Others will appreciate the fact that it doesn't have an ugly notch cut out at the top, a design choice deal breaker for many. It's screen size is big enough, yet the phone handfeel is rather manageable. That's the best reason to choose the Pixel 3 over the Pixel 3 XL. It easily fits in one hand, and, for the most part, you can operate it without resorting to using two hands. There's a more seamless transition between the two textures for a higher-quality look and feel, but overall its look hasn't changed dramatically. The Pixel 3 retains Google's familiar two-tone design – the back has shiny glass at the top, while lower 80% has a matte finish. Watch our first impressions of the Google Pixel 3 in video form below. On top of that, newer phones have come along to question the Pixel 3's smartphone camera superiority, like the Huawei P30 Pro, so is it still at the top of our list of the best camera phones? Read on to find out. The new phones retain some of the cutting-edge features of the Pixel 3 range, although they do lower a few specs too, so if you're keen to get your hands on one of Google's handsets, consider checking out our reviews of the newest devices to see if they're better for you.

Since its release, though, Google has also launched the Google Pixel 3a and Google Pixel 3a XL,mid-range alternatives to the high-end Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL. And, unlike the comparable, one-hand-friendly iPhone XS, it’s cheap – at least by 20 flagship standards. It has the camera smarts and Android Pie-powered AI smarts of the Pixel 3 XL, without the awkward notch cut-out at the top. The Google Pixel 3 is the ideal smartphone for anyone who cares about photo quality and isn’t satisfied with their phone’s picture-taking abilities today. And, as much as we laud the behind-the-scenes camera software and Night Sight mode in our tests, the app doesn’t have all of Samsung's and LG's neat camera app tricks. You’re also stuck with 64GB or 128GB – there’s no microSD card slot, and worse still, no headphone jack. Snapping 100 great photos in two hours seriously tanked our unit's battery. The battery falls short of larger phones at a 2,915mAh capacity, though it still offers all-day battery life with conservative use in our tests. You’re not going to get everything in this small package.

Looking for the Pixel 3's big brother? Check out our hands-on Google Pixel 3 XL review.

Google pixel 3 case with card slot