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Google Pixel 3/Pixel 3 XL full review: wide-angle selfie camera, improved display, no dual-SIM support

Newest Android operating system, default HDR photo shooting, HDR video play and a fluid user experience are all pluses for new handsets, and wide-angle front camera impresses

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Google Pixel 3 (top left) and Pixel 3 XL phones on display at their recent New York launch. Photo: AFP

Among new entrants to the highly competitive smartphone market this month are the Google Pixel 3 and larger Pixel 3 XL phablet.

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Both handsets run on the latest Android operating system, Pie, and have excellent front and rear cameras, but lack dual-SIM support and have just one camera sensor on the rear when rival Huawei’s Mate 20 phones, also launched this week, have three.

Design and hardware

The first reaction upon picking up the Pixel 3 is to note just how similar it looks to last year’s Pixel 2. The dual front camera sensors are an immediate giveaway. In the case of the Pixel 3 XL, so too is the deep notch (that black cut-out at the top of the edge-to-edge screen first seen on the Apple iPhone X).

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It quickly becomes apparent that Google has retained the features of the Pixel 2 that worked, such as front-facing stereo speakers and the buttons along the handset’s right side, and worked hard to address that handset’s weaknesses.

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