For as long as I’ve had a smartphone, I’ve had phones from the Android market. When my Samsung Galaxy S7 led me to the end of my rope after two years, I decided that I’d like to branch out. I knind of felt compelled to go with the Google Pixel 3 after seeing all of the commercials on its cool camera features. On Black Friday, we waited in line in the crowded Verizon store to get this deal on my new phone.

The above picture was the first photo I took on this phone. I hadn’t bothered to dig around and check out all the features yet. Not a bad picture for the first one, though.

Thoughts on Google Pixel 3 Build and Design

The 1st thing to note about the phone is that it has the Gorilla Glass 5 back, which makes it more compatible with wireless charging. This also means it’s super fragile, and I was sure to get a case on it right away. I heard of too many stories of people breaking their phones right out of the box. It was a good thing we had just done a review on the UAG Plyo case. I really liked the blue gel look. Mine looks a bit darker than this since I have a black phone.

I should note that even the glass backing is not easily scratched. You can scratch it with a key and the scratch will rub right out with a finger. It’s kind of amazing. I’m sure over time it could get dinged up without a case- just like any other phone I’ve had in the past.

Favorite Features of the Google Pixel 3

Pixel 3 Camera

Taking photos is my life. I have some great subjects to be part of my photography. I’d love a DSLR camera, but they can also be bulky to carry everywhere. I need a good alternative, and I’m glad to have that on my phone.

I’m not huge into selfies, but every year at Thanksgiving, my daughter takes a group selfie of our family. It’s not easy to get the five of us in there, but with the new Group Selfie Cam on the Pixel 3, it will be much easier. Here’s a commercial everyone has probably already seen on the need for this feature…

Then, there is Top Shot- that will make sure if you take a picture, you can possibly get a redo without the person blinking, or the shot where everyone is actually looking at the camera all at once.

And Night Sight- so you can take great pictures in poorly lighted areas without the flash. Just gotta make sure to hold your camera still…

There’s a lot of other good things I could go on and on about photo features. When you first get your Pixel 3, make sure you enable flip camera with Settings > System > Gestures > Flip Camera. This will help you flip to your selfie cam with a flick of the wrist.

Digital Wellbeing

Another great feature is built into settings. Digital Wellbeing will tell you that it’s time to put the phone down and go to bed. You can set it to a certain time where it turns your phone color to grey scale, so you are less tempted to play on apps that will keep you up at night. This is called “Wind-Down.” It will tell you how long you have spent on an app that day, and will allow you to set timers for apps.

There is also the ability to turn on the “night light” feature, which reduces the harshness of the blue light. We’ve seen people sell glasses for kids to use that do the same thing, but this is now built into your phone! Another feature will give you the ability to “shhh” your phone when it is flipped and placed on its face.

Some downfalls of the Google Pixel 3

The Pixel 3 has a 2900 mAh battery. I use my phone too much to get it through just one charge a day. The Pixel 3 XL has a better chance of making it through the day with a little larger battery. Battery life isn’t the end of the world with all of the wireless chargers out, there, though. Google is also selling its new Pixel Stand, a vertical charging pad that charges the Pixel 3 wirelessly at 10w. It also functions as a stand that pretty much turns your phone into a Google Home Hub. I’d like to look into it.

Speaking of battery, this phone charges through the same port you use for Google Pixel earbuds. The phone DOES come with these wired earbuds. Apparently the Pixel 2 did not. There is also an adapter that comes with the phone so you can use a wired pair of earbuds that you may already have. You can’t charge and listen at the same time, though, unless one or both of these tasks are done wirelessly.

My other qualm is that there is no way to add storage on this phone through SD cards. You have to use your 64 GB judiciously, but at least there is free unlimited storage online for all your photos through Google.

Conclusion

The Google Pixel 3 is a phone that I do enjoy, and I’ve only touched on the surface of some of its features. The Pixel 3 currently costs $799 for the 64GB version. Thankfully, I got a great deal through my contract at Verizon, but still a good price for what you get with this phone.

Note: This review was done without the usual free review models we get. Google is in no way sponsoring us, and no money was given to us in exchange for our fair and unbiased opinions.