Google Pixel 3 XL Tremendous Notch

Just came back after taking a closer look at the Google Pixel 3 and Google Pixel 3 XL. I have to say that at least when it comes to design, I am very disappointed.

First of all, let's talk about the Google Pixel XL, the largest device of the two. A bit on the specs. The phone is a IP68 water and dust resistant phone. It comes with a large 6.3-inch P-OLED display with 1330x2960 pixel resolution, featuring Gorilla Glass 5, running Android 9.0 Pie and using the Snapdragon 845 chipset. The phone has a rear-facing camera with a wide-angle 28mm f/1.8 lens in front of a 12.2MP resolution sensor.

It has two front-facing selfie cameras, the first an 8MP f/1.8 wide-angle 28mm equivalent with Autofocus and a second 8MP f/2.2 ultrawide lens with no autofocus system.

Now for the design. The Pixel 3 XL is almost identical to the Pixel 2 XL in term of size, it's only 0.1mm taller but has the same width and depth as its predecessor. The back has a rounded corners accent color bottom compared to the 2 XL that has a straight lined one.

The Pixel XL is a notch phone, so unlike the Pixel 2 XL, it has a quite prominent notch at the top of the screen. In fact, it's probably the biggest notch I have ever seen in a phone, and it looks kind of funny if you ask me.

The Google Pixel 3 XL notch looks like a brick heavily protruding into the screen's area. It makes me wonder why Google has decided to use this big notch in the first place. Is it only because of the stereo speakers and is it really worth it? I guess users will be a judge of that, but I'm sure there will be some debates about that huge notch.

The 3 XL chin isn't slim either, it's quite larger but seems to be similar to that of the Google Pixel 2 XL. Overall, the phone does look quite unattractive from the front. Is it better than not having a notch?

The Pixel 3 (the non-XL model doesn't have a notch. It's more similar to the Pixel 2 phone, aside from the fact that it features much slimmer top and bottom bezels. The Pixel 2 had huge bezels, so it's a welcomed change. The Pixel 2 looks like the XL but without the notch cutouts So in some way, it gives you an option to see how the Pixel phone looks better, with or without a notch, and the answer here, for me, was that I prefer it with the notch than without it.

The Pixel 3 has a smaller 5.5-inch display but still rocks the same dual-selfie camera at the front. Other specs seem to be more or less the same, but because I am into talking more about the design than the specs, I recommend visiting GSMarena or PhoneArena to check out the exact specs yourself and compare the two.

So as far as the design goes, the Google Pixel 3 XL and Pixel 3 turn out to be a disappointment. This is a flagship device, don't forget it and right now it seems that Google is behind the competition in terms of phone design. Do we need to wait yet another year to see a significant design change to make the Pixel 3 look like a modern flagship phone?