Google Pixel 3 XL: Still Worth It! By Alex Hong

While it’s fun to talk about the latest and greatest smartphones, the best bang for your buck often comes from older devices. So let’s talk about the Pixel 3 XL today, and whether it is still worth getting. First of all, in terms of hardware and design, I think it has held up really well. The metal and glass construction still feels solid, and I like this older two-tone design more than newer Pixel devices. The only thing that doesn’t look as nice on the phone, is the infamous notch. Personally, I got used to it pretty quickly and it’s fine for most situations, but there are instances where it does get a bit annoying.

Anyway, the display itself still looks pretty decent today even though it doesn’t get as bright outdoors. Even though we do get front firing stereo speakers here, and they do sound decent, I still think the Pixel 4a’s speakers sound a bit nicer with fuller mids. But all in all, the multimedia experience on the phone is still pretty good. For my type of usage, I have no complaints about the performance of the phone. I can still game on it just fine, and all of the apps that I use still runs well on the phone.4GB of RAM might be a bit lacking for some folks, but if you’re like me and don’t multitask as much, it’s probably still sufficient. In terms of battery life, because it’s an older phone, it’s not going to be as good as it used to be and your mileage may vary depending on the age of the phone and how heavily it has been used.

I’m still able to get a full day of moderate use out of my Pixel 3 XL, but it probably wouldn’t last a day with heavier usage, which is also why I don’t really recommend the smaller Pixel 3 these days. Anyway I kept track of the battery drain while using the phone, so you can pause the video if you want some sort of reference. In terms of software experience, it’s a Pixel. So there is almost no bloatware on the phone, and you get fast software updates directly from Google. I personally find it a bit bare bones in terms of features, but I know some folks will like how clean it is.

Anyway, there is one really useful feature that comes with the Pixel 3 XL and it is the unlimited full resolution uploads to Google Photos until February of 2022. For newer Pixel devices, they only come with unlimited high resolution uploads, which compresses the images a little, and downscales higher resolution videos to just FHD. On top of that, Google is actually stopping the unlimited high resolution upload service for non Pixel devices from June 2021 onwards, and they might stop offering this service for newer Pixel devices in the future. So buying an older Pixel just became a bit more worth it. However, it is important to note that because this is an older phone, it is likely that software updates will stop in less than a year.

Camera performance is as expected from a Pixel device, which is to say it’s excellent. Even though it only has a single rear camera, it’s able to capture good looking images with almost no effort required from the user. It is also the only Pixel to come with an ultra wide angle front camera as well. I’ll leave a link in the description below with everything I took with the phone, but basically, camera performance is really good, especially at this price range. Looking at the prices from a mobile phone shop here in Singapore, it seems pretty reasonable to me.

I know the Pixel 4 XL is a little newer, but it’s lacking a fingerprint sensor which is pretty annoying these days. There is the Pixel 4a as well which is a great option if you want something new with warranty, longer software support and better battery life. But it is quite a bit more expensive, build quality isn’t as premium, it has a mid range processor, and it doesn’t have the extra features that you get from the 3 XL like wireless charging and IP68 dust and water resistance. So all in all, I think that the Pixel 3 XL is still worth a look, especially if you are on a tighter budget. Thanks for watching this video, and see you guys on the next one.

Source : Alex Hong