The elevator pitch for the Pixel 4 duo is “90Hz
screens and dual cameras”. The two flagships come at the tail end of 2019 and
represent Google’s views of the current perfect Android phone. The screens are just about the
only thing that sets the two models apart. The Google Pixel 4 features a 5.7”
OLED panel with 1080p+ resolution. The XL model gets a larger, sharper 6.3”
display with QHD+ resolution. In both cases, the aspect ratio is a clean 19:9 –
there are no notches to complicate UI layout. There is a bit of a forehead that
houses a lot of hardware, but more on that later.
The new Smooth Display feature enables 90Hz refresh
rate. To save on battery, the display will revert to 60Hz when there’s nothing
interesting happening. The screen has HDR support and an Always On mode as
before and gets a new Ambient EQ that tracks the surrounding light to optimize
the colors on the display for the best viewing experience.
The Pixel 4 XL is equipped with the same camera
hardware as its smaller sibling. The main shooter has a 12MP sensor with Dual
Pixel autofocus. This camera has optical and electronic image stabilization,
plus 1.4µm pixels and a bright f/1.7 aperture. However, it’s the new Pixel
Neural Core and Google’s proprietary algorithms that will make the biggest
impact on the image quality – not the sensor, lens or ancillary hardware.
The new Pixel Neural Core, the camera app can render
HDR+ in real time, showing you an approximation of the result in the
viewfinder. This will help you adjust the exposure properly. The Dual Exposure
Controls give you manual control over the shadow and highlight rendering. In
extreme darkness, the revamped Nightsight can capture up to fifteen 16s
exposures if you're into astrography.
The telephoto camera is new to the Pixel brand. It
sports a 16MP sensor (1.0µm) plus OIS and EIS. The focal length is not quite
double that of the regular camera, but the Super Resolution Zoom software will
try to extend that beyond 2x zoom. The second camera also helps with bokeh
rendering (previous models relied just on the Dual Pixel tech). The main camera tops out at 4K
30fps video capture and a 120fps slow-motion mode at 1080p. Pixels never had
the best video quality (though they’ve made up for that with top-notch video
stabilization).
There’s a third module on the back, but it’s not a
camera it's a spectral + flicker sensor. There’s no ultrawide angle camera
here, even though the Pixel 3 duo had one (on the front, but still). Speaking of, the Pixel 4 phones
have an 8MP selfie camera. What makes it special is the 3D depth sensor
(structured light) that is used for secure face unlock (there’s no fingerprint
reader anywhere on this phone), plus bokeh in selfies.
Yet another piece of hardware above the screen is
the Soli radar – that’s right, radar rather than an optical system. This is
more accurate when it comes to tracking hand gestures, but has the unexpected
drawback of being disabled in some countries (e.g. Japan).
Anyway, Soli completes the hands-free experience of
using a Pixel 4 – you can use it to check notifications or change tracks, for
more complex actions you just say “Hey, Google” and talk to the new, updated
assistant. Active Edge makes a comeback and you can trigger certain actions by
squeezing the phone. While the screen size is the obvious difference between the vanilla
and XL models, the battery capacities are different too. The Pixel 4 gets a
small 2,800mAh battery, the XL is much better off with a 3,700mAh battery.
In both cases they support 18W USB Power Delivery
fast charging using the included charger. You can use a Qi wireless charger
instead, which activates Ambient Mode – it offers at-a-glance info courtesy of
the Assistant and turns the phone into a smart display. We haven’t mentioned the processing
hardware yet and there’s not much to tell. The two phones are powered by the
Snapdragon 855 (non-plus) with 6GB of RAM. The base models get 64GB of storage,
the only upgrade option is 128GB.
There’s no microSD slot or any second card slot of
any kind. Instead, you get the usual combo of nano-SIM plus eSIM. The good news
is that the support for eSIM by carriers have expanded so it’s almost as good
as having a second SIM slot. The Pixel 4 phones have an aluminum frame with a matte finish. The
glass-covered back comes in three different colors: Just Black, Clearly White
and the new Oh So Orange. But because the metal frame and square camera island
on the back are always painted in black, the latter two options have a dual
tone look. Note that Orange is a limited edition.
The phones are IP68 water resistant for extra
durability and feature stereo speakers. We’ve come to see these things as
standard on Pixels, so no surprises here. The Pixel 4 phones are already up
on pre-order in a number of countries - shipping begins on October 22 in the US
and Taiwan and October 28 in Europe. Australia and Canada are getting them
first - October 21.
Pricing starts at US$ 800 for the 64GB Pixel 4 and $900
for the 64GB Pixel 4 XL. The storage upgrade is US$ 100 on top of that.
