PC World - USA (2019-12)

68 PCWorld DECEMBER 2019

REVIEWS GOOGLE PIXEL 4 XL

times when I honestly couldn’t tell whether

Smooth Display was on or off, even when the

phone was at max brightness. Google says it

will be updating Smooth Display (go.

pcworld.com/smdp) “in the coming weeks,”

but for now it’s just another feature that looks

good on paper but not so much in practice.

With all of the bells and whistles on, the

Pixel 4 XL has extremely average battery life

for a phone in this price range. Benchmarks

pegged the Pixel 4 XL at around nine hours,

and I was able to get through most days with

Smooth Display and Motion Sense switched

on. However, the battery was more of a

constant concern than with the iPhone 11,

Galaxy Note 10+, or OnePlus 7T, and I was

acutely aware of how much I had left. I did a

little better with Smooth Display and Motion

Sense switched off, but it wasn’t a dramatic

improvement—and

besides, that kind of

defeats the purpose

of buying a Pixel 4 in

the first place. With

the kind of battery

advancements Apple

and Samsung are

making with their

phones, Google’s

Pixel optimizations are

woefully behind the

times.

Thankfully, Google

seems to be acutely

aware of the Pixel 4’s battery issues, so it’s

amped up its wireless charging capabilities.

While Google basically forced you to buy a

Pixel Stand to get fast wireless charging on

the Pixel 3, the Pixel 4 delivers 11W charging

with any compatible charger. That’s not as fast

as the Galaxy S10’s 15W wireless capabilities,

but it’s a huge step up from the Pixel 3’s lame

5W offering.

CAMERA: A SECOND LENS

MAKES LITTLE DIFFERENCE

If you’re in the market for a new Pixel, the

camera is likely the number one reason why.

Google built the Pixel name on the strength

of its camera, and the fourth version only

drives that point home. After telling us for

years that a single camera was all you needed,

Google has added a second camera to the

The Pixel 4 XL brings a second rear camera this year.