Google's Pixel 3 XL has speed, fantastic software, an excellent camera, and unrivaled A.I. features you can't find anywhere else.

Excellent camera, Fluid software, useful A.I; features, Fast performance, Fingerprint-free rear glass design, Great screen, speakers

Mediocre battery life; The notch is really; really ugly; Photos can sometimes look too saturated

For the third year in a row, Google has released its own-brand smartphone under the PIxel label, in a choice of two sizes, to try and put into physical form its vision of what a mobile phone should be – a direct, Google-ified, Android rival to the iPhone .

Google aces the camera again; Screen is big and beautiful; Pixel Android and speedy updates

Did you notice that notch; Battery life is unspectacular; No in-screen fingerprint reader

It may not be a step change in performance, but this is an excellent Android phone nonetheless

The best Android experience; Excellent OLED screen; Superb camera

Average audio quality; No 3.5mm jack

Let's get the elephant out of the room, I am no fan of a notch, that's why I got the smaller pixel. Also because I have used a series of big phones, from Note 5 to Note 8, I miss the compactness of smaller phones.

Scott and I have already written up our preliminary thoughts on the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL , but now it's time to go a bit deeper into the phones that are front and centre of Google's idea of what Android on a phone should be.

Google Pixel 3 XL is currently Google's top Android smartphone of the year 2018 and it features the all-new Android 9.0 Pie out-of-the-box. Aside from the new Android software, the phone offers a camera that's almost unbeatable in its class, dual selfie cameras, a new glass design with wireless...

Sleek & Light Weight Design | Matte Glass Back | Solid Build Quality; Pure Android | Smooth UX | Faster Android Updates; Ming-Boggling Camera Performance | Wide-Angle Selfies; Unlimited Google Photos Storage (~3 Years; Crisp & Bright OLED Display; Top-Notch Performance (Snapdragon 845; Playground Is...

No 4K at 60fps; No Dual SIM Option; No microSD Support

Google Pixel 3 review: The Pixel 3 is the right phone for geeks and early adopters, but it's still not ready to be a mass premium seller like the iPhone XS and Galaxy S9.

The bezels are bigger than we'd like, and battery life could certainly be better, but if you want pure Android, speedy updates and one of the best smartphone cameras around, this – or the Pixel 3 XL – is the phone to choose.

Top-quality camera; Lots of power; Pure Android with speedy updates

Sub-par battery; Big bezels; Screen could be sharper

Perhaps ironically, software has always been the central conceit to what Google has offered with the first two generations of Pixel hardware. Try as you might, there's no shying away from this fact. Sure, the hardware is solid and delightfully minimalist but it's nothing unique.

Incredible photography; Slick software

Kinda boring hardware; Less battery life than the competition

Google is back with its third-generation smartphone and the larger of the two siblings packs a modest specification set, but what it lacks in hardware, it makes up for in software

Superior camera performance; Impressive battery life; Premium design and finish

Single rear camera can be limiting; No HDR10 or Dolby Vision; Notch is big and ugly