44 PCWorld JANUARY 2020REVIEWS iPHONE 11 VS ANDROID’S BEST
delivered its best display in the Pixel 4 XL, but
that’s mainly because the ones that came
before were so disappointing. It still has
Google’s trademark dullness, and an overall
lack of punch when left in Natural mode. But
even when switched to Boosted, the Pixel 4
XL just has a flatter feel when compared to the
other phones here.
The Pixel 4 is particularly lackluster when
placed next to the Galaxy S10+. But to be fair,
most phone displays are. The Galaxy S10+
pretty much set or broke every display record
there is. There aren’t enough adjectives or
superlatives to describe just how gorgeous
the S10+’s screen is. My only want is a higher
refresh rate—and I have to assume that’s
coming with the S11.
Winner: Samsung Galaxy S10+BATTERY
Each phone has a respectable
battery, but the S10+ is the
clear standout on paper:
Galaxy S10+: 4,100mAh
OnePlus 7T: 3,800mAh
Pixel 4 XL: 3,700mAh
iPhone 11: 3,142 mAh
The real-world results don’t
quite match up, however. In
my testing and real-world use,
the S10+ bested its
competitors, but not by much,
while the iPhone 11 vastly
outperformed its capacity. Theonly one that consistently struggled to make it
through a full day of use was the Pixel 4 XL.
The iPhone 11 and 7T benefit from their lack of
an always-on display, but some (including me)
will miss that feature.
The Pixel 4 XL was the most disappoint-
ing. The same OS ownership that gives Apple
a ridiculous edge should propel the Pixel 4 XL
to heights unseen by other Android phones,
but the reality doesn’t deliver. The lack of
optimization is extremely frustrating.
For example, I played a two-hour movie at
max brightness with all ambient and adaptive
brightness toggles turned off, and this is how
much battery each phone used:
OnePlus 7T: 17%
iPhone 11: 19%
Galaxy S10+: 19%
Pixel 4 XL: 21%
The results are pretty close, but thoseThe iPhone 11 (left) has the best battery life, but not by much.