My experience with the Pixel 3 XL and S9+

I've owned the S9+for about 5 months and the Pixel 3 XL for a month. Here is my in-depth overall analysis:

Display:

The displays are equally great on both phones. However, S9's is noticeably brighter, and contents are just more easier to see specially under sunlight. Also I've found S9's auto-brightness to be nicer? It would almost always adjust to the brightness I want, where as Pixel 3 XL is more inconsistent. Not sure if that's software related, but I know that Samsung devices since Note7 has had an additional ambient light sensor on the back that might be helping.

Sound:

My Pixel 3 XL speaker has certain buzzing sound at certain frequencies, which seems to be a very common issue with the phone. But even without the buzzing, I think the S9+ has a nicer audio overall. S9+ seems to pack more "base" and "fullness" where as Pixel 3 XL sounds bit more flat. Also I miss the EQ on the S9+ so much specially after getting the new Sony Wireless Headphones which doesn't use LDAC if you enable its builtin EQ.

Build and design:

For design, I like the S9+'s more for sure but I do personally think the Pixel 3XL's back design is nicer. However, one area people don't talk about is how the phones feel in the hand. The S9+ feels very ergonomic? The back glass curves feel really nice when you hold it, and the phone is much thinner overall because of how the edges curve.

Camera:

This is easily the Pixel 3 XL's biggest strength. The photo quality is amazing, and incredibly consistent. Portrait mode is incredible. Now the S9+ also packs an amazing camera with great dynamic range, but the HDR processing is more inconsistent, and doesn't handle motion in low light well. Photos just look more softer overall on the S9+. I think the biggest weakness of the S9+'s camera is honestly just how aggressive noise-reduction Samsung applies to it. It would be nice if Samsung gave us an option to reduce them.

For videos I think S9+ is slightly better in terms of details and audio but, I never really record videos so not something I care.

Performance:

Both are high performing phones in general. People might disagree with me on this, but I think S9+ has a more stable and consistent performance. I've noticed some "freezes" and "delays" become an issue on the Pixel 3 XL specially sometimes when opening/leaving an app. I definitely think this is due to the 4GB RAM limitation. I assume the system is forced to clean up and swap resources more frequently than S9+, thus causing more inconsistent performance.

Now, in app smoothness is mostly the same, and both have fluid scrolling performance.

Battery:

The on screen drain is mostly similar, with the S9+ edging out slightly. Also, Pixel 3 XL lacks a LED notification light, so I'm forced to use Always on Display thus resulting in a worse standby drain on the P3XL.

Software:

I can't really comment on this since it's subjective. I personally appreciate stock android, but also love the extra features of Samsung's software. Plus, the S9 just got a new One UI with Pie which I have not yet tried.

My verdict is that both are great phones, but I think overall S9+ is the better phone for most people. However, if you want the best camera, then Pixel 3XL is a no brainer.

Submitted November 28, 2018 at 04:43PM by itsybitsycode https://ift.tt/2QuwZis https://ift.tt/eA8V8J