The Google Pixel 3 addresses our biggest complaint with the Pixel 2

The big “gotcha” of last year’s Pixels has been killed for good.

It only took a few weeks after the launch of the Pixel 2 and 2 XL for a major problem to be discovered: aggressive screen burn-in and image retention, particularly on the larger 2 XL. These very real and substantial problems were amplified by the fact that the rest of the screens’ characteristics weren’t good to start with. They were dim, inaccurate and lacking saturation. The displays were bad enough that it kept many people from buying the phones altogether — or at the very least wait for steep discounts. Software updates mitigated, but didn’t fix the problem — in the end, they were just bad displays.

With the Pixel 3 and 3 XL, Google focused on display quality to make sure the sort of problems that plagued the last generation have no chance of cropping up again. The perception that Pixels have bad screens will live on for some time, but anyone who sees one of the new phones will have their opinion changed.

Google Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL hands-on preview

Google spent an inordinate amount of time making these displays as great as possible, and in my time with the phones it absolutely showed. The OLED screens are clearly higher quality panels than either the Pixel 2 or 2 XL, which is a great (and necessary) starting point. No amount of tuning can fix a panel that isn’t capable of producing the results you want.

The panel is undeniably better; the calibration and software just accentuate it.

Google took these better displays and went to work calibrating them: there was a huge focus on starting with precise display accuracy at the start, and further calibration was then applied in software to make them perform as well as possible in a wide range of situations. Google says that the displays, when set to “Natural” mode (in the display settings), are 100% RGB compliant and “visually indistinguishable from perfect” — you may recognize that exact sort of wording from reviews of Samsung’s stellar displays. That’s good company to be associated with.

But not everyone wants accuracy, they want eye candy — that’s why the Pixel 3 and 3 XL ship in a new “Adaptive” display mode by default, which bumps up colors and saturation but has been tuned to limit the over-saturation of skin tones and reds in particular. This is akin to what Samsung, LG and just about every other company is doing on their phones to make them look extra-nice in stores and be appealing right out of the box.

100% accuracy is here if you want it, but ‘Adaptive’ will offer a great out-of-box look.

But again, Google didn’t just bump up the saturation to cover up the fundamentals. It also worked on the other important factors in judging a quality display, like notably reducing off-axis color shifting (which is inherent in all OLED panels) and increasing the brightness for a full-screen image to a minimum of 400 nits. (Not to be confused with peak brightness for small portions of the panel, which is often much higher.) It all looked wonderful indoors — the question now is how well it all works outside, where Samsung currently holds the top spot in daylight visibility.

And yes, Google wanted to address the worries of burn-in and image retention — a big issue on the Pixel 2 XL in particular. Google says it has reduced the burn-in potential by half compared to last year. It has also applied additional mitigations in the software to address particular problem areas like the navigation bar and ambient display — for example Google’s own apps use an equal mix of white and black nav bars. The displays will exhibit some sort of burn-in and image retention over time like any other OLED screen, but Google’s confident its phones won’t perform worse than the industry averages in either respect.

You get the same great display on both phones, so you can pick purely based on your size needs.

For fans of the smaller Pixel 3, It’s important to note that all of these great improvements are applicable to both displays. Making the Pixel 3 and 3 XL displays look and perform identically was a goal of Google’s, and to my eyes it was achieved. Speaking with Seang Chau (VP Engineering) and Raj Singh (Sr Director, Tech Engineering) from the Google hardware team, I immediately understood just how seriously Google took the displays this year, and how proud both were of the end result. I can see why — these look like a pair of screens that can compete with the best.

I’ve yet to see exactly how these new-and-improved screens perform out in the real world, where fringe cases of poor ambient lighting conditions can really put a smartphone display to the test. But given the great starting point these phones are working from, it doesn’t look like they’ll be a talking point in the same way they were last the last two years — and they may even be a standout feature of the Pixel 3 and 3 XL.

Google Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL

• Google Pixel 3 and 3 XL hands-on preview
• Google Pixel 3 and 3 XL: Everything you need to know!
• Google Pixel 3 vs. Pixel 3 XL: Which should you buy?
• Google Pixel 3 and 3 XL specifications
• Join our Pixel 3 forums

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Google Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL specs: New OLED displays and more

A handful of strategic changes.

No, your eyes don’t deceive you — the specs inside the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL are very similar to last year’s Pixel 2 lineup. But we know Google’s never played the game of having new specs just for the sake of the numbers — it likes to build phones that have enough specs to accomplish its goals. That isn’t to say the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL are bare, though — there’s plenty in here to compete with the latest high-end phones, and it’s of particular note that the Pixel 3 has all of the same internals as the larger version, aside from battery and screen size of course.

Here’s the complete spec sheet for both the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL.

Google Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL

• Google Pixel 3 and 3 XL hands-on preview
• Google Pixel 3 and 3 XL: Everything you need to know!
• Google Pixel 3 vs. Pixel 3 XL: Which should you buy?
• Google Pixel 3 and 3 XL specifications
• Join our Pixel 3 forums

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The Google Pixel Stand is a $79 wireless charger for the Pixel 3

You pay extra to get Google’s design sensibilities — and a couple neat display features.

Google chose to switch to glass backs on the new Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL, which opened up the phones to integrating wireless charging. They use the widely adopted Qi standard, the same one Samsung uses, but Google still took the opportunity to make its own special stand-up charger called the Pixel Stand.

In typical Google fashion the Pixel Stand is rather expensive, coming in at $79 — but in exchange, you get a sleek design befitting a modern Google product and a few added benefits.

See at Google Store

The Pixel Stand is pretty darn simple. It’s a round soft touch-coated base with an elongated circle stand portion protruding from the center that presents your Pixel 3 or 3 XL nicely. A small bump at the base holds the phone up, and the coils in the back let you place the phone either in portrait or landscape mode. The bottom has the same grippy silicone base as a Google Home Mini, and it plugs in with a USB-C cable. It’s a far sleeker and simpler solution than Samsung’s latest wireless charger stand.

This is a far more elegant-looking stand than Samsung’s latest, and has a few added software benefits.

Where Google is hoping to justify its higher pricing is the exclusive mode that the Pixel 3 and 3 XL change to when the phone is placed on the Stand. You get a configurable set of features that the phone can cycle through, showing everything from a rotation of your Google Photos albums, to a basic time/date display and a more advanced Google Assistant feed that shows pertinent information about your day. While docked the Pixel 3 and 3 XL will also use a different alarm clock style that slowly brightens the display ahead of the alarm time to hopefully wake you up more gently than a usual blaring alarm.

Having this handful of neat features available only while using the Pixel Stand feels like a bit of a consumer-unfriendly move considering the phones use the Qi standard and can easily charge on any other pad. It seems as though Google could make the phones launch into these software features while charging on any wireless charger of your choosing — and perhaps a simple solution from an app developer will make that happen in the future. For now, this looks like a nice simple charger for people who want to go all-in with Google accessories and don’t mind the higher price tag to get it.

See at Google Store

Google Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL

• Google Pixel 3 and 3 XL hands-on preview
• Google Pixel 3 and 3 XL: Everything you need to know!
• Google Pixel 3 vs. Pixel 3 XL: Which should you buy?
• Google Pixel 3 and 3 XL specifications
• Join our Pixel 3 forums

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Verizon
Google Store
Project Fi

Google Pixel 3 vs. Google Pixel 3 XL: Which should you buy?

We’re a virtual company made up of tech experts from across the globe. We live and breathe Android phones, and use nearly every one and examine the details to help you make the best decision when buying.

Google Pixel 3

Compact yet powerful

$799 at Google Store

Pros

• Easily usable in one hand
• Stereo speakers
• Wireless charging

Cons

• No headphone jack
• Battery on the small side

It’s a relatively small phone, but the Pixel 3 has all of the same features and power of the larger 3 XL. The 5.5-inch 18:9 display looks great, and makes the phone compact enough for anyone to use with one hand. The only potential downside here is a smaller-than-average 2915mAh battery.

Google Pixel 3 XL

True flagship

$899 at Google Store

Pros

• Huge screen
• Stereo speakers
• Wireless charging
• Sizable battery

Cons

• No headphone jack
• Very large display notch

Google took the Pixel 2 XL’s body and fit a much larger 6.3-inch 18.5:9 display — and it’s not all about size, the display is dramatically better as well. The rest of the phone builds on all of Google’s strengths: simple hardware, capable specs, smooth software and an amazing camera experience front and back. It even has a sizable 3430mAh battery inside.

Google does a great job of offering a high-end smartphone experience in two different sizes with very few compromises. That philosophy carries into the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL, which are identical aside from the chances necessitated by their size differences.

What’s the difference between the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL?

The best way to start off this comparison is to talk about everything that’s shared between these phones — and thankfully for potential Pixel 3 and 3 XL buyers, most of the experience is identical. Both have identical internal specs, anchored by a Snapdragon 845, 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage. The cameras, too, are shared, including the dual front-facing shooters. Both have stereo speakers, and both miss out on a headphone jack. The hardware is absolutely the same from top to bottom — without a reference for size, you can’t tell the difference between the two in a photo. And they even come in the same three color choices: black, white and “not pink.”

There really are just two differences to evaluate: screen size and battery. I specifically say screen size because Google worked very hard to make sure this year’s phones have identical-looking displays. Whether you get the 6.3-inch Pixel 3 XL or smaller 5.5-inch Pixel 3, the OLED panels have been selected and calibrated to look the same. The Pixel 3 XL also has a sizable display notch that’s visually distracting for some people, and obviously cuts into the usable space of that larger panel — even still, it has a little more room than the Pixel 2 XL, and much more than the Pixel 3.

It simply comes down to screen size and battery needs.

The other necessary difference is battery — 2915 vs. 3430mAh. With a 17% larger battery, the Pixel 3 XL will certainly have longer battery life — we just don’t know how much longer. It remains to be seen how the battery size difference will translate into real-world usage, since Android 9 Pie is better with power management than Oreo, but Google’s history doesn’t fill us with confidence — the Pixel and Pixel 2 were both very weak in the battery department. Some are willing to take that battery trade-off to have a phone they can easily use one-handed, but it isn’t always worth it for everyone.

The screen size differences obviously lead to changes in overall phone size. The Pixel 3 is a bit of a unicorn amongst modern-day flagship phones, with a very compact case that’s actually marginally smaller than the Pixel 2. It’s easily manageable in one hand, and easier to slip into a pocket even with a case on it. The Pixel 3 XL, on the other hand, follows the flagship trend of being really large. It’s about 12% wider and 8% taller than the Pixel 3, which is considerable — but of course, you get the extra screen and battery as a benefit. You just have to decide if it’s worth it for your needs (and hands).

Google Pixel 3

Compact yet powerful

$799 at Google Store

A proper flagship phone without the usual massive size and weight.

A smaller screen doesn’t lead to compromises in features or hardware quality. The Pixel 3 has everything the XL version does, except the necessary smaller battery. You get the fantastic software, performance, camera capabilities and screen quality.

Google Pixel 3 XL

True flagship

$899 at Google Store

Google’s best-ever phone, with a big screen and battery to match its capabilities.

Phones are large nowadays, and Google’s Pixel 3 XL is no exception. A 6.3-inch OLED screen is dramatically improved from the Pixel 2 XL, and the rest of the experience builds on Google’s strengths: awesome software, great performance, innovative camera features and guaranteed updates.

Google Pixel 3 and 3 XL hands-on: Screens worth staring at

Google isn’t looking for volume, it wants to focus on quality and simplicity.

If you showed up here looking for details on a pair of all-new Pixel phones that push the envelope and bring tons of new specs and features, you’re about to be disappointed. (You also probably didn’t follow the bevy of leaks in the last month.) But I encourage you to stick around, because I’ll tell you right from the start that the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL are worth your attention.

Google has never played the spec game. It has never focused on the raw quantity of features. Pixels have always been about creating an experience that’s greater than the sum of their parts. The new Google Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL are the best-ever expression of these values.

The latest phones focus on just a few main pillars: evolving the hardware design, improving an already wonderful camera, and giving users a display befitting the price tag. That is, of course, while holding on to what made their predecessors so great: a sleek software experience, powerful performance and the promise of Google’s security and software support.

Evolution

Google Pixel 3 Hardware changes

This is a case of evolution, not revolution. The new phones are effectively unchanged in size from their predecessors, but the finishes and materials have been tweaked. Let’s address the sizes first: they are so close in size to their predecessors you can squeeze one into a case designed for the other. (Though there are enough subtle differences to make this inadvisable.)

Same sized phone, but with a larger screen — while keeping stereo speakers.

The Pixel 3 is actually smaller than the Pixel 2, but now has a 5.5-inch 18:9 display for roughly 10% more screen space — that of course means smaller bezels, which make the phone feel properly modern. The Pixel 3 XL jumps to a 6.3-inch 18.5:9 display, but the number is a bit of a misnomer as its large notch and taller aspect ratio don’t give it dramatically more room than the 2 XL.

But it’s the changes to other aspects of the displays that are far more important — and potentially the most important change to these phones over their predecessors in any respect. Google spent an inordinate amount of time making these displays as great as possible, and in my time with the phones it absolutely showed. The OLED screens are clearly higher quality panels than before, which is a great starting point. Then Google went to work calibrating them: there was a huge focus on base-level accuracy at the panel level, and then further calibration in software to make them perform as well as possible.

Google says that the displays, when set to “Natural” mode, are purely 100% RGB compliant and “visually indistinguishable from perfect” — the exact sort of wording we hear bandied about with Samsung’s stellar displays.

Google spent an inordinate amount of time making these displays as good as possible.

But not everyone wants accuracy, they want eye candy — that’s why the phones ship in “Adaptive” display mode by default, which bumps up colors and saturation but has been tuned to limit the over-saturation of skin tones and reds in particular. Google also worked on the other important factors in judging a quality display, like reducing off-axis color shifting and increasing the brightness for a full-screen image to a minimum of 400 nits. It all looked wonderful indoors — the question now is how well it all works outside.

These displays blow away the Pixel 2 and 2 XL — it isn’t even close.

And yes, Google wanted to address the worries of burn-in and image retention — another big talking point of the Pixel 2 and 2 XL. Google says it has reduced the burn-in potential by half compared to last year. It has also applied additional mitigations in the software to address particular problem areas like the navigation bar and ambient display. The displays will exhibit some sort of burn-in and image retention like any other OLED screen, but Google’s confident its phones won’t perform worse than the industry averages in either respect.

It’s important to note that all of these great changes are applicable to both displays. Making the Pixel 3 and 3 XL displays look and perform identically was a goal, and to my eyes it was achieved. Speaking with Seang Chau (VP Engineering) and Raj Singh (Sr Director, Tech Engineering) from the Google hardware team, I immediately understood just how seriously Google took the displays this year, and how proud both were of the end result. I can see why — these look like a pair of screens that can compete with the best.

Even with the stretched screens, Google’s retained its front-facing stereo speakers, and put extra time into both hardware and software so that they’re even louder and clearer than before.

This comes even though the top speakers on the Pixel 3 XL is rather small, living between the two cameras in the display notch — you can tell the sound isn’t perfectly even top to bottom (or left to right, I suppose), but it sounds good regardless.

This is a solid and simple design, refined and improved on ever so slightly.

Picking them up, both phones feel amazing; just the right balance of heft and usability. The frames are entirely glossy now, which counter-intuitively provides more grip than the previous painted metal (your fingers “stick” to the gloss). The backs look the same as before, but are of course glass now (Gorilla Glass 5, in fact). Roughly two-thirds of the glass surface is etched with a fine texture that mimics the painted metal of before, providing a little grip and dramatically reducing fingerprint accumulation.

The etching only covers the flat portion of the glass as well, letting the smooth part help transition more seamlessly into the metal on the sides. For me, this is the best of both worlds. You get the solid feel and texture that you’d normally associate with metal, but the wireless charging capabilities of glass. And yes, this means these phones will be more fragile than the Pixel or Pixel 2 — that just comes with the territory.

Both phones are available in a stealthy “Just Black,” classy “Very White” and altogether new “Not Pink” colors, with no exclusivity between sizes or storage options. Black and white are just as you’d expect — though to my hands the black’s back had a bit more grit to its texture. Not Pink is an interesting one because you just have to see it in person in order to make a real decision on it. In some lighting it’s very faint, almost just off-white, while in darker lighting it looks like an intense blush pink color. It also has a salmon-colored power button, and the white one has a mint-colored button — I’m glad Google keeps tossing in these little pops of color.

Carrying the torch

It’s all about the cameras

Google’s Pixel 2 is well-regarded as having one of the best — if not the best — cameras in the smartphone world. Google knows it’s onto something good, and it’s going even further with the Pixel 3. And it’s doing so with the exact same formula: leaning on software processing, not hardware.

Google didn’t add more rear cameras because it frankly didn’t need to — it thinks software is king.

Google didn’t add a second (or third) rear camera to the Pixel 3, nor did it substantially update the hardware itself. This is still a single 12.2MP sensor — albeit a new version with better dynamic range capture — behind the same f/1.8 aperture and OIS. What’s different is the supporting cast of sensors, backed up by new processing.

For standard photos, everyone will benefit from improved HDR+ processing thanks to the Pixel Visual Core. This dedicated image chip, which was present in the Pixel 2 and 2 XL, now handles all HDR+ processing — and you’ll be able to notice the 40% speed increase, particularly with burst photos. There’s also a new spectral sensor to interpret various spectra to aid in color accuracy, and a new flicker sensor to help reduce banding and visual issues when shooting in bad lighting. Google’s extremely confident that it’s improved image quality, and I can’t wait to try it out for myself.

Google added amazing new features purely in software — and let it all run 40% faster on the Pixel Visual Core.

When lighting conditions aren’t great, Google’s now leveraging its HDR+ processing and the PVC for a new mode called “Night Sight.” When you swap to Night Sight, the camera adjusts its capture and processing to make the most out of any available light to process multiple frames while focusing on brightness rather than pure dynamic range as HDR+ normally does.

The results I saw (two of which are below) were astounding, but there was a clear trade-off of increased grain and loss of detail — but we’re talking about the difference between a photo that’s actually bright versus unrecognizably dark, so this is a huge feature.

Night Sight sample images provided by Google.

Google’s also overcoming its lack of a secondary telephoto camera with enhancements to digital zoom. Pixels already had more advanced digital zooming capabilities that smoothed artifacts, but this new system is several steps better. Now, when you’re zooming in the viewfinder the camera will take several frames sequentially, and stitch them together using sensor and OIS data to follow your hand shake — the result is multiple frames that overlap ever so slightly and are processed to dramatically increase detail.

Samples I saw made 8X zooming look more akin to what 2X zooming is like on the Pixel 2. So, what if you’re zooming while the phone is stationary, perhaps on a tripod? Google thought of that: the camera can shake the OIS manually to create the exact same effect, generating even sharper zoomed images. Too cool.

The best selfie shooter in the industry just got a companion to take even better front-facing shots.

Motion Photos make their return on the Pixel 3, and a new feature called “Top Shot” is a good reason to turn them back on. With Motion Photos enabled, the Pixel 3’s camera will now look at the buffer of frames before and after the moment you hit the shutter button to find alternate photos that may actually look better.

Think about taking a portrait on a windy day, or a shot of a group where it’s tough to get everyone smiling at the same time — the Pixel 3 will look at the entire buffer and find the best of the group, similar to a burst shot today. The difference now is that once you select the Top Shot selection, that frame gets sent through the same HDR+ processing as the main photo so you don’t lose any quality in the process.

Unlike the rear camera, Google changed quite a bit about the selfie experience — despite the fact that the Pixel 2 was already excellent. The main camera is a new 8MP sensor with auto focus and an f/1.8 lens, which in itself is already an upgrade. And it’s supported by a second 8MP sensor behind an f/2.2 wide-angle lens — that gives you options for group selfies and also improved portrait mode shots. Google’s also applying really good lens distortion fixes for the wide-angle shots so you don’t look like you have a super-wide face.

Subtle tweaks

Google Pixel 3 Software changes

Google once again preempted itself with the launch of Android 9 Pie weeks before its new phones were announced. Pie on the Pixel 3 XL hasn’t changed much from what you can use today on the Pixel and Pixel 2, but there are a couple subtle tweaks and two new features.

The biggest addition Google is likely to promote and advertise is a new “call screen” feature built into the dialer. When a call comes in, you now have the option to “screen” the call with a single touch. The caller receives an automated response from a digital voice asking them for more information about why they’re calling. That response is automatically transcribed (locally, not online) to text and shown on your screen.

You can choose to pick up the call at any time, prompt the caller for even more information, or reject it and mark the call as spam. That’s a neat feature, particularly as spam calls seem to be a problem everyone’s dealing with and aren’t going away any time soon.

The whole suite of Digital Wellbeing features are also leaving beta with the launch of the Pixel 3 and 3 XL. They’ve been put to use by plenty of people on the previous Pixels at this point, so it isn’t surprising Google is ready to make it all official. It isn’t making any announcement of altogether new features or changes, though — this is just what we’ve seen before, placed into a stable release channel.

This may not be a super exciting launch when it comes to software, but that shouldn’t be surprising. Pie itself is an interesting and feature-filled update — we’ve just seen it already. If you haven’t, you’ll enjoy a sleek, smooth and powerful version of Android that’s enjoyable to use.

More to come

Google Pixel 3 Preview

Some will decry Google’s hubris in launching the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL with mostly unchanged internals, design and features compared to last year’s lineup. I’m not one of those people. A common thread throughout our coverage of flagship phones for the past two years (or so) has been the stagnation and homogeneity of the entire market — the fact that phones are all standardizing on similar specs, features and designs with less room than ever for differentiation. If you take this as a given, and add in Google’s general desire to have a simple frill-free phone, you get phones exactly like the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL in late 2018.

Google’s last two pixels weren’t at the forefront of specs or features, either — yet they were fantastic phones.

Google’s last two Pixel releases weren’t at the forefront of design, specs, features or pricing, either — and yet, they were some of the best-reviewed phones of their generations. They were also among my all-time favorites. After using both previous generations, I’m not going to underestimate just how good the Pixel 3 and 3 XL can be using the same formula. The hardware looks and feels fantastic, the displays are dramatically improved, the camera once again looks like a world-beater, and the software will likely be as strong as ever.

One trend Google’s happy to follow is pricing; yes the Pixel 3 and 3 XL are incredibly expensive, making the proposition of “less is more” even tougher to swallow. The Pixel 3 has taken a $150 jump from last year, starting at $799 for what’s historically referred to as the “small” phone. $899 gets you into the large Pixel 3 XL, and $100 extra on either one bumps up to 128GB of storage. That’s right at the top end of what an Android phone costs nowadays, and Google thinks these phones are worth it.

Right now, I’m inclined to agree. How it all comes together in the real world after several days of intense use will have to wait for my full review, which will be coming in short order.

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The larger one is large [#acpodcast]

The rumors are real, and they’re spectacular! Daniel Bader and Jerry Hildenbrand are joined by Andrew Martonik as he provides a firsthand look at Google’s Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL. It’s an iterative device, but in all the right areas with improvements to the camera, display, and better spec parity between the small and lager models. The phones will be available on Oct. 18th, with a starting price of $799.

As an appetizer to the main course, the LG V40 ThinQ and LG Watch W7 are here as well. V40 ThinQ is a solid phone, but the crew are less than impressed by LG’s latest watch. Dive in!

Listen now

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Show Notes and Links:

• LG V40 ThinQ review
• LG V40 specifications
• LG V40: Everything you need to know
• LG Watch W7 hands-on
• Google Pixel 3 and 3 XL hands-on
• Google Pixel 3 and 3 XL specifications

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Xiaomi’s latest Android TV box with 4K HDR lands in the U.S. for just $59

The Mi Box S will be going up for sale on Walmart later this month for just $59.

Xiaomi’s first effort at an Android TV box — the Mi Box — wasn’t the company’s finest effort, but the Chinese manufacturer is looking to change that with the Mi Box S. The device made its debut earlier this year as the Mi Box 4, and will be sold as the Mi Box S in the U.S.

There are a few things that make the Mi Box S stand out: it has great hardware in the form of a quad-core Amlogic S905L processor, 2GB of RAM, and 8GB of storage. It also lets you play back 4K HDR content at up to 60fps, and it supports Dolby DTS.

There’s Wi-Fi ac and Bluetooth 4.2 as well, and you get a remote with a dedicated button to invoke Google Assistant. The device comes with the latest version of the Android TV interface, which is based on Android 8.1 Oreo. As it is an Android TV box, it has Chromecast built-in, allowing it to act as a video target.

What’s particularly attractive about the Mi Box S is the price. At $59, it’s more affordable than its predecessor while offering better hardware. The Mi Box S will go up for sale from later this month at Walmart stores across the country.

New camera features coming to Pixel 2 and original Pixels

You don’t need to spend more money to get sick new camera features.

The Pixel line has been the benchmark for great photos for the last couple years, and that’s going to continue with the Pixel 3. But, don’t go thinking your Pixel 2 is suddenly bad: the best features of the Pixel 3’s camera are coming to the older phones.

The best among these is Night Sight: a new feature that makes your nighttime picture so much better. No more super bright eyes, details hidden in shadows, or any of the other downsides that come with a nighttime shot. The photos still clearly look like they’re taken in dark conditions, but lit up well enough so you can see the small details and all the smiles on your friends’ faces.

Other features like improved Augmented Reality — including new characters from Marvel Studios — are coming as well.

Google didn’t specify when the new features would reach older phones, but it should be sometime in the next few months.

Google Hardware

• Google Wifi review
• Google Home review
• Chromecast Ultra: all you need to know
• Which Chromecast should you buy?

Google Wifi: Google
Amazon
Google Home: Google
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Chromecast Ultra: Google
Best Buy

Where to buy the Google Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL

Here’s where you can get Google’s latest phones, in either size.

Google opened up pre-orders for the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL immediately after they were announced, which is always a treat. And we don’t have to wait too long for full retail availability either — you can go into stores and grab one off the shelf (theoretically) on October 18. But let’s be honest, ordering online is just so much easier.

If a Pixel 3 or Pixel 3 XL is on your shopping list, here’s where you can go buy one — whether you want to head to a carrier or do it your own way and buy unlocked.

Verizon

Once again Verizon is the “exclusive” carrier for the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL in the U.S. That’s, of course, a bit of a misnomer because that exclusivity only reaches as far as buying from a carrier goes. Still, that means Verizon is the only one of the big four U.S. carriers to offer the phone directly.

At the start that doesn’t mean a whole lot, but in the future, Verizon’s likely to offer some enticing deals for financing, trade-ins, and rebates. Just know that you can also bring an unlocked Pixel to Verizon and have it work identically to one purchased from the carrier.

Pricing is set at $799 for the Pixel 3 and $899 for the Pixel 3 XL. Add $100 to each to jump to 128GB of storage. Available colors include Just Black, Clearly White, and Not Pink

See at Verizon

Project Fi

Remember that whole “exclusive carrier” thing? Well, you can buy the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL from Google’s own carrier, Project Fi. When you do, you’re basically just getting a phone as if it were purchased from the Google Store, but it comes ready to rock with your Project Fi account if you have one already. If you’re starting a new Project Fi line, the phone’s ridiculously easy to get set up thanks to its eSIM — you just power it up and follow a few prompts.

Pricing is set at $799 for the Pixel 3 and $899 for the Pixel 3 XL. Add $100 to each to jump to 128GB of storage. Once again, colors include Just Black, Clearly White, and Not Pink.

For a limited time, Project Fi is offering a $799 service credit when you buy two Pixel 3 or 3 XL phones and add a new member to an existing group/family plan.

See at Project Fi

Best Buy

Best Buy is a massive retailer partner to have on board for the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL, but unfortunately, the partnership is only to sell the phones as “Verizon” devices. The phones are actually unlocked and will work on any carrier of your choice, be it one of the big four or a prepaid carrier, but chances are you won’t be able to get Best Buy to sell you one unless you have a Verizon account.

Pricing is set at $799 for the Pixel 3 and $899 for the Pixel 3 XL. Add $100 to each to jump to 128GB of storage.

See at Best Buy

Google Store

If you’re buying a Google phone, there’s a seamless experience to be had buying from the Google Store directly. When you do, you’ll be able to take advantage of Google’s trade-in offers, which could be as high as $400, as well as its 24-month no-interest financing options that mirror those offered by carriers. Google also offers “Preferred Care” plans for an extended warranty and extra support.

The Google Store also has a good selection of promos. In addition to getting 6 free months of YouTube Music, you’ll also get a free Pixel Stand when you pre-order (retail value of $79).

Pricing is set at $799 for the Pixel 3 and $899 for the Pixel 3 XL. Add $100 to each to jump to 128GB of storage.

See at Google Store

Google Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL

• Google Pixel 3 and 3 XL hands-on preview
• Google Pixel 3 and 3 XL: Everything you need to know!
• Google Pixel 3 vs. Pixel 3 XL: Which should you buy?
• Google Pixel 3 and 3 XL specifications
• Join our Pixel 3 forums

Best Buy
Verizon
Google Store
Project Fi

Google quietly releases a new Chromecast in black and white

It costs the same $35 like the previous model.

Google talked about a lot of new products at its October 9 hardware event, but one new gadget that wasn’t even mentioned is a slightly upgraded Chromecast.

If you already have a Chromecast, you probably don’t need to get the new one. The only things that have changed include an updated design and new Chalk (aka white) color. Under the hood is improved Wi-Fi for faster speeds and more reliable connections.

It still plugs into your TV via HDMI, streams all of your content in 1080p Full HD, and works with all existing Chromecast apps.

You can purchase the new Chromecast from the Google Store right now for $35 if you’re interested.

See at Google Store

Chromecast

• Chromecast buyer’s guide: Which should you get?
• Chromecast vs. Chromecast Ultra: Which should you buy?
• Chromecast Audio: Everything you need to know
• Chromecast Ultra vs. Roku
• Join the discussion in our forums!

Best Buy
B&H