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
System Performance
One aspect Google Pixel devices have always excelled at is performance. With every generation, Google had opted to customise the BSP stack and improve on Qualcomm’s mechanisms to be able to extract as much performance out of the SoC as possible. In recent years these customisations haven’t been quite as evident as QC’s schedulers became more complex and also more mature. The Pixel 4 again makes use of Qualcomm’s scheduler mechanisms instead of Google’s own Android Common Kernel. The Pixel 4 also arrives with Android Q which is one of the very few devices in our testbench which comes with the new OS version.
We’re testing the Pixel 4 at three refresh rate settings: the default 60Hz mode, the automatic 90Hz mode, and the forced 90Hz mode. As with the OnePlus 7 Pro earlier in the year, we’re expecting to measure differences between the different display modes.
Starting off with the web browsing test, we’re seeing the Pixel 4 XL perform quite averagely. The odd thing here is that it’s showcasing worse performance and scaling than the Pixel 3 last year in all but the forced 90Hz mode. It’s also interesting to see how the forced 90Hz mode is able to post an advantage over the regular 90Hz mode even though the content of the benchmark doesn’t contain anything in particular that would have the automatic mode trigger to 60Hz.
In the video editing test, which isn’t all that significant in terms of its results, we do however see the differences between the 60 and 90Hz modes. Again, it’s odd to see the 60Hz mode perform that much worse than the Pixel 3 in this test, pointing out to more conservative scaling of the little CPU cores.
In the Writing test which is the most important sub-test of PCMark and has heavier workloads, we see the Pixel 4 perform very well and is in line with the better Snapdragon 855 devices out there.
The Photo Editing scores of the Pixel 4 are also top notch and the best Snapdragon 855 device we have at hand.
The data manipulation test is another odd one that I can’t really explain it performs better on the forced 90Hz mode over than the automatic 90Hz mode.
Finally, the Pixel 4 ends up high in the ranks in PCMark, really only trailing the Mate 30 Pro.
In the web benchmarks, the Pixel 4 performs quite average to actually quite bad, compared to what we’ve seen from other S855 phones. I’m really not sure why the degradation takes place, I’ll have to investigate this more once I have another S855 with Android Q.
Performance Conclusion
Overall, performance of the Pixel 4 is excellent, as expected. The big talking point here isn’t really the SoC or Google’s software, but rather the 90Hz screen of the phone. It really augments the experienced performance of the phone, making it stand out above other 60Hz phones this year.
That being said, unlike last year, I can’t say that the Pixel 4 is amongst the snappiest devices this year as that title was already taken by the new Huawei Mate 30 Pro with the newer generation Kirin 990. Unfortunately for Google, performance of the Pixel 4 will be a rather short-lived selling point as I expect the competition (which don’t already have the feature) to catch up with high refresh screens, and also surpass the Pixel as the new generation Snapdragon SoCs are just a month away from launch.
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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.