The Pixel 3 -- sleek and slick in the hand, a refinement over past Pixels -- has the specs to take on the iPhone XS and Galaxy S9, and win. There's no one killer feature, but its camera is fantastic and it will be the first in line for Android software and security updates. That's a real bonus that avoids the anguish experienced by other Android users who might wait months for Android updates. New to the Pixel 3 is a pair of 8-megapixel front-facing cameras, and support for wireless charging. Google will even sell you its own tricked-out wireless charging stand, the Pixel Stand, for $79. More importantly, the third-generation Pixel also has the weight of Android Pie software and the deep well of Google's services behind it. Retooled camera processing in the Night Sight feature (not officially out yet, but we've experimented with it) makes low light photography extremely vivid, and another in-development feature will select your best photo. The Pixel 3 also uses AI software, called Google Duplex, to field robocalls on your behalf. The Pixel 3 is an excellent phone through and through, and one of our favorites for 2018. Then again, so's its fiercest competition. While our long-term photography tests play out, here's how the specs compare with the iPhone XS and Galaxy S9. Read also: iPhone XR vs. Pixel 3: Which phone has the best camera? Update, Nov. 1: This story originally was published Oct. 10, 2018, and was updated on Nov. 1 with more details. Pixel 3 vs. iPhone XS vs. Galaxy S9 Google Pixel 3 Apple iPhone XS Samsung Galaxy S9 Display size, resolution 5.5-inch "flexible" OLED; 2,280x1,080 pixels 5.8-inch Super Retina OLED; 2,436x1,125 pixels 5.8-inch AMOLED; 2,960x1,440 pixels Pixel density 443ppi 458 ppi 570 ppi Dimensions (Inches) 5.7x2.7x0.3 in 5.7x2.8x0.3 in 5.81x2.70x0.33 in Dimensions (Millimeters) 145.6x68.2x7.9 mm 143.6x70.9x7.7 mm 147.7x68.7x8.5 mm Weight (Ounces, Grams) 5.2oz; 148g 6.2 oz; 177g 5.75 oz; 163g Mobile software Android 9 Pie iOS 12 Android 8.0 Oreo Camera 12.2-megapixel 12-megapixel (standard), 12-megapixel (telephoto) 12-megapixel Front-facing camera Dual 8-megapixel 7-megapixel 8-megapixel Video capture 4K 4K 4K Processor Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 (2.5GHz octa-core) Apple A12 Bionic Octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 processor (2.8GHz + 1.7GHz), or Octa-core Samsung Exynos 9810 (2.7 GHz + 1.7 GHz) Storage 64GB, 128GB 64GB, 256GB, 512GB 64GB, 128GB, 256GB RAM 4GB TBD 4GB Expandable storage None None 400GB Battery 2,915 mAh TBD 3,000mAh Fingerprint sensor Back cover None (Face ID) Back cover Connector USB-C Lightning USB-C Headphone jack No No Yes Special features IP68, wireless charging support, Pixel Buds USB-C headphones in the box Water resistant (IP68); dual-SIM (nano-SIM and e-SIM); wireless charging; Face ID; Animoji Water resistant (IP68); dual-aperture camera; super slo-mo video; wireless charging; iris scanning Price off-contract (USD) $799 (64GB); $899 (128GB) $999 (64GB), $1,149 (256GB), $1,349 (512GB) Varies: $720-$800 (64GB) Price (GBP) £739 (64GB); £839 (128GB) £999 (64GB), £1,149 (256GB), £1,349 (512GB) £739 Price (AUD) TBA AU$1,629 (64GB), AU$1,879 (256GB), AU$2,199 (512GB) AU$1,199 (64GB), AU$1,349 (256GB) Read now: Google Pixel 3 review Read next: Best phones of 2018<doc-sep>Google’s Pixel 3 is one of the best camera phones you can buy, but the competition is stiff. The iPhone XS can take equally great photographs — sometimes even better — than the Pixel 3, while the Note 9 often excels in low light. Can you really tell the difference? See for yourself. We’re comparing a handful of photos from the Pixel 3 XL, iPhone XS Max, Galaxy Note 9, and the Pixel 2 XL (for those of you thinking about upgrading). If you have an iPhone XS or a smaller Pixel 3 or Pixel 2, expect the same image quality because the cameras are the exact same between the smaller and larger phone. A few notes: These smartphones all take excellent photographs, and we’re going to be nitpicking to find the best. We used the automatic settings for every shot, because that’s how most people take photos in real life. You also may not agree with some of our winners here, and that’s completely OK. There are technical reasons to like a photograph over another, but it’s also a very subjective choice. This also isn’t the most scientific of tests, but we tried to do our best. Either way, if you have one of these phones, you absolutely won’t be disappointed with the camera. Daytime You can expect almost any smartphone — even most budget phones — to take killer photos in broad daylight. All of these phones excel here in this photo of the downtown New York City skyline, but there are differences. It’s incredibly tough to pick a winner, but our least favorites are the iPhone XS Max and Note 9 photographs. The iPhone photo has a bit too much of a blue hue throughout, making the sky look a little unnatural and the buildings a tad washed out. The Note 9 photo has warmer toned buildings, but everything is slightly overexposed — look at the clouds, and you’ll see a lack of definition compared to the other photos. That being said, the iPhone XS photo has the best detail. Take a look at the Venmo billboard on the bottom left corner. You can read the Venmo logo on the card easiest on the iPhone XS. But the Pixel 2 XL and Pixel 3 XL photos have good contrast, which is why we like them the most. We like the Pixel 3’s blue sky, and it has the best-looking clouds. We also like the Pixel 2 photo’s buildings, which are slightly brighter. If we had to choose a picture to share, we’d go with the Pixel 3 XL photo. Again, this is a very close test, and judging them alone, we’d share all of them. Winner: Pixel 3 XL It’s a little easier for us to choose a winner here, and it’s the Pixel 3 XL again. The Note 9 and iPhone XS Max photos have too much of a yellow hue, taken from the walls, that extend to every part of the photo. Even the skin tone of the girl is unnatural, and the clothes have a yellowish hue. Zoom in on the face, and there’s some visible noise. The Pixel 2 XL loses out because the photo is blurry overall. We’re not sure if it was due to camera shake or something else, but the optical image stabilization in the phone should have compensated for slight movement. That brings us to the Pixel 3 XL. The subject sharply sticks out from the background, thanks to the more natural colors in the photo. There’s excellent detail from the denim jacket to the subject’s face — and while some noise is still visible, it’s not as noticeable as the Note 9 or iPhone XS photo. Winner: Pixel 3 XL In this portrait photo — which wasn’t captured with Portrait Mode — we see how each of these phones handle several components, from skin tone and depth to detail and color. The most detailed photos comes from the Pixel 2 XL and Note 9 — zoom in and the evidence is clear. The most natural colors are in the Pixel 3 XL photo; the subject’s skin tone is too red in the Pixel 2, iPhone, and Note 9 photos. The photos with the best natural depth are from the Pixel 2 and iPhone XS Max, but the Pixel 2 XL photo has too much of a red tone throughout. Overall, we like the iPhone XS Max photo the most. The colors aren’t as natural as the Pixel 3 XL photo, but it does a better job than the rest. It has good enough detail, but the natural blur and the background are the best out of all the photos. Winner: iPhone XS Max Indoors This is a tough one. Once again, we love the Pixel 3 XL photo the most. It’s incredibly detailed with great white balance, very little noise, and the lights are well exposed. The Pixel 2 XL photo isn’t as sharp, and the Note 9 photo feels flat because it lacks punchy colors and the lights are overexposed. That brings us to the iPhone XS Max photo. It’s the most representative of what the store’s ceiling actually looked like, but it goes overboard in making everything look a little too orange. The glasses on the bottom right shelf, for example, were more white in reality. Look back at the Pixel 3 XL photo now, and it looks a little too cold. It’s not as festive or fun as the iPhone photo. Our favorite would be somewhere in between, but since we have to pick a winner, we’d go with the Pixel 3 XL photo and edit it to warm it up a bit before sharing it on social media. We’d prefer to do this than tone down the iPhone photo because the Pixel 3 XL photo really has more detail — zoom in on the single large light in the middle left of the photo. Look at the steel bar. There’s more detail and less grain on the Pixel 3 photo. It’s the best one to edit. Winner: Pixel 3 XL<doc-sep>Samsung was one of the first phone makers to embrace big screens, making display real estate a focal point in its Galaxy Note lineup. It's a move that smartphone shoppers have also embraced, and one that competitors have tried to ape with phablets of their own. Google is the latest to come at the king, with its 6.3-inch Pixel 3 XL. That's the biggest display ever featured on one of Google's phones, and the company had to make some design changes from previous Pixels to fit in all that screen space. But is it enough to knock the Galaxy Note 9 off its perch? Let's see how these two massive smartphones measure up. Note 9 vs. Pixel 3 XL Specs Phone Note 9 Pixel 3 XL Starting Price $999 $899 Screen (Resolution) 6.4-inch Super AMOLED (2960 x 1440) 6.3-inch OLED (2960 x 1440) CPU Snapdragon 845 Snapdragon 845 RAM 6GB, 8GB 4GB Storage 128GB, 512GB 64GB, 128GB MicroSD Yes No Rear Camera Dual 12-MP (f/1.5-f/2.4) 12.2-MP (f/1.8) Front Camera 8-MP (f/1.7) 2 8-MP (wide: f/2.2; telephoto: f/1.8) Battery Size 4,000 mAh 3,430 mAh Battery Life (Hrs:Mins) 11:26 9:30 Water Resistance IP68 IP6X Size 6 x 3 x 0.34 inches 6.2 x 3 x 0.3 inches Weight 7.1 ounces 6.5 ounces Colors Lavender Purple, Ocean Blue, Midnight Black, Cloud Silver Clearly White, Just Black, Not Pink Design Both phones opt for expansive, full-screen views that offer displays with an 18.5:9 aspect ratio. They just take different routes to getting there. In the Note 9's case, it retains the Infinity Display that Samsung introduced with the Note 8. The curved 6.4-inch screen goes from edge to edge with minimal bezels at the top and bottom. The Pixel 3 XL uses a notch to fit in more screen space on its 6.3-inch display, and it's a fairly chunky notch as well. There's also a bit more bezel on Pixel's chin than what you get with the Note 9. Even so, the 6.2 x 3 x 0.3-inch Pixel 3 XL is not as tall as the 6.3 x 3 x 0.34-inch Note 9, and it weighs less, too (6.5 ounces versus 7.1 ounces on the Note 9). The Note 9 is basically unchanged from the Note 8, with the exception of its fingerprint sensor, which moves to a more accessible location on the back of the phone. Meanwhile, Google has made a big change to the Pixel 3 XL's design so that it could add wireless charging. The Pixel 3 XL has a glass back, but Google still managed to give it a matte finish to retain the Pixel's distinctive two-tone look. We like how that design feat not only makes the Pixel 3 XL easier to grip, but also how it resists fingerprints, too. MORE: Pixel 3 XL vs. iPhone XS Max: Google's Big Phone Could Win Neither phone is really known for its bold use of color, though Samsung has shaken things up a little bit with the Note 9. That phone debuted in Lavender Purple and Ocean Blue and it's since added Midnight Black and Cloud Silver options. The Pixel 3 XL features the same-old black and white options, while adding a new shade that it's dubbed Not Pink. (Spoiler alert: it's pink enough.) Winner: Note 9 Display On paper, the Note 9 and Pixel 3 XL have matching 2960 x 1440 resolutions on their OLED panels. In the lab, however, the Note 9's display performs a little bit. It reproduces 224 percent of the sRGB color gamut, and those vibrant colors are pretty accurate, too. We recorded a Delta-E score of 0.34 for the Note 9. (A score of 0 is ideal.) The Pixel 3 XL doesn't capture as many colors — 170.2 percent of the sRGB gamut by our testing — though its colors are about as accurate as the Note 9's based on its 0.35 Delta-E rating. Where the phones' displays really diverge is brightness. The Note 9 maxed out at 604 nits when we measured it with a light meter. The Pixel 3 XL could only reach 362 nits. That's not just dimmer than the Note 9, it also falls short of the smartphone average. The Note 9 is noticeably brighter in day-to-day use, but the Pixel screen compares favorably in other aspects. We watched the Aquaman trailer on both phones with their adaptive display modes turned on and boosting colors. The Note 9 tends to favor saturated colors and darker overall blacks, which made some of the underwater scenes less visible than they were on the Pixel 3. Then again, the Note 9 offers a range of display profiles so you can tweak the screen to your preference. On the Pixel 3, your choice boils down to saturated colors or not. Winner: Note 9 Cameras Are two cameras better than one really smart one? That's what a Note 9/Pixel 3 XL camera face-off really boils down to. On the Note 9, you'll get two 12-megapixel rear cameras, including one lens with a variable aperture that lets in more light as circumstances demand. Samsung has also leaned hard into artificial intelligence with a Scene Optimizer feature capable of recognize 20 different scenes (food, sunsets, backlit settings and more) and adjusting camera settings on the fly to produce the best shot. The Pixel 3 XL will see that AI-powered camera and raise it, with some smart camera capabilities of its own. Top Shot sorts through all the exposures captured by the Pixel 3 XL's single 12.2-MP lens and picks out the best one, so you're not stuck with a photo where someone blinked or moved suddenly. Super Res Zoom compensates for the Pixel's single rear lens and lack of optical zoom by using computation photography to fill in the details when you zoom in and reframe a shot. A Night Sight feature arrives soon to help the Pixel 3 XL perform better in low-light But how do these cameras perform in the here-and-now? This close-up of some purple flowers shows the Note 9's expertise with optimizing your photos to make colors pop.<doc-sep>Every digital camera is flawed. Image sensors can't capture light perfectly, lenses distort scenery, and photos so often seem blah compared with what you remember seeing. But Google, with its Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL smartphones, has found new ways to use software and hardware to overcome those flaws and get you better pictures. Its Pixel and Pixel 2 phones had already advanced the state of the art for smartphone photography, but the Pixel 3 goes even further. The Pixel 3 camera holds its own against Apple's iPhone XS despite having one camera tied behind its back. It all but dispenses with the camera's flash, using new low-light shooting abilities instead. And it offers enthusiasts a radically new variety of raw image that opens up photographic flexibility and artistic freedom. Now playing: Watch this: Pixel 3's stellar camera ups the ante again It's all possible because of a field called computational photography, a term invented in 2004 by Google distinguished engineer Marc Levoy while he was at Stanford, before he moved full-time to Google Research. Long gone are the days when photography was all about glass lenses and film chemistry. Fast receding are first-generation digital cameras that closely mirror the analog approach. Now our cameras rely as much on computers as optics. And what we've seen so far is only the beginning. Here's what that means specifically for Google's Pixel 3 and its larger sibling, the Pixel 3 XL. Super Res Zoom for pushing those pixels The term "digital zoom" has a bad reputation, because you can't just say "enhance," zoom into an image and expect new detail to appear that wasn't captured in the first place. That's why it's worth paying a premium for optical zoom methods -- notably the second (or third, or fourth) camera in phones from companies including Apple, Samsung and LG Electronics. The Pixel 3 comes with a feature called Super Res Zoom that sports a new way to capture detail in the first place. The upshot is that Google's single main camera has image quality that "comes very, very close" to a second camera optically zoomed in twice as far, Levoy said. Enlarge Image Stephen Shankland/CNET Here's how it works -- but first, buckle up for a little background on the innards of digital cameras. All image sensors have an array that records the intensity of the light that each pixel sees. But to record color, too, camera makers place a checkerboard pattern of filters in front of each pixel. This Bayer filter, invented at Eastman Kodak in the 1970s, means each pixel records either red, green or blue -- the three colors out of which digital photos are constructed. Enlarge Image Google A problem with the Bayer filter is that cameras have to make up data so that each pixel has all three colors -- red, green and blue -- not just one of them. This mathematical process, called demosaicing, means you can see and edit a photo, but it's just a computer making its best guess about how to fill in color details pixel by pixel. Super Res Zoom gathers more information in the first place. It combines multiple shots, counting on your imperfectly steady hands to move the phone slightly so it can gather red, green and blue color data -- all three colors -- for each element of the scene. If your phone is on a tripod, the Pixel 3 will use its optical image stabilizer to artificially wobble the view, Levoy said. The result: sharper lines, better colors and no demosaicing. That offers the Pixel 3 a better foundation when it's time to digitally zoom. Those who shoot at the camera's natural focal length might be eager for the extra quality, too, but Super Res Zoom only kicks in at 1.2X zoom or higher, Levoy said. Why not at 1X zoom? "It's a performance thing," he said. Super Res Zoom slows photo taking and takes more power. And Super Res Zoom doesn't work with video, either, so if you want telephoto there, a second camera still can be worth paying for. New computational raw for flexible photos More than a decade ago, a generation of digital photography enthusiasts and pros discovered the power of shooting with a camera's raw photo format -- data taken directly from the image sensor with no extra processing. Google's Pixel 3 smartphones could expand that revolution to mobile phones, too. Android phones have been able to shoot raw images since 2014, when Google added support for Adobe's Digital Negative (DNG) file format to record the unprocessed data. But limits in smartphone image sensors have hobbled the technology. With an SLR or mirrorless camera with a large sensor, shooting raw offers lots of advantages if you're willing or eager to get your hands dirty in some photo-editing software like Adobe Lightroom. That's because "baking" a JPEG locks in lots of camera decisions about color balance, exposure, noise reduction, sharpening and other attributes of the image. Shooting raw gives photographers control over all that. Raw has been a bit of a bust on mobile phones, though, because tiny image sensors in phones are plagued by high noise and low dynamic range, or the ability to capture both bright highlights and murky details in the shadows. Today, advanced cameras sidestep the problem by combining multiple shots into one high-dynamic range (HDR) image. Google's approach, HDR+, merges up to nine underexposed frames, an approach Apple has mimicked to good effect with its new iPhone XS and XS Max. Enlarge Image Stephen Shankland/CNET With the Pixel 3, Google's camera app now also can shoot raw -- except that it applies Google's own special HDR sauce first. If you enable the DNG setting in the camera app's settings, the Pixel 3 will create a DNG that's already been processed for things like dynamic range and noise reduction without losing the flexibility of a raw file. "Our philosophy with raw is that there should be zero compromise," Levoy said. "We run Super Res Zoom and HDR+ on these raw files. There is an incredible amount of dynamic range." There are still limits.<doc-sep>
In search of the year's best smartphone? If it's a smaller device you want — something with a screen that doesn't top 6 inches — you'd be hard-pressed to find anything that competes with Google’s Pixel 3 and Apple’s iPhone XS. Both of these flagships have incredible cameras and gorgeous displays. They may run different operating systems, but they're both at the head of their respective classes when it comes to offering the most premium software experiences in the mobile space. Ultimately, only one can win out in this Pixel 3/iPhone XS comparison — but it's going to be a close call. Pixel 3 vs. iPhone XS: The Specs Pixel 3 iPhone XS Price $799, $899 $999, $1,149, $1,349 Display (Resolution) 5.5-inch OLED (2160 x 1080) 5.8-inch OLED (2,436 x 1,125) CPU Snapdragon 845 A12 Bionic RAM 4GB 4GB Storage 64GB, 128GB 64GB, 128GB, 512GB Rear Camera 12.2 MP (ƒ/1.8) Dual 12 MP wide (ƒ/1.8) and telephoto (ƒ/2.4) Front Camera Dual 8 MP standard (ƒ/1.8) and wide (ƒ/2.2) 7 MP (ƒ/2.2) Battery 2,915 mAh 2,942 (based on regulatory filings) Size 5.7 x 2.7 x 0.3 inches 5.7 x 2.8 x 0.3 inches Weight 5.3 ounces 6.2 ounces Design Although similar in size, the Pixel 3 and iPhone XS have very different interpretations of what defines a premium phone. With the Pixel 3, Google opted for a 5.5-inch, 18:9 panel sandwiched between a pair of top and bottom bezels that aren’t necessarily thick, but aren’t particularly slim, either. The look is slightly dated look compared with the nearly all-screen iPhone XS, whose borderless design is interrupted only by that pesky notch. Around the sides, the iPhone XS incorporates more premium-feeling stainless steel to the Pixel 3's glossy aluminum. Both handsets employ glass backs allowing them to charge wirelessly, though a significant portion of the Pixel 3's is finished with an etching process that delivers a matte texture. However, early reports indicate this surface may be more susceptible to scratching. MORE: Best Smartphones on the Market Now The Pixel 3 wins points for its relative lightness compared with the iPhone XS (it's an ounce lighter), and those who have a distaste for notches will surely prefer Google's effort to Apple's latest range of devices (or, for that matter, any other flagship). That said, the iPhone XS is undoubtedly the direction the industry is headed, and the iPhone X's success proves that Apple's struck a fashionable formula that consumers love, earning it the win here. Winner: iPhone XS Display At long last, Google gave the Pixel 3 the OLED display it desperately needed to contend with Apple and Samsung’s best efforts. Unfortunately though, the Pixel 3's screen falls just shy of being the finest we've seen among smartphones. For one, Apple's 5.8-inch OLED panel in the iPhone XS is bigger than the 5.5-inch one in the Pixel 3. But the XS's display is also brighter and a little more accurate as well. The iPhone's peak full-screen brightness of 604 nits handily beats the 401-nit Pixel 3 (including the 488-nit smartphone average). Additionally, the iPhone's Delta-E color accuracy score of 0.22 yields slightly more realistic colors, compared with the Pixel 3 and its 0.44 rating. (Numbers closer to zero are better.) The iPhone XS's panel may be just a little better, though that's not to say the Pixel 3' is bad by any stretch. The colors on Google's flagship are vibrant, as evidenced by its 202-percent coverage of the sRGB color space. (In comparison, the iPhone XS covers 123 percent.) The Pixel 3 also offers multiple display profiles for more or less-saturated colors, while the iPhone XS provides no such option to users. Winner: iPhone XS Camera While the iPhone XS has two 12-megapixel cameras on the back — one a standard lens and the other a telephoto — the Pixel 3 has only one. However, Google's phone can still pull off many of the same tricks Apple's can, including shallow depth-of-field portraits through both its front and rear cameras, thanks to AI-powered computational photography. MORE: Pixel 3 and iPhone XS Photography: How They Stack Up In fact, the Pixel 3 has a few extra tricks. Top Shot is one such addition: it captures multiple frames before and after taking photos, then uses AI to recommend the best one. The Pixel 3's Super Res Zoom uses natural movement to enhance digital zoom, producing quality sometimes on a par with what you get from 2x optical zoom in some phones.