WEBVTT

00:00:00.240 --> 00:00:06.720
my first impressions of the pixel 3 xl were excellent the above average haptics

00:00:04.960 --> 00:00:10.320
really make it stand out among other Android devices

00:00:08.320 --> 00:00:14.719
then things immediately took a turn for the worse when i missed a handful of

00:00:12.160 --> 00:00:19.119
critical google hangouts messages a fresh format without using the

00:00:16.720 --> 00:00:23.039
transfer cable did get that resolved and so i spent my last couple of weeks

00:00:21.199 --> 00:00:27.519
mostly enjoying my time with google's latest and greatest flagship

00:00:25.039 --> 00:00:32.960
that is until today when i ran into a new deal breaker software bug which is

00:00:30.560 --> 00:00:38.559
not being able to log into my gmail account no matter how many times i enter

00:00:35.520 --> 00:00:39.840
the password and the authentication code

00:00:38.559 --> 00:00:45.520
so i guess we'll just get the review done so i can switch back to my other phone whether you're migrating 500

00:00:43.520 --> 00:00:50.320
computers to Windows 10 managing remote devices or repairing a single pc smart

00:00:48.239 --> 00:00:55.470
deploy has flexible deployment options so head over to smartdeploy.com Linus

00:00:52.960 --> 00:01:03.680
for a special offer

00:01:03.680 --> 00:01:10.720
the most obvious change to google's stock Android experience is the

00:01:08.240 --> 00:01:15.439
on-screen navigation buttons and they're kind of the worst of both worlds unlike

00:01:13.360 --> 00:01:18.880
apple's gestures they take up valuable screen real estate along the bottom of

00:01:17.119 --> 00:01:22.400
the phone and unlike other Android software buttons they are not

00:01:20.640 --> 00:01:27.280
reconfigurable with the back button stuck way over on the left out of sheer

00:01:25.119 --> 00:01:30.720
pigheadedness as far as i can tell they have their strengths

00:01:28.960 --> 00:01:36.159
as long as you don't need to go too far back into your recents the slide is

00:01:33.520 --> 00:01:40.960
super fast and intuitive and if you don't like that feature you can slide up

00:01:38.320 --> 00:01:45.040
once for a more traditional recents and some suggested apps it's really cool

00:01:42.960 --> 00:01:49.520
that this works from anywhere now not just the home screen but there's room

00:01:47.200 --> 00:01:54.399
for improvement here too as it is it requires a second swipe to reach the app

00:01:51.759 --> 00:01:57.520
tray how about just one really hard swipe and then it could carry through

00:01:56.000 --> 00:02:01.600
with momentum i would like that a lot the other big change that bothered me

00:01:59.200 --> 00:02:05.840
more than i expected is the inability to execute google assistant functions that

00:02:03.680 --> 00:02:10.239
used to work while the phone was locked like bringing up your shopping list or

00:02:07.280 --> 00:02:14.400
reminders things you can only do now if you have google's special pixel stand

00:02:12.560 --> 00:02:18.239
wireless charger i get that there are privacy concerns around voice print

00:02:16.319 --> 00:02:23.440
authentication especially for people like me but this limitation negated a

00:02:21.120 --> 00:02:27.440
lot of the usefulness of squeezing to bring up the google assistant i mean if

00:02:25.280 --> 00:02:32.000
i have to shift my grip on the phone to touch the rear fingerprint sensor anyway

00:02:30.000 --> 00:02:37.280
then why wouldn't i just do that in the first place i used the squeeze a fair

00:02:34.560 --> 00:02:41.280
bit on the pixel 2 xl and then on this one i basically just used it as a

00:02:39.360 --> 00:02:44.640
flashlight toggle and here come the rest of my gripes

00:02:42.640 --> 00:02:48.560
about google assistant i ran into this bizarre bug a handful of times with it

00:02:46.720 --> 00:02:53.440
not registering my internet connection when i clearly had one google continues

00:02:51.040 --> 00:02:57.440
to advertise natural interaction with the assistant as a selling point when my

00:02:55.519 --> 00:03:03.120
experience is still that you basically have to read the correct syntax manual

00:02:59.920 --> 00:03:07.519
to get anything useful done it's still

00:03:03.120 --> 00:03:09.760
somehow doesn't convert my to you when

00:03:07.519 --> 00:03:14.319
it creates tasks and the handling of reminder notifications is

00:03:12.239 --> 00:03:19.680
awful if you have more than one set up your

00:03:16.560 --> 00:03:22.080
phone just buzzes and the card doesn't

00:03:19.680 --> 00:03:26.560
move to the top or break out the most recent one or do anything useful to draw

00:03:24.400 --> 00:03:30.560
your attention and it's pretty easy to have more than one when you're a

00:03:28.480 --> 00:03:35.040
complete scatter brain like me and sometimes i'll even have recurring ones

00:03:33.040 --> 00:03:41.040
like taking out the garbage cluttering up the list now it's mostly fine as a

00:03:38.319 --> 00:03:45.360
voice dictation program my issue here is the branding if i had a real life

00:03:43.519 --> 00:03:51.040
assistant and they were this inconsistent they would be fired it is not a time

00:03:48.959 --> 00:03:55.040
saver if i have to issue the command twice and then look at my screen to

00:03:53.120 --> 00:03:58.480
double check that my reminder actually says something coherent

00:03:56.799 --> 00:04:02.239
what was it

00:04:00.000 --> 00:04:06.720
i guess i'll never know so i guess it just baffles me that google is building

00:04:04.319 --> 00:04:10.560
ai robots to make calls for me and reschedule my appointments when they

00:04:08.400 --> 00:04:14.239
still can't figure out the basics i asked my assistant to remind me to do

00:04:12.319 --> 00:04:17.840
something tomorrow when i get to work and it set a reminder for 8 am the next

00:04:16.880 --> 00:04:22.960
day well before i even arrive at work without prompting me if i want to make

00:04:21.680 --> 00:04:27.520
any changes now that behavior has been fixed that

00:04:25.440 --> 00:04:30.960
was right at the beginning when i got it but it still doesn't work the way i'd

00:04:29.919 --> 00:04:36.960
expect it asks me what time then when i say

00:04:34.560 --> 00:04:42.320
when i get to work ya dunce it navigates me there

00:04:40.080 --> 00:04:45.360
who would want that so you've probably noticed by this point that i haven't

00:04:43.759 --> 00:04:50.639
talked much about the hardware that's for good reason aside from the pixel 3

00:04:47.759 --> 00:04:55.440
being very compact for a 2018 flagship neither it nor its excel sized cousin

00:04:53.120 --> 00:04:59.600
really tries to differentiate based on the hardware there are a couple of

00:04:57.199 --> 00:05:04.800
standout features like ip68 water resistance 100 dc ip3 color space

00:05:02.560 --> 00:05:10.400
coverage and stereo front facing speakers but there's no micro sd slot no

00:05:08.080 --> 00:05:14.320
full screen notchless design no massive battery no headphone jack no weird

00:05:12.240 --> 00:05:19.680
holographic display or stylus that doubles as a remote control or 10 gigs

00:05:16.320 --> 00:05:20.800
of RAM option or whatever and that's

00:05:19.680 --> 00:05:24.880
okay it just means that the software

00:05:22.880 --> 00:05:28.800
experience needs to be amazing not

00:05:26.960 --> 00:05:33.360
fine i guess why is oneplus overall system

00:05:30.800 --> 00:05:37.600
responsiveness better than google's own why are google's software engineers busy

00:05:35.360 --> 00:05:42.800
keeping track of health and wellness screen time crap instead of building

00:05:39.759 --> 00:05:44.960
core functionality like screen recording

00:05:42.800 --> 00:05:50.560
why now that facial unlocking has been removed is there no way to unlock this

00:05:48.320 --> 00:05:55.759
device without either picking it up off my wireless charger or poking a pin code

00:05:53.360 --> 00:06:01.520
into it like some kind of caveman and how is it that google's own apps look

00:05:58.800 --> 00:06:05.199
ridiculous with like cut off text with their gargantuan notch and that's even

00:06:03.600 --> 00:06:11.280
ignoring the stuff that they seem to be consciously screwing up display profiles

00:06:07.919 --> 00:06:13.759
have stupid names like adaptive boosted

00:06:11.280 --> 00:06:19.120
and natural instead of just listing the white point and color space and the

00:06:15.680 --> 00:06:20.479
audio controls are significantly worse

00:06:19.120 --> 00:06:24.800
than oreo so there's this clever little gesture

00:06:22.319 --> 00:06:28.479
where you can press your volume up and your lock button in order to

00:06:27.199 --> 00:06:32.800
mute your phone neat but then there's no toggle functionality

00:06:31.360 --> 00:06:38.800
when you hit it again also whose genius idea i would genuinely like

00:06:36.319 --> 00:06:44.400
to talk to this person was it to change the default volume rocker behavior

00:06:41.680 --> 00:06:48.880
to media instead of ringtone volume when you're not doing anything and finally

00:06:47.039 --> 00:06:54.160
this is by far my favorite one they've bungled up one of my favorite features

00:06:51.520 --> 00:06:57.680
the ability to quickly adjust any volume slider without stopping what you're

00:06:55.759 --> 00:07:02.400
doing and opening the settings app like you're on a freaking iphone

00:07:00.880 --> 00:07:05.919
why also i know i mentioned this already but

00:07:04.560 --> 00:07:10.560
we're really getting to the point where it's not funny or endearing anymore that

00:07:08.240 --> 00:07:15.680
google by default doesn't allow you to move the back button to the right side

00:07:13.039 --> 00:07:19.919
like this is getting ridiculous you don't even have another button there

00:07:18.240 --> 00:07:23.919
anymore now for all i know this next one is

00:07:22.080 --> 00:07:27.199
lastpass's problem not google's but lastpass integration has gotten

00:07:25.520 --> 00:07:31.280
continually worse on Android over the last couple of years with the most

00:07:29.039 --> 00:07:36.240
irritating issue for me being that it used to work when you were signing into

00:07:33.280 --> 00:07:39.039
google accounts and now it doesn't google now has their own service for

00:07:38.240 --> 00:07:45.680
this coincidence perhaps or maybe they're pushing

00:07:42.560 --> 00:07:47.759
competitors out either way shockingly

00:07:45.680 --> 00:07:52.639
apple finally allows third-party password managers with face id now

00:07:50.160 --> 00:07:57.919
apple's implementation isn't perfect but it is so much better i don't want to use

00:07:56.400 --> 00:08:02.319
first party utilities for this kind of functionality i want something that

00:07:59.599 --> 00:08:06.240
works on my Android phone on my iphone and on my desktop for that matter

00:08:04.479 --> 00:08:09.039
and before we get into good stuff i'm gonna close this segment out with one

00:08:07.840 --> 00:08:13.599
petty gripe i hate that it's an extra click from the

00:08:10.960 --> 00:08:17.039
notification pull down now to access my settings

00:08:15.280 --> 00:08:21.280
i haven't had to have a settings icon on my home screen on Android for a long

00:08:18.800 --> 00:08:25.919
time but i guess that's just still more iphone crap that we get to go back to

00:08:23.280 --> 00:08:29.199
now maybe i'm just a freak but i don't like desktop clutter everything here has

00:08:28.000 --> 00:08:34.159
a purpose and i access the settings menu a fair bit

00:08:32.320 --> 00:08:38.880
that last thing though is more than offset by my first good feature actually

00:08:36.959 --> 00:08:43.279
this is awesome the ability to review and delete voicemails without dialing

00:08:40.959 --> 00:08:46.080
into your voicemail i hate voicemail i actually plan to turn mine off at some

00:08:44.800 --> 00:08:52.000
point but i just haven't gotten around to it because it's managed through the company and blah blah blah so on my

00:08:50.080 --> 00:08:56.640
other phones i always have this stupid notification that can't be dismissed

00:08:54.000 --> 00:09:00.959
this is much better i also absolutely love that i can interact with

00:08:58.399 --> 00:09:04.320
notifications on the always-on display that was a great feature on the droid

00:09:02.480 --> 00:09:08.560
turbo and one that i've been missing ever since i got rid of that phone so a

00:09:06.399 --> 00:09:13.600
text message comes in and i can just poop mark as read without ever waking

00:09:11.040 --> 00:09:18.800
the screen it's absolutely beautiful now google just needs to wake up to the need

00:09:15.200 --> 00:09:21.600
for mark as read on everything only then

00:09:18.800 --> 00:09:25.440
can i achieve true notification bliss also for lawless i kept google's g board

00:09:24.080 --> 00:09:29.760
instead of immediately installing swiftkey like i normally do and with

00:09:27.440 --> 00:09:34.880
some fine tuning ah that's really good i had no idea that you can slide across

00:09:32.720 --> 00:09:38.880
the spacebar to reposition the cursor that is awesome

00:09:36.560 --> 00:09:43.200
but as someone who uses voice dictation a fair bit it was still a relief to go

00:09:40.959 --> 00:09:47.600
back to swiftkey so i usually find that when dictation screws up a word it

00:09:45.680 --> 00:09:51.600
usually ends up getting a couple wrong because one mistake can change the

00:09:49.680 --> 00:09:55.519
meaning of a whole sentence when you click to fix an error in swiftkey you'll

00:09:53.920 --> 00:09:59.040
end up with suggestions that fix the rest of the sentence as well and it's

00:09:57.200 --> 00:10:02.959
really awesome i also really liked the way that when you switch to landscape

00:10:00.560 --> 00:10:06.160
mode the gesture controls stay on the same edge as in portrait mode this is a

00:10:04.800 --> 00:10:09.680
lot better than the way that the home swipe up moves on the iphone to the

00:10:08.240 --> 00:10:13.200
bottom of the screen requiring you to shift your hand in order to access it

00:10:11.600 --> 00:10:17.200
making matters worse for the iphone is that some apps don't auto hide that bar

00:10:15.760 --> 00:10:20.640
even while they're playing full screen video and it's probably not apple's

00:10:18.959 --> 00:10:24.640
fault but the youtube creator studio is one such app and i use it very regularly

00:10:22.800 --> 00:10:28.959
so it was super annoying and yet another neat little feature it's

00:10:26.880 --> 00:10:33.040
small but this one actually made me really really happy when you don't have

00:10:30.800 --> 00:10:35.839
your auto rotate on and you go and open up a photo that was taken in landscape

00:10:34.959 --> 00:10:40.959
mode it actually prompts you to click a little button and it'll switch to

00:10:39.279 --> 00:10:45.040
landscape and this is really nice for people like my wife who don't like auto

00:10:43.120 --> 00:10:48.800
rotate but might want to show me a picture without me absolutely losing my

00:10:47.200 --> 00:10:52.240
mind over the wasted black space all over the screen

00:10:50.480 --> 00:10:56.720
which i guess leads us pretty well into the camera it's good

00:10:54.480 --> 00:11:02.079
in fact it's great there are cases where the iphone 10s

00:10:59.279 --> 00:11:06.079
tools it but there are other cases where the pixel 3's camera makes the iphones

00:11:04.079 --> 00:11:09.920
look like it was designed by the same folks who calibrated all the tvs at your

00:11:07.680 --> 00:11:13.760
local best buy i think calling this anything but a toss-up is probably not

00:11:12.240 --> 00:11:18.000
being fair to the strengths of either one at least as far as the rear camera is

00:11:16.240 --> 00:11:23.279
concerned but when it comes to the front camera google has done a fantastic job

00:11:21.200 --> 00:11:28.560
here and i'm glad that someone is finally tired of the entire industry

00:11:25.440 --> 00:11:31.120
sandbagging front-facing cameras even if

00:11:28.560 --> 00:11:34.240
it does cost us this hideous notch as for its nearest Android competitor

00:11:32.880 --> 00:11:38.240
the note 9 it is definitely showing its age a

00:11:36.399 --> 00:11:42.640
little bit already so maybe we can follow this up with a full roundup once

00:11:40.160 --> 00:11:46.640
samsung releases their next generation for now though i can say with confidence

00:11:44.720 --> 00:11:51.279
that as long as you're okay with the slow initial shutter response time that

00:11:48.560 --> 00:11:55.760
i got sometimes look at that that you will be very happy with the

00:11:53.600 --> 00:11:58.720
pixel 3 xl i was actually blown away by these

00:11:57.200 --> 00:12:01.920
videos that i got of my kids on halloween night like there's a lot of

00:12:00.560 --> 00:12:05.600
noise in the image of course but remember that this is with horrendous

00:12:03.839 --> 00:12:10.079
street lamp lighting this thing's got a great camera so pixel 3 then

00:12:08.079 --> 00:12:13.600
on the one hand it's priced like other flagship phones with only really the

00:12:11.839 --> 00:12:17.040
camera to set it apart but on the other hand

00:12:15.600 --> 00:12:21.040
it has the most overlooked feature

00:12:19.200 --> 00:12:24.480
a built-in fidget spinner give yourself the gift of listening and

00:12:23.120 --> 00:12:29.040
while you're at it think about giving the gift of audible to someone on your

00:12:26.720 --> 00:12:33.839
nice list right now for a limited time you can get three months of audible for

00:12:31.360 --> 00:12:40.160
6.95 a month that's more than half off the regular price so go to audible.com

00:12:36.800 --> 00:12:41.760
Linus or text Linus to 500 500. i love

00:12:40.160 --> 00:12:45.360
that so much audible originals are exclusive audio

00:12:43.839 --> 00:12:50.480
titles created by celebrated storytellers from worlds as diverse as

00:12:47.519 --> 00:12:55.600
theater journalism literature and more one title that stands out is twain's

00:12:52.800 --> 00:13:00.240
feast narrated by nick offerman an eight chapter journey through mark

00:12:57.839 --> 00:13:05.760
twain's life and travels using his favorite foods as our map

00:13:02.880 --> 00:13:10.160
so go to audible.com Linus or text Linus to 500 500 to get audible for 6.95 a

00:13:08.639 --> 00:13:14.079
month for three months don't worry you don't have to do the twain's feast thing you can get like

00:13:13.200 --> 00:13:18.720
anything you want they have like everything twain's feast

00:13:17.360 --> 00:13:22.800
so thanks for watching guys if this video sucked you know what to do but if

00:13:20.800 --> 00:13:25.279
you liked it hit like get subscribed or maybe consider checking out where to buy

00:13:24.000 --> 00:13:28.560
the stuff we featured at the link in the video description also down there is our

00:13:27.200 --> 00:13:34.079
merch store which has cool shirts like this one and our community forum which

00:13:30.720 --> 00:13:34.079
you should totally join