Google's Pixel 4 boasts double camera, face-unlocking, ups game with Apple
October 15, 2019
Google launched its 2019 flagship smartphones, Pixel 4 and Pixel 4 XL, in the Made by Google event on Tuesday, boasting double camera and face-unlocking features in the new phones and upping the game with Apple's iPhones.
The Alphabet Inc-owned company has added new colours, finishes, and some truly innovative photography features in its new devices. Pixel 4 and 4 XL introduce face-unlocking — another addition that brings Pixels in line with the competition although Google claims it’s the fastest available.
Using a new radar chip, the new Google smartphones are able to start unlocking themselves when you reach for the phone and, then, fully unlock when they see the user's face.
Radar also gives the device gesture recognition via Motion Sense.
The concept is similar to what one would find on other Android handsets but this one is significantly more sophisticated, distinguishing accidental gestures from intentional ones. Use these and one can easily skipping songs, turn the screen on, and wave to your animated wallpaper.
All of the processing is done on device and users can turn it off for privacy.
Google also managed to add in a pretty solid camera with this combo. There is a pair of cameras on the back — a 16-megapixel wide angle and a 12.2MP telephoto lens each. When coupled with the computational photography Google has been pushing for a number of years now, those cameras ought to make this a formidable competitor to Apple's iPhone 11.
The camera utilises a combination of optical and digital zoom (Super-res Zoom) to take pretty impressive close-up shots.
It also seems pretty impressive on low-light shots, improving on earlier Night Sight offerings. Further, its Live HDR+ is able to approximate final HDR shots in real-time to offer users a better idea of what the final photo would look like.
Pixel 4 comes in a standard and XL version, at screens of 5.7 (full HD+) and 6.3 inches (Quad HD+), respectively. Pixel 4 XL, however, bagged an A+ from display Mate, according to the company.
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