Motion Sense can detect three things: presence, reach and gestures. With presence, the phone detects whether you're near the device. If you are, it'll power-on the always-on display, and when you move away it'll turn the display off to preserve power. Google has looked to software rather than hardware to give its cameras the edge in recent years, and here it's added an improved ‘neural learning’ AI chip for improved software manipulation of images. The phone can survive a short submersion in water thanks to its IP68 water resistance rating, which we tested by dunking it in a park fountain without issue.

Google Pixel 4 - Smartphone 64GB, 6GB RAM, Dual Sim, Black

While there's not a whole lot that's new about the Pixel 4 compared to the Pixel 3, the design has been significantly updated. It immediately feels like a different device, especially if you opt for one of the matte finishes. Google says you'll need to head out of light-polluted cities and into the countryside to take advantage of this new mode, and you'll also need to brace the Pixel 4 against a stable surface, or mount it on a tripod or other support – only when the phone detects that it's fully stable will it be able to capture the 15 long-exposure shots required to produce a well-exposed and detailed image. It's not an especially stylish implementation, but it has allowed Google to group two cameras (the first time it's included a second snapper on the rear of a phone), the flash and sensors into one area. For the first time, a Pixel phone is on sale at all major carriers in the US as often Google's phones are just available on Verizon. The Pixel 4 is also available on AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, Xfinity, Spectrum and Google Fi. In the UK it’s available through Vodafone, EE, O2 and Three, as well as a selection of other smaller providers. This isn’t the best chipset available on the market at the time of writing – that honor goes the Snapdragon 855 Plus chipset that’s designed to be slightly better for gaming – but we found that the Pixel 4 loaded demanding apps and games without any issues. Software and appsGoogle's Night Sight mode, which sees the camera pull light seemingly from nowhere in ultra low-light situations for surprisingly bright, clear shots, gets an upgrade on the Pixel 4 as well – and it needs it, as competitors have caught up, with Huawei and Apple both now offering similarly strong night modes.

Google Pixel 4 review | TechRadar

The Pixel 4 display is smaller than those on most Android flagship phones, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t a top-level piece of tech. Google has also brought live HDR+ to the Pixel 4, which gives you a real-time on-screen preview of what your final image will look like, rather than simply applying the enhancements after you've snapped a photo. Round the front you get an 8MP selfie snapper (f/2.0, 90-degree field of view). It works perfectly well for selfie shots, though it’s missing the wide-angle front camera innovation we saw on the Pixel 3. The Google Pixel 4 was announced in early October 2019, and it was then put on sale on October 24 that same year. You can easily buy this device in the US, UK, Australia and a variety of other markets around the world.The software on the Google Pixel 4 also works smoothly. On-screen you'll find Android 10, the latest version of Google's mobile operating system, which features the firm's smart assistant baked into its core and new gesture controls. There's a new way to activate Assistant too: with a swipe-up gesture from the bottom-right corner of the screen. Alternatively, you can still use the wake word "Hey Google" or squeeze sides of the Pixel 4 – as you can on the Pixel 3 and Pixel 2 – to bring the voice assistant to life. We often found the Google Pixel 4 wouldn’t last a full day after we took it off charge often at around 7am, with the phone dying by the early evening – and with intensive usage it often didn’t last longer than the early afternoon. It's not a 'compact' device – those with smaller palms may still need to employ both hands to comfortably use the Pixel 4 – but it’s certainly easier to use one-handed than its larger sibling.