New for the Pixel 3 is Google’s Super Res Zoom, which is an enhanced digital zoom that works very well, but can’t quite beat rivals with telescopic cameras at maximum magnification. The on-device AI-powered Top Shot advisor captures multiple frames before and after you hit the shutter button and flags when it thinks it’s got a better image than you managed manually. The Pixel 3 XL fits into one hand, but takes two hands to operate and it’s a little more slippery to hold than the Pixel 2 XL. The difference isn’t Earth (or phone) shattering, though we did end up preferring the tighter dimensions of the standard Google Pixel 3 for this reason. Lee, Demi (October 19, 2018). "Some Google Pixel owners' camera photos aren't saving". The Verge. Archived from the original on October 20, 2018 . Retrieved October 31, 2018. In-depth Pixel 3 XL display test puts Google in the same ballpark as Samsung and Apple". 9to5Google. October 15, 2018. Archived from the original on November 5, 2018 . Retrieved October 31, 2018.

It’s tempting to leave this on all the time but bear in mind that Motion photos will take up more space than regular photos. How to use Motion Autofocus Simon Hill/Digital Trends There is, however, a massive notch containing the dual selfie camera and speaker. Aesthetic debates aside, it’s important to note that because the notch is so tall it takes up a big chunk of the screen at the top, with the area either side exclusively being used for the status bar.There isn’t enough room either side of the notch for most of the status bar icons either. If you have the battery percentage visible, the phone connected to wifi and set to vibrate, if you connect a set of Bluetooth headphones you end up with a dot in the right side of the status bar indicating there are more icons needed than can fit. The Pixel 3 loses some of the received messages. Google said that a fix will be delivered in a future update. [51] Those who want a no-frills Android flagship with a sensible design will love the Google Pixel 4 XL. It doesn’t excel at anything but photography and clean UI, and that’s okay. Otherwise, the OLED screen is gorgeous, as expected, with HDR support that shows streaming media and photos in vivid clarity. A new feature, Ambient EQ, taps the onboard sensors to automatically adjust the display’s color temperature to mimic the surrounding environment. We didn’t notice it was working until we switched it off to reveal a harsher, colder-temp default color setting - which is kind of the point.

The Pixel 3 XL has the exact same camera as fitted to its smaller sibling, and as such as genuinely brilliant, capturing richly detailed and vibrant images in practically any lighting condition with little to no photographic skill required. You can also adjust the depth, tweak the level of blur, and even change the focal point of the image after taking the photo. To do this, you need to tap the Edit icon at the bottom, second from the left, and then tap that same icon again to find a Depth slider. To adjust overall depth, you can slide it left and right, but you can also tap on the arrow at the right to open separate sliders for Blur and Foreground blur. To change your focal point, simply tap on the photo where you want it to focus. How to take wider selfies

Conclusion

As for the front-facing camera suite, to make room for the Soli radar chips placed alongside the front-facing lenses, the two selfie shooters present in last year’s model have been reduced to just one 8MP camera. It’s pretty apparent when taking portrait mode shots, which have admirable but obviously software-generated depth effects added after the photo is taken. This is ramped up to an extreme degree with the introduction of Astrophotography: it recognizes the user is attempting to photograph the heavens and sets for a long exposure (nearly four minutes – so bring a tripod). The effect is incredible, clearly showing planets and stars while also illuminating the foreground, including people. You’ll be able to capture cityscapes and the night sky in one image which - while not perfect - is the best nocturnal phone photography we’ve seen yet.

The status bar on the right is missing a few icons thanks to the notch, showing instead a dot meaning there are overflowing into the notification shade. Photograph: Samuel Gibbs/The Guardian If your screen is not functioning, use the Google Update and Software Repair tool. This is available for Google Pixel 3 and newer. Brownlee, Marques (December 18, 2018). Smartphone Awards 2018. Event occurs at 4 minutes 26 seconds – via YouTube. The camera crashed with a fatal error when used from 3rd party apps. [61] This issue is reportedly fixed with the December 2018 software update. [62]HDR (high dynamic range) is virtually ubiquitous in smartphones now, but sometimes it’s an optional feature you can turn on and off yourself. With the Pixel 3, it’s on all the time, so you don’t need to worry about it. Because photos are often tinted by the lighting conditions they’re taken in, Google’s artificial intelligence (A.I.) sets the white balance automatically to get the colors right. We recommend leaving this setting on auto. We generally turn the flash off as it doesn’t tend to get great results. The Pixel 3 also features an excellent Night Sight mode that we’ll get to in a moment. What is HDR+?