Google Pixel 3 and 3 XL Announced With Bigger Screens and Best Cameras Yet (theverge.com) 74
Google on Tuesday unveiled the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL, its latest flagship Android smartphones. "For life on the go, we designed the world's best camera and put it in the world's most helpful phone," said Google's hardware chief Rick Osterloh. From a report: The Pixel 3 starts at $799 for 64GB, with the 3 XL costing $899. Add $100 to either for the 128GB storage option. Core specs for both include a Snapdragon 845, 4GB RAM (there's no option for more), Bluetooth 5.0, and front-facing stereo speakers. Also inside is a new Titan M security chip, which Google says provides "on-device protection for login credentials, disk encryption, app data, and the integrity of the operating system." Preorders for both phones begin today, and buyers will get six months of free YouTube Music service.
The Pixel 3 and 3 XL both feature larger screens than last year's models thanks to slimmed down bezels -- and the controversial notch in the case of the bigger phone. The 3 XL has a 6.3-inch display (up from six inches on the 2 XL), while the regular 3 has a 5.5-inch screen (up from five inches). Overall, though, the actual phones are very similar in size and handling to their direct predecessors. Google has stuck with a single rear 12.2-megapixel camera on both phones, continuing to resist the dual-camera industry trend. But it's a different story up front. Both the Pixel 3 and 3 XL have two front-facing cameras; one of them offers a wider field of view for getting more people or a greater sense of your surroundings into a selfie. [...] A new Top Shot option will select the best image from a burst series of shots. Like Samsung's Galaxy Note 9, it will weed out pictures that are blurry or snaps where someone blinked. Super Res Zoom uses multiple frames and AI to deliver a sharper final photo even without optical zoom. There's another interesting feature on the new Pixel handsets: To help you avoid calls from scammers, Google is adding Call Screen to the Pixel, a new option that appears when you receive a phone call. Whenever someone calls you, you can tap a "Screen call" button, and a robot voice will pick up. "The person you're calling is using a screening service, and will get a copy of this conversation. Go ahead and say your name, and why you're calling," the Google bot will say. As the caller responds, the digital assistant will transcribe the caller's message for you. If you need more information, you can use one of the feature's canned responses, which include, "Tell me more," and "Who is this?" There is an accept and reject call button that's on-screen, so you can hang up or take the call at any time.
The Pixel 3 and 3 XL both feature larger screens than last year's models thanks to slimmed down bezels -- and the controversial notch in the case of the bigger phone. The 3 XL has a 6.3-inch display (up from six inches on the 2 XL), while the regular 3 has a 5.5-inch screen (up from five inches). Overall, though, the actual phones are very similar in size and handling to their direct predecessors. Google has stuck with a single rear 12.2-megapixel camera on both phones, continuing to resist the dual-camera industry trend. But it's a different story up front. Both the Pixel 3 and 3 XL have two front-facing cameras; one of them offers a wider field of view for getting more people or a greater sense of your surroundings into a selfie. [...] A new Top Shot option will select the best image from a burst series of shots. Like Samsung's Galaxy Note 9, it will weed out pictures that are blurry or snaps where someone blinked. Super Res Zoom uses multiple frames and AI to deliver a sharper final photo even without optical zoom. There's another interesting feature on the new Pixel handsets: To help you avoid calls from scammers, Google is adding Call Screen to the Pixel, a new option that appears when you receive a phone call. Whenever someone calls you, you can tap a "Screen call" button, and a robot voice will pick up. "The person you're calling is using a screening service, and will get a copy of this conversation. Go ahead and say your name, and why you're calling," the Google bot will say. As the caller responds, the digital assistant will transcribe the caller's message for you. If you need more information, you can use one of the feature's canned responses, which include, "Tell me more," and "Who is this?" There is an accept and reject call button that's on-screen, so you can hang up or take the call at any time.
"Call Screen" is worthless, need "Call Harass" (Score:3)
Call screen sounds nice and all but something I would actually use is an automated robot that would be super mean to the whoever was calling, or (it being Google and all) hack a robodialer to kill the servers it uses for the day at least, maybe calling the number back 10 thousand times or so on my behalf...
Re:"Call Screen" is worthless, need "Call Harass" (Score:5, Insightful)
Call screen sounds nice and all but something I would actually use is an automated robot that would be super mean to the whoever was calling, or (it being Google and all) hack a robodialer to kill the servers it uses for the day at least, maybe calling the number back 10 thousand times or so on my behalf...
No, we don't need it to be super mean. We need super polite and super "interested" in learning more. Whenever I get a call and have nothing better to do (maybe I'm in the middle of prepping dinner) I just sit there and string them along, sometimes for 10 or 20 minutes before the gig is finally up and they realize I'm just screwing with them. We need an automated system to do this for us. Tie up their resources and make their business less profitable
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Fed up with unwanted calls, telecom professional Roger Anderson programmed software—which he cheekily named the Jolly Roger Telephone Co.—to converse with the callers in the most infuriating way possible.
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We need super polite and super "interested" in learning more.
You want Lenny.
https://www.independent.co.uk/... [independent.co.uk]
https://youtu.be/4lL870ixdsY [youtu.be]
Is anyone else concerned (Score:2)
Gmail's auto reply suggestions (buttons) are a case in point. I never use them because they all seem to be some craftily worded way of saying "thanks now f**k off".
These things all seem to be designed by and for "oh so busy" self-important tech executive types wishing to lord it over the vast unwashed masses.
"Call screen" kind of fits right in. Wasn't "please leave a message" quite rude enough?
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If robocallers can't be fucked with actually dialing my number and knowing jack shit about me before placing a call I don't want, then I don't want to waste my time answering it.
I don't care what banality I'm doing when they call, answering their call is a waste of my time. Wasting my time is rude, so why should they get any better than what they give?
What about smaller phones? (Score:5, Interesting)
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It is because it isn't what enough people really want.
The people who want a small screen normally will use it for much more limited set of functions. Because they are not going to use too many functions they are going to get the budget phone.
Now these budget phones may be a bit easier to make being less thing and a bit bigger, as to keep the price down and focus on features such as battery life. Android phones had larger phones for a while it took the iPhone 6 to match their size. The old Premium Android
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I'd love a smaller phone. And I'd be fine with a relatively low specced small phone, as long as it had a decent camera. That's what I use it for more than anything else anyway.
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It appears that the invisible hand of the market [cnet.com] is comfortable holding a larger phone.
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Meh, Samsung CEO has already responded "Fuck everything, We're doing seven inches." .
Still too expensive (Score:3)
My Nexus 5 works fine; I suppose I should thank Google for compelling me to stick with it.
Idiot fashionistas accepting micro increments in features for huge price hikes...
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Still, no other mid range phone at the 300 USD range does have such a nice screen at this size.
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It's the same price as last year.
If you want cheap then get a Pixel 2 on sale as they shift the last of their stock. I got a Pixel XL 1 for less than half price that way.
I've had call screening for years (Score:4, Insightful)
Whenever someone calls you, you can tap a "Screen call" button, and a robot voice will pick up. "The person you're calling is using a screening service, and will get a copy of this conversation.
I've had this feature for ages with a voicemail service and it doesn't even require action on my part. I just don't answer the call. If it's a known telemarketer or scam it will be automatically blocked and receive a recording indicating that the number is no longer in service. If they leave a message I get a transcript of the message they leave and can respond (or not) at my convenience. I very rarely answer my phone if it is a number not already in my address book. Spam calls get added to a blacklist which is then shared with other users of the service similar to email spam filters.
This feature from Google sounds fine but it also sounds like unnecessary work. I'd rather just not answer the call since that is less work for me.
YouMail (Score:3)
Name of the service?
Currently I use YouMail [youmail.com] but there are other equivalent services out there. I have no relationship with YouMail except as a reasonably satisfied customer and there may be better options available. I haven't actually listened to a voice mail in quite a long time. The automated transcriptions are usually good enough to get the gist of what is being said. It also let's me assign different voice messages to different callers so my wife gets a nice friendly custom greeting whereas someone from work might get
How does this work? (Score:1)
I'd really like to see a system diagram showing how this service operates.
Do these voicemail providers have a means to register themselves with your carrier so that unanswered calls get routed to them instead of being handled by your carrier's voicemail?
Also I noticed that although YouMail's terms of service contain a binding arbitration clause, they do have an affordance for opting out by sending a letter to a snail mail address within 30 days of signing up.
Bonus feature (Score:2)
You'll never get bothered with pesky announcements about security breaches affecting your data!
Sweet (Score:1)
Dual camera on the front, single back? (Score:3)
Um... Okay, google.
The only part of the above I wished my phone had was the super res zoom. The weeding out blurry images would be good, except my phone has such good low light sensitivity (Xperia XZ2 Premium) that in the couple weeks I've had it I've so far not managed to get a single meaningfully blurry shot in "normal" photography tasks (e.g. excluding things like astrophotography). :) I mean, I can make it happen if I try, but I have to try to make it happen. Just the other day I was out doing astrophotography with it and discovered when looking at my photos that the northern lights were out (I couldn't see them, but the phone could, quite clearly). Could also clearly make out the brightest seven stars in the Pleiades, too, and see echoes of others (they probably would have been clearer had I not been holding the phone by hand and had seeing conditions been better).
Or to put it another way: better cameras beats software to remove the defects of inferior cameras. Which is why it's baffling to me that they only included one rear camera. More rear cameras means more sensor area and more aperture, and gives more options for how to handle the incoming light. For example, XZ2 Premium's second rear camera is greyscale, so it lacks the colour filters and is thus more sensitive to light. This data gets then blended in with the main colour camera to enhance it. The difference in position between the two cameras also allows for using the parallax data (such as for making really nice bokehs).
Rear cameras are for serious photography. Front cameras are just for cutesy stuff.
"Real cameras" versus smartphones (Score:3)
Which is why it's baffling to me that they only included one rear camera.
The answer to that is obvious - they are catering to the selfie crowd.
Rear cameras are for serious photography. Front cameras are just for cutesy stuff.
"Serious photography"? I guess it depends on what you mean by the word serious. I use my smartphone camera a lot and it takes good pictures but the optics in any of them cannot get as good an image (usually) as I can with the glass in my "real" camera. Beyond a certain point you need bigger/better glass to get better images. My That said my smartphone is (usually) FAR easier to use and more portable than carrying around a several poin
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Front cameras are just for cutesy stuff
Front cameras are for selfies and for showing how well you are applying your lipstick. Some people even use such advanced technology as video chat.
Huge notch on top, huge black bar on bottom... (Score:2)
Hi,
I didn't buy last year's Pixel Phones, because of the poor screen-to-body ratio. Had high hopes for this this year's edition to fix this, but it doesn't...
What's with the ridiculously large notch? Why the huge black bar on the bottom?
Hey Google, it's 2018...
All the best,
Till
Re: Huge notch on top, huge black bar on bottom... (Score:1)
All android phones in this price class pretty much work the same. I care far more about 'small size, but still large screen' than about stuff like a second front camera.
Call Screen is software (Score:3)
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Because Google wants to sell hardware, and what they announced today isn't going to get that done by itself. So, let's put some "exclusive" software on our underwhelming hardware too!
No root, no care. (Score:5, Insightful)
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But on the upside, its wireless discharging is quite impressive.
Best cellphones ever (Score:4, Insightful)
Hi,
Many of you are complaining about Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL for lack of 3.5 mm headphone jack, maximum 4 GB RAM, starting price $799, ugly notch, lack of storage expandability, non-removable battery and so on. Please understand that our team is very smart and busy copying all the features of iPhone and we have done an excellent job. If you have any complaint, please send it to Tim Cook. Once Apple fixes some of those, we will gladly fix them as well. The only thing we did different is that we put two cameras in the front instead of in the back as narcissistic Android users like selfies over regular photography.
Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google
Why so expensive? (Score:3)
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For me, it comes down to the camera. I'm still not willing to buy an $800 phone, but I am willing to pay more to get a better camera than what you get in a $300 phone. I take quite a few pictures with my phone these days, so it's worth it to me to have them looking better.
I don't know anyone who sees their phone as a status item, personally.
Lack of SD card slot (Score:5, Insightful)
Yet another worthless phone lacking an SD card slot.
Not only does a MicroSD slot provide the ability to add additional storage later in life without buying a new phone, but it provides a mean to back one's phone up in the event of a hardware failure (has happened to me twice). Don't give me that "just use the cloud" bullshit... if you don't know by now why that's not a reasonable solution, you don't even belong on Slashdot.
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... ah yes, and when that happens you can just use the SD card slot... oh wait, you can't.
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The MOTO brands of phones are cheaper and don't seem as gamified to fuck the customer.
Comment removed (Score:3)
lolol (Score:2)
The Pixel 3 starts at $799 for 64GB, with the 3 XL costing $899. Add $100 to either for the 128GB storage option. Thatâ(TM)s a $150 and $50 premium over last yearâ(TM)s models, respectively.
Ah, so it's not just Apple that's inching up their pricing year over year.
Anyone else tired of "best camera yet"? (Score:2)
And they are all total garbage even next to a 10 year old DSLR kit you can pick up for $100 on ebay. Are phone cameras really worth so much bragging?
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I wouldn't say they are garbage next to a 10 year old DSLR. They very well hold their own in many aspects, and their post processing does a damn good job...way better than what that DSLR is going to do. In fact a lot of the time they can do just as good a job as I can do with a DSLR photo in lightroom (and for HDR stuff, they seem to do better than what I can do in lightroom) without all the effort of the manually adjustments.
Not to mention some of the features like the announced "top shot" seem very attrac
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I wouldn't say they are garbage next to a 10 year old DSLR.
So, vs Canon 5D MkII then? 12.8 megapixels, full size sensor, 3 frames continuous raw, 14 bit a/d, released 2008. L series glass. Let's be real, the 5D wins hands down. And if you want great post processing, a real computer beats a phone every time. If you don't know that then you're easily fooled by cheap tricks. Unsharp mask everything, great way to sell a camera to the clueless.