ISSUE 68 • ANDROID ADVISOR 5time by limiting how often I need to tap the screen.
Before you even unlock it, the Pixel 4 XL exudes
futurity and sets you up for an experience unlike
anything you’ll find on a Galaxy or iPhone.
Unfortunately, the rest of the phone’s innovations
are still several software updates away. Once you
get past the lock screen, the Pixel 4 XL is basically
an iterative upgrade over the Pixel 3 – which is
still for sale, and for hundreds of pounds less. The
new model introduces features that need more
time to bake, a few shortcomings that should have
been fixed before launch, and a camera that isn’t
impressive when compared to the competition.
Google may have delivered its most ambitious
phone with the Pixel 4 XL, but it falls well short of
nailing a top-tier phone experience.
Design
Like the Google and Nexus phones that came before
it, the Pixel 4 XL is a bland, perfunctory handset that
looks downright ugly next to the Galaxy Note 10+
or iPhone 11 Pro. While other phone makers are
racing to be the first with a 100 percent screen-to-
body ratio, the phone is nearly 20 percent bezel and
extremely top-heavy to boot.
Gone is the Pixel 3’s laughably large notch, but in
its place is a bezel that’s straight out of 2016. No fewer
than seven sensors and a speaker occupy the space
above the screen, but all you’ll see is an unsightly strip
of black glass. The sizable top bezel extends to the
sides and the bottom, where there’s no balance or
symmetry. It’s small enough to push the speaker to the