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Pixel 3 XL

October 27th, 2018 · 6 Comments

I traded my 2-year old Pixel XL for a new Pixel 3 XL three days ago.

Bottom line: My Pixel XL battery would only last 4-5 hours on a charge, so in that respect the 3 is a big improvement, lasting pretty much all day. Otherwise the upgrade probably wasn’t worth the $700 or so net cost after trade in and store credit.

The camera has some cool features that I will probably never use, though I’m eager to try the night vision feature that hasn’t been released yet. But I think that and most of the other software features might eventually be released for the original Pixel too.

Photography experts compare side-by-side pictures and point out how much better the Pixel 3 pictures are compared to almost everything else, talking about bokeh and other arcane stuff, but honestly I can’t see much difference. Yes, if I look closely I can see that they are not the same, but better? Not sure. I’ll take their word for it, though. Again, the night feature might change my mind on that.

It’s a nice phone, and it does what it’s supposed to do.

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6 responses so far ↓

  • 1 Dale // Oct 27, 2018 at 5:09 pm

    It seems like battery is the greatest reason to buy a phone. Wonder why they don’t make them easily replaceable anymore?😏

  • 2 Don // Oct 27, 2018 at 7:20 pm

    I think the answer to Dale’s question is obvious.

    I like my 2 XL and haven’t heard anything that would make me spend the money to change but I’m sure it’s better than the X.

  • 3 Dale // Oct 27, 2018 at 7:38 pm

    I know that’s why I put a winking face on the end.

  • 4 Donna // Oct 27, 2018 at 7:46 pm

    I got an email from Apple that they are starting a new program where you pay an ongoing (contracted) monthly fee ($33-39 a month) to get an iPhone upgrade each new generation. They have overpriced iPhones so much now that they are looking for an affordable monthly option to get folks to keep upgrading.

  • 5 Richard // Oct 28, 2018 at 6:13 am

    I think I’m going to hold onto my Pixel XL until the battery goes bad and then decide what to do about it. If the newer phones don’t have features that I can’t live without, I may just have the battery replaced. (There are places you can have that done.) Otherwise, I can’t see paying huge money for features I don’t need, want or will use. I’ve never been one of those who has to have the latest whiz-bang, just because it’s there.

  • 6 Dale // Oct 28, 2018 at 8:59 am

    Probably the next move to pump excitement into upgrading will be the switch to 5G.

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