses a Snapdragon processor. The S10e even wirelessly charges other devices such as phones and earbuds through a feature called Wireless Power Share. And although Samsung aims for monthly security updates as Google does for the Pixel family, Samsung rarely manages that.
You do get more updates than on most Android phones, but major feature updates take significantly longer to show up than they do on the Pixel 4 and Pixel 3a series. The OnePlus 7T offers performance as good as or better than that of many expensive flagship phones but costs hundreds of dollars less. It has a 6.
T-Mobile also sells the OnePlus 7T directly. Apps open instantly, scrolling is perfectly smooth, and multitasking is lag-free. The fingerprint reader under the display is about as fast as the traditional fingerprint reader on the Galaxy S10e, but its version of face unlock is much less secure than on the Pixel 4. You can find three cameras on the back of the OnePlus 7T: a megapixel main sensor, a megapixel 3x telephoto, and a megapixel ultra-wide-angle.
The selfie camera is 16 megapixels. OnePlus does not offer a water-resistance certification more expensive phones are usually IPrated at least or a microSD card slot with this model. The company says the 7T should survive a splash no promises , but you should not put that to the test. The phone also has no headphone jack, which is typical for high-end phones but disappointing nonetheless. We cover less expensive models in our guide to budget Android phones. These are also the first Samsung phones to drop the headphone jack.
The only reason to buy a Note10 over a Pixel model or the Galaxy S10e is if you cannot live without the S Pen stylus, and that describes very few people.
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The Asus ROG Phone II offers some features that mobile gamers might enjoy, such as mappable shoulder buttons and a side-mounted charging port. The camera experience is also worse than on the Pixel phones or the Galaxy S10e. With a 6. However, the display is disappointing, and the camera shoots photos that look as if they were taken in The Android 9 Pie software also has some confusing mistranslations and UI errors.
The phone itself is rather garish, with its multiple faceted edges, textures, and colors. Asus also has a poor track record with OS updates. Asus could become a real midrange contender if it continues improving.
Google Pixel 4 review | Tom's Guide
The super-tall screen ratio makes split-screen multitasking easier, and you can watch movies without black bars. However, the device is so tall that apps can feel cramped, and all the buttons and the fingerprint sensor are awkwardly clustered on the right edge. The Moto Z4 is the only phone in the past year to support the Moto Mod accessory system. Unlike past Z-series phones, this one is a midrange device with a Snapdragon processor and 4 GB of RAM instead of a flagship phone. And despite the fact that LG put three camera sensors on the back of the V40, all of the Pixel phones take much better photos.
The phone is also blocky and huge, making it torturous to hold for long periods. The 6. It looks good on paper, with an AI-powered five-camera array, an in-display fingerprint sensor, and a Snapdragon processor. Plus, the haptic feedback is almost as good as on the Pixel 4. The Nokia Android One version of Android is fast, too, and it receives regular updates.
The camera can capture impressive photos, but processing a single photo can take as long as 20 seconds, and the rest of the phone slows to a crawl. On top of that, the in-screen fingerprint reader is abysmally slow and inaccurate. Although the Moto Z3 Play is an unlocked phone that works on all carriers, its price tag is unusually steep for a phone with midrange specs such as a Snapdragon processor and a substandard camera. The BlackBerry KEY2 is the only current-generation Android phone with a physical keyboard, but you pay for that with a smaller screen and a chunky overall design.
Simply turning on your phone should not be so frustrating. You can get a better phone for much less. Google sometimes provides support beyond its stated timelines, too: The original Pixel and Pixel XL, for example, received an update to Android 10 in late even though Google had promised to deliver Android-version updates for those phones only through October Brian X.
Our pick.
Google Pixel 3a Best Android smartphone The best version of Android with guaranteed updates through May , plus class-leading camera performance, makes the Pixel 3a feel as good as phones that cost twice as much. Google Pixel 3a XL Best big Android smartphone The 3a XL has the same excellent version of Android as the 3a but offers a bigger, 6-inch display and better battery life. Upgrade pick. Also great. Everything we recommend Our pick. Why you should trust us How we picked and tested Should you upgrade?
Most flagship Android phones use similar processors, so performance differences are largely due to software. Phones that have fewer manufacturer and carrier modifications run better and are easier to use.
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Display: Most people spend several hours every day looking at their smartphone screen.