Pixel 4 thread for actual owners only

Zorachus

[H]F Junkie
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Only 1 day in using this phone and so far I'm really enjoying it. Smoothest android experience I've ever had. Animation scale lowered, 90hhz turned on all the time, this phone is just wickedly fast.

Could it have less bezel, sure. Could it have a wide angle camera, of course. Could they have stuck a bigger battery in, probably. (so far I don't any complaints about the battery however).

And yet the core experience that this phone communicates is Android at its best. Using it feels fantastic and ultimately it's that user experience that made me buy it.

I'm sure next year's phone will be better, and chances are I'll buy that when it comes out too.
 
IMG-20191024-195940.jpg



So tempting to not use a case but I simply don't trust myself.

White 128gb XL 4
 
I would like to start a thread for real Pixel 4 buyers and owners.
Case or naked?
Color? I went Clearly White
Size? 64GB

I can identify with your interest. Its obvious that the Pixle Design Team selected fine materials and uniquely designed the Pixel 4. The glass back on the Clearly White and Oh So Orange has the appearance and feel of porcelain, with a subdued texture to dissuade the attracting of finger prints. It is very comfortable to hold, the perimeter trim has rounded edges that places no pressure on my palms, with a matte finish to enhance it not to slip.

Have purchased the Pixel 4 XL, 64GB, Clearly White.
The Spigen Rugged Armor case will arrive tomorrow

It is the first phone I have had that I do not want to put in a case, regrettably I will be transferring it to the case tomorrow.
 
So tempting to not use a case but I simply don't trust myself.

White 128gb XL 4

Nice looking case you have there.

Yes, it is tempting not to encase this phone. Even if I didn't drop it, I would be nervous placing it uncased on the hard surface of a desk or restaurant table, where its bound to slide around a little and develop a fine scratch. I was grateful more than once that a phone slid off of my lap, or sofa, or bed onto the floor but incurred no damage because it was in a case.
 
Pixel 4 64GB Clearly White here. As much as I wanted to not use a case since the phone is easy to grip, I remember the end result of my S6 without ever using a case so I bought the Caseology clear case. I work with a bunch of iPhone lovers and didn't want them mistaking this for one.

Coming from a 7 Pro is definitely a pretty big change. I'm not complaining, I enjoy the experience more on the P4 due to the size and camera quality mostly, I also feel more inclined to explore features on Android I never really bothered with. On top of it all this is the perfect size, sure easy to use with one hand, especially typing.

One thing that sticks out to me having a smaller screen is how much quicker it is to find what you're looking for, with the OP7P I'd have my thumb hovering above the screen looking for what I needed with the P4 I haven't had to do this... yet. Another thing is the amount of typos I made on the OP7P I'd honestly spend more time fixing mistakes since the space bar wouldn't register taps all the time, on the Pixel 4 it's been super easy, with far less mistakes.

The battery life a has been okay, my first full day by with the phone number I got 5 hours and 47 minutes SoT, my second day it was less due to me updating stuff, installing and uninstalling apps, messing with settings. Today is the beginning of my work week so now I get to put it through the paces.

So far I'd give this phone an 9/10, my OP7P would be more like a 6.5/10 which when I first got it was more like an 9/10, but size and camera at the end of the day hurt the experiences I had with it.
 
The battery life a has been okay, my first full day by with the phone number I got 5 hours and 47 minutes SoT, my second day it was less due to me updating stuff, installing and uninstalling apps, messing with settings. Today is the beginning of my work week so now I get to put it through the paces.

Will be interesting to learn what your Pixel 4 SoT will be after a couple of days into your work week, when your daily usage will be more consistent. Let us know.

Where you are seeing SoT? I don't see where it is listed as screen on time in the Battery section of Android 10. Are you equating your screen on time with the "Screen usage since full charge" that is shown? Or are you getting it from the AccuBattery app?
 
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Will be interesting to learn what your Pixel 4 SoT will be after a couple of days into your work week, when your daily usage will be more consistent. Let us know.

Where you are seeing SoT? I don't see where it is listed as screen on time in the Battery section of Android 10. Are you equating your screen on time with the "Screen usage since full charge" that is shown? Or are you getting it from the AccuBattery app?

It's listed as Screen usage since full charge. Near the bottom.
 
Pixel 4 64GB Clearly White here. As much as I wanted to not use a case since the phone is easy to grip, I remember the end result of my S6 without ever using a case so I bought the Caseology clear case. I work with a bunch of iPhone lovers and didn't want them mistaking this for one.

Coming from a 7 Pro is definitely a pretty big change. I'm not complaining, I enjoy the experience more on the P4 due to the size and camera quality mostly, I also feel more inclined to explore features on Android I never really bothered with. On top of it all this is the perfect size, sure easy to use with one hand, especially typing.

.


So far it's the white color making a clean sweep. Hey, it's too bad your One plus has a better camera right? :ROFLMAO: Sorry, I can't help but laugh that those people who take DXO as gospel, when literally NOT A SINGLE other reputable publication agrees with that assessment, countless One Plus owners have complained about the camera quality, and even One plus themselves came out and said the camera isn't where they want it to be.

Actually if you still have your One plus, you should post some side by side comparisons just for kicks. I asked my buddy here at work to borrow his One Plus 7 pro but he turned me down saying, "I already know your camera is better". LOL


Thanks for the video Supersnake. Some good information. I changed most of the settings according to his recommendations for battery optimization.

Anyone order any glass protectors yet? I ordered a 3 pack that was dirt cheap off Amazon but the fit is only so so and I will likely order something that fits better.

For those that care, here's the case I ordered.

https://www.amazon.com/ESR-Compatib...rds=pixel+4xl+kickstand&qid=1572018570&sr=8-4

Really surprised at how nice it is, and the kickstand is the best I've ever used so far.

Spigen makes a similar clear case with a kickstand which I'm sure is awesome, but it's double the price and I"m pretty positive the kickstand is not as versatile (as far as being able to support the phone on both sides horizontally as well as in portrait).



Out of curiosity, anyone have any issues with their hotspot? Yesterday my hotspot wasn't working (kept getting an "authentication failed"). I use it a lot in my car because I set up a chromecast in my Audi's MMI system so that I can stream anything from my phone to my car screen. I just trick my car chromecast by thinking it's connected to my home wifi by naming my mobile hotspot the same name and password. I'm pretty sure it was a Verizon issue. Anyway, this morning I noticed that it started working all of a sudden. I thought it was strange. Curious if anyone else had the same thing happen.

Other than that I haven't encountered any bugs or weirdness.
 
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I have had my clearly white Pixel 4 XL 128GB for a couple days now and I am very happy with the upgrade from my Pixel 3 XL... At this point I have had the Google Pixel 1XL, 2XL, 3XL...

-Speakers are better and possibly some of the best smartphone speakers period, no distortion issues, the screen doesn't vibrate much, the back doesn't vibrate much etc. (both issues that existed on the Pixel 2XL , 3XL)

-Screen has noticeably less black crush at lower brightness levels (the Pixel 3 was already not bad compared to the almost unusable low brightness black crush on the Pixel 2 XL...)

-The phone is faster (duh, newer processor), but also I'm not having weird app reloads all the time like I did on my Pixel 3 XL and using the camera doesn't seem to be closing my music and maps applications... That was SOOOO annoying on the Pixel 3 XL. They slightly reduced it with the Android 10 update, but it still wasn't 100% solved...

-I run naked, no case. I like the way the phone looks and feels in my hands. Favorite Pixel phone to date so far. The mat black edges are more grippy in my hands, I love the frosted glass on the back as it shows fewer fingerprints and feels nice as well...

-Face unlock has been working well for me. I can see some of the concern about it unlocking without knowing if you are awake/alive, but for me that isn't really a concern. I can't think of a single time where someone has picked up my phone without me handing it to them where they would have the opportunity to perform this little trick... From an absolute security point of view compared to iPhone Face ID, yes it is certainly not as good, however I think day to day people are happier with the faster unlock experience, I know I am compared to my iPhone XR... Not having to swipe up to unlock after it recognizes you is also AMAZING...

-Battery life seems to be noticeably better than my Pixel 3 XL. Having said that, times where I used my camera or was out and about all day, I found it challenging to get a day in terms of battery life on my Pixel 3 XL. I found the battery life on my 3XL noticeably worse than my 2XL. I feel like I may be back to 2XL battery life?

-Google assistant seems more responsive, the captioning feature is cool for the odd time where I want to know what is being said in a video, but I am not somewhere where I want to play the sound from the video. Pretty amazing feature IMHO.

-Cameras seems noticeably better than my Pixel 3 XL (which was also really great to be fair). You can really notice the difference with the Night Sight modes. I actually do appreciate the telephoto lens more than I thought I would, even for macro photography (ie: taking a picture of a small object on your desk), it seems quite nice. I can understand the outrage from some reviewers about wide vs. telephoto, but I do think I'm happy with Google's decision. Would 3 cameras instead of just 2 on the back been better? Perhaps... If you are going to pick only two, did they pick the right combo, I think so. Especially combined with the digital zoom processing. I have NEVER wanted to to use digital zoom, but a couple of the test shots (using night sight) that I tried turned out WAY better than I would have expected and actually produced a photo that I just wouldn't have gotten otherwise.
 
Which web browser are you guys using on the Pixel 4?
I am on Brave as it has built in ad blockers. I used to use Samsung Browser, find it the best, but you need to install a separate ad blocker, that usually installs some VPN on your phone, and I get worried about those, and inky certain ones work well on Android 10.
So, what do you recommend?
 
Is there a particular reason why you can’t just use a local VPN adblocker like Blokada and then any browser you like? Personally, I use Firefox Preview
 
I turned Motion Sense off, not really seeing a big benefit, and might help battery.

- Lift To check Phone
- Tap to check phone

Do you think ok to keep both those enabled? or just one?
 
I turned Motion Sense off, not really seeing a big benefit, and might help battery.

- Lift To check Phone
- Tap to check phone

Do you think ok to keep both those enabled? or just one?

- Lift to check Phone
- Tap to check phone

Nice in concept, however Face ID is onboard our phones. After Lifting or Tapping my phone I was unable to check my phone because Face ID detected my face looking at the phone and immediately unlocked my phone, then delivered me to my last visited location. I never had a chance to read what was on the screen before Face ID unlocked it. :p

Regarding your question. From what I experienced, for practicable purposes it doesn't matter whether or not Lift or Tap to check is turned on - if you can't make use of it. As for battery conservation, if you can't make use of those two functions one might as well turn them off.

Try it out and see if you can read/check your locked screen without Face ID intercepting.
 
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What about AoD (always on display)? Is that a battery hog, or not too much?
 
I found a workaround to check your lock screen using Lift or Tap and not trigger Face ID. After you Tap or Lift, carefully rotate the phone 90 degrees and read it. Your phone will remain unlocked and permit you to read what it on the screen. It's a bit awkward but it works. Will Tap or Lift tax your battery much? Honestly, I have no idea.

Regarding AOD, for sure that is a controversial feature. Multiple web articles and reader comments will say it is a battery hog and multiple web articles and reader comments will say it is not. However, Google is upfront in advising you will incur increased battery usage.

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HDR content on my Pixel 4 XL looks very impressive and the quality of sound coming out of the external speakers is the best I have heard on a smart phone.

Play this video in the dark.

 
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HDR content on my Pixel 4 XL looks very impressive and the quality of sound coming out of the external speakers is the best I have heard on a smart phone.

Play this video in the dark.



My 2 XL can't even play that properly at 1080P, hah. Runs it at like 15 FPS instead of 60. 720P plays fine though and does look pretty good and bright, but I'm sure the newer phones make it considerably better.

Have you all been annoyed buy the lack of fingerprint/face authentication in apps so far? I hope most apps, esp. banking apps, update soon to fix that before I may pick up a 4 XL on BF sale or something.

I'm pretty hesitant to lose my original resolution quality pic/vid backups now too, as I just moved to Europe for a few years and will be taking a ton more pics/vids than I did in the past. Camera used to be one of the last priorities for me in a phone, but now it's been bumped up a bit, though most flagships these days still seem more than adequate and I'd prolly appreciate a wide angle lens more than slightly better zoomed and low light pics.
 
What display setting are you guys running?

-Boosted
-Saturated
-Adaptive

I don't have a saturated. I only have natural, boosted and Adaptive.

I'm running adaptive. I usually go for the more vibrant look. I would have thought that would be boosted but to my naked eye adaptive looks best so that's what I'm running. But it's pretty close between boosted and adaptive.
 
It is Natural, Boosted, Adaptive

Am running on Boosted because Jared Busch recommended it and his findings are spot on to mine.
In his video he said the differences in saturation between the three settings is minimal "like somebody walked up to them and sprinkled a little bit of saturation dust", for which I agree.
 
Have you all been annoyed buy the lack of fingerprint/face authentication in apps so far? I hope most apps, esp. banking apps, update soon to fix that before I may pick up a 4 XL on BF sale or something.
All of my apps are non banking apps, I have yet to encounter any need for biometric authentication in any of them.
 
Have you all been annoyed buy the lack of fingerprint/face authentication in apps so far? I hope most apps, esp. banking apps, update soon to fix that before I may pick up a 4 XL on BF sale or something.

Ive been using Lastpass to store all my passwords as it's compatible with the biometrics of the Pixel 4. Works flawlessly. Been using it with Chase app/BOA app and several others with no issue.


https://www-androidpolice-com.cdn.a...ss-android-10-biometrics-pixel-4-face-unlock/
 


Does LastPass for Android let you access your LastPass account using your LastPass master password if you desire to do so?
 
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Gotta say, the lift to wake, combined with Face Unlock is very cool, very fast, and to the home screen immediately.

Plus the smoothness of forced 90hz is so fluid and buttery.

And lastly the punchy deeper colors on this OLED screen look great.

Yes I'm really liking this Pixel 4 XL now.
 
Gotta say, the lift to wake, combined with Face Unlock is very cool, very fast, and to the home screen immediately.

Plus the smoothness of forced 90hz is so fluid and buttery.

And lastly the punchy deeper colors on this OLED screen look great.

Yes I'm really liking this Pixel 4 XL now.

This has been pretty much my same experience. For all the shitting on this phone people were doing, some going so far as to call the release a "dumpster fire", (hyperbole much?) it seems like everyone who's actually you know, used the phone, has really enjoyed it. People get so caught up on having the best specs and forget that the for the 95% of things you use a phone for, this phone provides the best Android experience.
 
I wanted my launcher to be functional and ergonomic.

Click Thumbnails for Full Size
Changed Home Screen And App Drawer With Nova Launcher Prime
6 Icons in dock (instead of 5)
Icon labels have two lines for text (instead of one)
Google search bar moved to top and extended edge to edge
Google search bar background color (changed)
Google search bar logo (changed)​


1.png

3 - button navigation
Touching the small white arrow above dock icons will open the App Drawer, no swiping needed



2.png

Gesture Navigation
Touching the small white arrow above dock icons will open the App Drawer, no swiping needed




4.png

App Drawer Before Change
Cramped interior
Icon labels have one line for text





3.png

App Drawer After Change
 
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I found a workaround to check your lock screen using Lift or Tap and not trigger Face ID. After you Tap or Lift, carefully rotate the phone 90 degrees and read it. Your phone will remain unlocked and permit you to read what is on the screen. It's a bit awkward but it works.
No workaround is necessary. There is a Skip Lock Screen option that you can toggle on or off if you want to check your lock screen.

How to Prevent Face Unlock from Bypassing the Lock Screen on the Google Pixel 4
[How-to Geek]

I still prefer to bypass the lock screen and reach the home screen immediately.
 
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My 2 XL can't even play that properly at 1080P, hah. Runs it at like 15 FPS instead of 60. 720P plays fine though and does look pretty good and bright, but I'm sure the newer phones make it considerably better.

Have you all been annoyed buy the lack of fingerprint/face authentication in apps so far? I hope most apps, esp. banking apps, update soon to fix that before I may pick up a 4 XL on BF sale or something.

I'm pretty hesitant to lose my original resolution quality pic/vid backups now too, as I just moved to Europe for a few years and will be taking a ton more pics/vids than I did in the past. Camera used to be one of the last priorities for me in a phone, but now it's been bumped up a bit, though most flagships these days still seem more than adequate and I'd prolly appreciate a wide angle lens more than slightly better zoomed and low light pics.
This is exactly what I am wondering too!.
 
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