The Google Pixel 4 XL Review: Stuck In The Past In 2019
by Andrei Frumusanu on November 8, 2019 11:30 AM EST- Posted in
- Mobile
- Smartphones
- Pixel 4
- Pixel 4 XL
Battery Life
Battery life of the Pixel 4 series was a concern from the very first moment we had confirmation about the phone having a 90Hz panel, yet doing nothing special or even regressing in terms of the battery capacity of the two models. I put the Pixel 4 XL through the paces in all three display modes, testing the battery life at 60Hz, 90Hz auto, and 90Hz forced refresh rates.
Unfortunately, as expected, the results aren’t too fantastic. The device that we should be comparing things to is the OnePlus 7 Pro – both devices feature 1440p 90Hz displays with the same SoC, it’s just that the Pixel 4 XL has a smaller battery at 3700mAh. While the Pixel 4 XL is lagging behind the OP7Pro, the interesting thing is that Google’s 90Hz seemingly uses less of a power hit than OnePlus’ implementation, degrading by 7.7% versus 8.7% when comparing full 90Hz versus 60Hz.
Given the results and the fact that Google dual-sources with LG, I very much doubt the Pixel 4 XL is taking advantage of Samsung’s newest more efficient OLED emitter generation which is said to be 15% more efficient.
In PCMark, the results are also average to bad. 60Hz to full 90Hz incurs a 12.3% penalty, which is again slightly less than the 13.6% of the OnePlus 7 Pro. Naturally we can’t come to a conclusion of saying Google’s 90Hz is more efficient, maybe OnePlus’ 60Hz power management is just better implemented.
Battery Life Conclusion - Average to meagre, still useable for the 4 XL
Overall, the Pixel 4 XL’s battery life isn’t very competitive. It’s amongst the worst results we’ve had for a 2019 device. I have to be accountable to myself here as whilst the phone has worse battery life than the OP7Pro, it’s not that much worse. Having said that the OP7Pro battery life was still completely useable, the Pixel 4 XL is also still very useable as it is. The problem again is that the Pixel came 6 months later, and in the face of a new iPhone generation which brought immense leaps in battery life, the Pixel 4 XL doesn’t seem to be that wise a purchase.
I really find it unfortunate that we weren’t able to test the battery life of the smaller Pixel 4. This model’s 2800mAh battery is 25% smaller and also comes with the wildcard of having an LG panel which historically have always been less power efficient. I can easily imagine that the battery life of that model is outright disastrous, and given coverage by other reviewers, it seem this would be an apt description of the situation.
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oRAirwolf - Saturday, November 9, 2019 - link
I have mostly used Google Nexus and pixel phones since the original Nexus one. I switched from the pixel 3 xl to the OnePlus 7 pro 12/256 because of the price, 90hz display, battery, pop up camera, and screen to body ratio. I honestly don't miss Google phones at all at this point. Looking at the pixel 4, I feel like Google is once again playing catch-up instead of innovating. It doesn't seem like it would be too hard to turn things around and start releasing amazing, innovative phones. Yet somehow, they release another "me too" snooze fest that is overpriced and underwhelming. I don't want them to stop making hardware, but they seriously need to have a look at what OnePlus, Xiaomi, and Huawei are doing for so much less and re evaluate their entire phone business.Lau_Tech - Friday, November 8, 2019 - link
Whatever considerations google is having while making the Pixels, they sure don't involve the customers.yu - Saturday, November 9, 2019 - link
I don't even think they intend for these to sell, it looks like a pet project of sorts. Why buy HTC's Pixel division only to release these disappointments?guachi - Friday, November 8, 2019 - link
I can tell phone designers have run out of ideas when they started adding more cameras to their phones. I guess manufacturers have to come up with something to pretend to justify the prices of phones.$1000 for a phone is just crazy.
Teckk - Friday, November 8, 2019 - link
I don't like wearing watches and I just check the phone's lock screen for time. I don't want to unlock while doing that. And while getting the phone out of the pocket, if I want it unlocked, fingerprint gets it unlocked before your face ID. I hope not everyone removes fingerprint sensor.Jruffer - Saturday, November 9, 2019 - link
I just put my pixel 4xl in the mail back to Google. This is the first time I have ever sent something back as it was that bad. No one is talking about how the NFC doesn't work in the new phone or that the missing fingerprint scanner makes all your apps go back to pins/passwords. I agree the battery is terrible and the time to load simple apps is an issue. All in all I wasn't going to give Google 1000 dollars of my money for a horrible phone. Going back to my pixel 2xlSanX - Saturday, November 9, 2019 - link
And imagine in just 2 years this a grand dollar "miracle" of circa 2017 is obsolete and not supported anymore like not supported long ago are all those Nexuses. Microsoft and Intel with their PCs working for decades have to learn how to sell planned obsolescenceSanX - Saturday, November 9, 2019 - link
To add the Swiss army knife or pepper spray would be more useful. Bet women would more appreciate back panel as mirror than useless radar. That would be real innovation. And sell that for $2000 that's a total duper-innivation, all better specced with twice the RAM and storage yet only $169 phones on Ali Express will die from jealousyTpoking - Saturday, November 9, 2019 - link
Phones like this and literally anything outside the Iphone 11 pro have me waiting. Still rocking my HTC U11 I got to make taking photos easier once I got a desk job before I went on a trip. I used a LG g flex gen1 before that for its durability when I was a installer for towers on roofs. I really like "gimmick" FEATURE phones they just always fade away because people just want name swag and the same no trick Brick in mass. Glad to see apple is still "innovating" upgrading on more than just the performance front.eastcoast_pete - Saturday, November 9, 2019 - link
Thanks Andrei, your review about sums it up! Amazing how Google continues to have a reverse Midas touch when it comes to hardware. It's almost like they don't want to threaten their major Android licensees by resolutely keeping the price/performance ratio solidly below theirs. Google might want to take a look at Microsoft's Surface lineup, which actually leads the Windows field in some areas like 2-in-1s.