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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milkywayer - Friday, November 8, 2019 - link
I'm perfectly fine with the design. I love my pixel 4 XL. Ultimately all my phones go into a case on day 1 anyways. The screen is big and the display is nice. What I'm upset about is the terrible #@&#a@ battery life. They could've done so much better. It's almost 2020. Wtf Google.hammer256 - Friday, November 8, 2019 - link
Gah, their ads for the phone is so annoying too. Not that I'm willing to spend more that $300 for a phone anyways...milkywayer - Friday, November 8, 2019 - link
The Pixel 3a is perfect in that range. Someone in the family uses and loves it. Goes on sale often now for $300. And the camera, screen, speaker all are perfect in that price range. And darn it's super light weight too compared to my heavy pixel 4 XL because some douche execs still believe that glass and heavy weight somehow makes stuff "premium".hammer256 - Sunday, November 10, 2019 - link
I was definitely tempted by it, would have been a great deal for 300 bucks, just like the original Nexus 5. That was a good phone...Spunjji - Monday, November 11, 2019 - link
I loved my Nexus 5 - the only things about it I really had a problem with was the limited storage and slightly sub-par battery life.I'd happily buy the exact same thing again with the equivalent current-gen internals (better SoC, more RAM, more storage, updated camera sensor, marginally improved battery). Hell, I'd pay up to $600 if they threw in a decent OLED display and better speakers.
Instead, we keep getting the same warmed-over overpriced nonsense.
ToTTenTranz - Friday, November 8, 2019 - link
There are some references to Galaxy S11 in page 5 (camera daylight).Is this an exclusive access that anandtech got from a future phone?
;)
Jcaro14 - Friday, November 8, 2019 - link
The Pixel 4 XL is an excellent device. Definitely built for the user experience and not for the tech snobs and spec chasers. The Pixel 4 is hands down the best way to experience Android.ToTTenTranz - Friday, November 8, 2019 - link
Ok Google...Ironchef3500 - Friday, November 8, 2019 - link
+1nikon133 - Sunday, November 10, 2019 - link
The gist of it, eh :)At this stage I am hoping that Nokia or someone else will release Android One flagship-class phone.
I understand that this is more about software/experience than hardware, but just as iPhone - good as it might be - feels overpriced for me, this actually feels worse.