Putting Google's Pixel 3 Camera to the Test By Wall Street Journal

Most phones are fast, most phones have nice screens, they pretty much all make phone calls really for the last few years. The thing that separates one phone from another is the camera which brings me to these. The Google Pixel three and three XL. The pixel 3 has a 5.5-inch screen and starts at $799, and the pixel 3 XL has a 6.3-inch screen and starts at $899. This one has a big honking notch. This one has a big bezel, otherwise they're the same very good, very fast, very pure Android smartphones.

Both models also share the same cameras, two on the front, one on the back. Apple Samsung and other manufacturers have added multiple rear cameras, but Google's pretty sure it can take even better shots with just one camera are as much about software as hardware now and Google is perfect at software. So, let's put that to the test. Six tests actually test number one, and this should be the easy one landscapes I've had surprisingly mixed results here, usually the pixel three shots are sharp and detailed, but every once in a while it returns something noisy or dark, and because the pixel 3 only has one rear facing lens. It can't do real optical zoom.

Like the note in the iPhone, it tries to use AI to compensate, but that doesn't really work, so I'm failing Google here, test number 2 selfies. This is one where hardware actually really does matter. Google put a super wide lens on the front of the pixel 3, so you can actually zoom out on your selfie and get it even wider. It's great! If you have lots of people in the picture or just really short, arms quality wise. It ties with the iPhone and beats the note 9, but I like the wide angle.

A lot Google passes the test, 3 portrait modes with the pixel 3 Google, now lets you do something that Apple and Samsung phones already could, which is let you adjust that soft background both effect after shooting, plus some other cool portrait effects. None of these portrait modes look as good as actual both, but Google does it about, as well as the others and out of a single lens test for low-light pictures. This is where smartphones have always struggled, but Google attempts to use AI to fill in the details and sharpness that the camera itself just can't capture. It doesn't always work but side-by-side with an iPhone 10s or a Galaxy Note 9. The pixel three is more often than not sharper and crisper.

You see the iPhone blueish tint and those bleeding colors, the pixel three has much less of that. So does the note 9 though I actually think Samsung goes a little too bright and high contrast, sometimes moving on test number five action shots, the pixel threes top shot feature automatically, tries to pick the best shot from a burst where the focus is best or everyone's eyes are open. You can choose a different frame that you captured, though the setting is kind of buried and Google usually gets it right anyway. Last test number 6 video, the biggest difference. I noticed between the pixel 3 and the note 9 or iPhone 10s is the pixels better stabilization.

It keeps shots steady even as you move around. You can also tap on a subject and the camera will stay focused on that person or thing even as they move. It's super impressive, but it's not like everything is perfect. Here there are a few things. Google tries to do that.

Just don't really work. Besides the shoddy zoom sharpener I'm, not wild about photo booth mode which tries to snap selfies when you smile or make a funny face, either it doesn't work well or I, suffer from occasional resting silly face. Google says it's training, those algorithms on new expressions over time and that the feature should get better. What does work are all the things the pixel 3s cameras can do that aren't just capturing photos and video? You can point it at a business card and automatically call the phone number or look up the address point it at a URL and automatically jump to that website or at a product to identify and research it. It feels kind of like magic and comes in handy more often than I thought.

A lot of Google's future plans depend on cameras that can see the world around them cameras matter for so much more than just pretty pictures and that's why? Because it mixes overall quality and all those nifty features. The pixel 3 has the best most powerful cameras, you'll find on any smartphone and look at that.

Source : Wall Street Journal