Google Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL goes official for $799 and $899 respectively

While the Google Pixel 3 is probably the worse kept secret of all smartphone leaks we have seen, not to forget to mention that it already went on sale at a Hong Kong retailer before launch date, the Pixel 3 is finally official at long last.

Rather than an entire hardware revamp, the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL are very much iterative updates to the older devices.

For starters, both devices are powered by the Snapdragon 845 chip and surprisingly, Google is still keeping 4GB RAM for both devices with either 64GB or 128GB of onboard storage, there’s also no way to expand the storage either, which you will need to resort to Google Drive storage if you need more storage.

While the specs aren’t actually interesting, the Pixel 3 and 3XL now feature bigger displays at 5.5-inches and 6.3-inches respectively, both devices have reduced screen bezels, which is fortunately not going to be as big as their predecessors.

The Pixel 3 XL has a notch like any other modern Android smartphones, which you probably won’t find it as annoying since Google has made optimizations on Android Pie to tackle the screen cropping issues, while admittedly this is already one of the most popular full screen designs to go with smartphones these days.

Another convention that Google has stuck to the Pixel 3 and 3XL is a single rear 12.2-megapixel camera, that’s fine considering that the Pixel 2’s single camera outperforms many other phones with dual lenses.

However, that doesn’t mean Google isn’t doing anything at all to the main camera, as it is reportedly to come with better performance with AI enhancements, things such as a new Top Shot option helps select the best image from burst shots, flaw detection and Super Res Zoom are new software features that helps you take better pictures on it.

In addition, the front now comes with two camera lenses, one that takes wide-angle and the other a standard selfie angle lens, which we expect it to be really good when it comes to taking front facing group photos.

Otherwise, the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL now supports wireless charging at 10W, which obviously you are getting a glass back for that purpose; if you prefer, you can also purchase the optional $79 Pixel Stand that charges your phone wirelessly, which shows information from Google Assistant when you place the phone on it.

The new Pixels will ship with Android Pie and will be available starting October 18th. In the US, Verizon Wireless will remain the only carrier that you can get the phone on contract, otherwise you’ll need to purchase the unlocked version from Google through the company’s Project Fi mobile service, which will set you back for $799 for the Pixel 3 and $899 for the Pixel 3 XL.

Fortunately for us Malaysians, you can probably head on over to Singapore to get one if you are interested.