DECEMBER 2019 PCWorld 61away. Once you get
past the lock screen,
the Pixel 4 XL is
basically an iterative
upgrade over the
Pixel 3 (go.pcworld.
com/gpx3)—which
is still for sale, and for
hundreds of dollars
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: TAKING THE FUN
OUT OF FUNCTIONAL
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+ (go.pcworld.com/nt10) or
iPhone 11 Pro (go.pcworld.com/11pr). While
other phone makers are racing to be the first
with a 100 percent screen-to-body ratio, the
Pixel 4 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 bottom edge, and
from afar, the Pixel 4 will look more like a
budget phone than a premium one. And even
up close, there’s nothing about it that looks
like it should cost $900.
Around the back you’ll find the Pixel 4’s
most obvious upgrade: a dual camera. Like
the iPhone 11, the Pixel 4 has a giant
square camera array in the top left corner
that’s designed to stand out, particularly in
white or orange. However, while the
camera array is very much a fluid part ofThere’s no notch on the Pixel 4 XL (front), but the bezel is very much still there.