40 PCWorld JANUARY 2020REVIEWS iPHONE 11 VS ANDROID’S BEST
THE PHONES
Three phones compete against the iPhone 11
this year:
Samsung Galaxy S10+: I chose this
model (go.pcworld.com/nwsm) because
it’s cheaper than the official flagship Note
10+. Also, compared to the S10, it’s only
$100 more and equipped with a much
bigger battery.
Google Pixel 4 XL: The newest Pixel
phone (go.pcworld.com/nwpx) has a laundry
list of issues, but it’s Google so it gets the
nod. Plus it has a better screen and bigger
battery than the smaller one.
OnePlus 7T: OnePlus is on a roll. The two
phones released in the United States in 2019,
the 7 Pro and the 7T, raised expectations
for what an affordable model can deliver.
The newer 7T (go.pcworld.com/nw7t)offers killer specs and a price that undercuts
the iPhone 11’s.DESIGN
While Samsung pushed design boundaries
with an impressive reimagining of the
Galaxy S10, the iPhone is starting to feel a
little stale. It’s more symmetrical than the
other phones here, but the notch, the
thickish bezels, and the screen-to-body
ratio leave much to be desired. It’s also the
thickest of the bunch at 8.3mm.
The giant square camera is a polarizing
look, and it makes the iPhone 11 wobble
when it rests on a table. The camera bump
matches your chosen handset color, and
while the new purple and green are nice, the
glossy back picks up fingerprints early and
often. Rumors suggest that Apple may dump
the notch and make other
changes for the iPhone 12.
I hope that’s the case.
If the iPhone 11 is bland,
the Pixel 4 XL is just plain
blah. It loses last year’s
notch for a sizable
forehead, a small chin, and
chunky side bezels. Like
Apple, Google has added
a square camera array in the
upper left corner, but the
Pixel 4’s bump is black
regardless of body color.
The Pixel 4 XL (left) and iPhone 11 have very similar camera styling. I do like Google’s