Introduction

Ease of Use

Front of the Google Pixel 4

For the purposes of this review, we’ve been using the standard sized Google Pixel 4, which has a 5.7-inch screen. This puts it as one of the smaller smartphones on the market, but you may find that you prefer a smaller phone - especially for example if you have smaller hands.

We’ve also been using the new colour for the Pixel 4 - “Orange” - which is actually more like a hot coral colour. Again, it’s down to personal preference whether or not you like it, but it’s certainly distinctive.

The Pixel has always had a slightly utilitarian appearance, but here we’ve got nicely rounded curves that give it a premium look.

Rear of the Google Pixel 4

One thing you’ll notice about the Pixel 4 display is the lack of a notch to house the front-facing camera - that’s the same on both the Pixel 4 and the Pixel 4 XL (the Pixel 3 XL did feature a notch).

By losing the notch, you lose out on a little bit of screen space, but the overall appearance is arguably more attractive.

The easiest way to launch the native camera app from the lock screen - or indeed any screen - is to double press the button on the side of the phone.

As we’ve seen from previous Pixel phones, the native camera app is a relatively straightforward setup. It doesn’t come complete with a huge array of different shooting modes, while enthusiasts may be disappointed by the lack of any kind of manual, advanced or “professional” mode.

The Google Pixel 4 's Camera Mode

On the plus side, it is possible to shoot in raw format (something which you need to select the from the app menu).

By default, the app launches in the standard “Camera” mode. This is the mode you’ll want to use for the majority of your shots. If you tap the screen, you’ll see some options appear.

First of all there’s the new control for adjusting brightness and shadows, which is controlled via two sliders on the right hand side of the screen. You can also tap a lock icon to enable AF/AE lock, which comes in handy if you’re photographing something with lots of areas of high contrast.

You’ll also notice a “1x” in a small circle which also appears on a slider. This refers to the zoom, and you can drag the slider along to move between the 1x lens, the 2x lens, and digital zoom options in between the two and beyond the 2x lens. You’ll be able to jump straight to the 2x zoom lens if you double tap quickly on the screen, too.

The Google Pixel 4's Shooting Modes

A small arrow at the top of the screen can be tapped to reveal some hidden options, which includes switching motion on/off, switching on the self-timer, switching on or off the flash, and choosing a different aspect ratio.

You’ll also see the option to switch on raw format shooting if you’ve already enabled this from the main menu. To get to that main menu, tap the cog icon and you’ll see a number of different settings which you can access and change, such as switching on camera sounds, saving the location of your photos and switching on “framing hints” - which gives you hints for taking better photos.

Moving back to the main shooting window - along the bottom of the screen (or to the right if you’re holding the phone in landscape orientation) - you’ll see all the other shooting modes which the camera offers.

To the left of the standard Camera mode, you’ll also find Portrait and Night Sight. To the right of Camera, there’s Video and a More option. Tapping the More option brings up choices including Panorama and Slow Motion. Unlike some other Android models, particularly from the Huawei brand, there isn’t a huge amount of choice here - which is likely to be disappointing for enthusiasts.

The Google Pixel 4's Image Playback

Night mode is something that we first saw on the Pixel 3. It works by merging together a series of short exposures for the effect of a long exposure, in low light.

New for the Pixel 4 is astro-photography mode, which is part of night mode and will be activated automatically when the phone detects the scene is appropriate. Living in a city it’s fairly hard to get it to activate, and during our time with it, we weren’t able to find a situation which triggered it, but it could be useful for those who take photos in more remote areas.

Portrait mode is something we’ve always been impressed by from the Pixel phones. Despite the name, it can be used with subjects other than humans, such as pets and still life.

Rear of the Google Pixel 4

It creates a shallow depth of field effect, and it will save two versions of the image on your phone - one with the effect applied, and one without - the latter can be useful if it doesn’t quite work out that well.

In video mode, you can shoot at up to 4K at 30fps. By shooting in Full HD, you'll get access to different frame rates - there’s 30fps and 60fps to choose from, or you can even leave it up to the phone to choose between the two.

Image Quality

All of the sample images in this review were taken using the 12 megapixel JPEG setting, which gives an average image size of around 4Mb.

We’ve been impressed with the quality of images from Pixel phones, right from the very first Pixel phone. Here on the Pixel 4, Google has built on what it already knows to produce a phone which offers its best image quality yet.

That said, the main benefit of this phone is the introduction of the telephoto lens, which allows you to get closer to the action without having to physically move closer.

As we’ve seen before, images directly from the camera are bright and punchy, with a good amount of detail. If you examine images closely on a computer screen, you can see some smudging, but it’s no less than we’d expect from a small sensor.

Images from the telephoto lens are also very good, but with a narrower aperture, aren’t quite as good in low light. Digital zoom is best avoided unless you’re absolutely desperate to get closer, as images taken with this setting show a fair bit of grain and loss of detail.

Being able to adjust brightness in specific areas of the shot is a good new facet of the native camera app, but it’s something which is software, rather than hardware specific.

Night mode continues to impress, but again, it performs best when shooting with the 1x zoom lens, rather than the telephoto option. Although it’s very good, it isn’t a noticeable leap in quality when compared to its predecessor, the Pixel 3.

The Pixel’s Portrait mode has always been one of its most impressive aspects, particularly when photographing non-human subjects. Here again, it produces excellent images but it doesn’t represent a huge jump in image quality from the Pixel 3.

Focal Range

The Google Pixel 4's two fixed lenses provide the focal lengths demonstrated below.

1x Zoom

2x Zoom

Digital Zoom

Macro

This macro shot shows how close you can get to the subject.

Flash

The flash settings on the Google Pixel 4 are Off, On and Auto. These shots of a white coloured wall were taken at a distance of 1.5m.

Wide-angle Lens - Flash Off

Wide-angle Lens - Flash On

Telephoto Lens - Flash Off

Telephoto Lens - Flash On

Night Sight Mode

The Night Sight mode is always available in the More menu, and the camera also prompts you to use it when it detects low-light levels. You can hand-hold the Pixel 4 for up to 6 seconds and still get sharp, well-exposed photos, as shown below.

Portrait Mode

The Google Pixel 4's portrait mode intelligently blurs the background whilst keeping the main subject sharp.

Sample Images

This is a selection of sample images from the Google Pixel 4 camera, which were all taken using the 12 megapixel JPEG setting. The thumbnails below link to the full-sized versions, which have not been altered in any way.

Sample RAW Images

The Google Pixel 4 enables users to capture RAW and JPEG format files. We've provided some Google RAW (DNG) samples for you to download (thumbnail images shown below are not 100% representative).

Sample Movies & Video

Product Images

Conclusion

Google has been producing smartphones which appeal to photographers for some time now, but the Pixel 4 feels like it has been a much softer launch than ever before. The fanfare surrounding it has been kept to a minimum, perhaps because it’s more of a refresh than a full-blown upgrade.

The biggest update here is the addition of the second lens to give you the option to shoot “telephoto” shots. However, with an f/2.4 maximum aperture, it’s not quite as well-suited to some other options on the market, including the iPhone 11 Pro.

That said, it’s perhaps fairer to compare the Pixel 4, at its price point, to the iPhone 11, where it more closely competes. With the iPhone 11, the second lens isn’t a telephoto option at all, it’s an ultra-wide-angle lens. Considering the prevalence of ultra-wide optics, it’s a bit of a shame not to have one here on the Pixel 4.

Aside from the extra lens, the quality of the images that the Pixel 4 is capable of producing hasn’t come on in huge leaps from the Pixel 3. Both Night Mode and Portrait mode are very impressive. That’s not necessarily a strong criticism, when you consider just how good the Pixel 3 was in the first place.

When it comes to price, the Pixel 4 might be a flagship model, but it goes head to head with some mid-range models, making it a fantastic option for those who don’t want to splash the huge asking prices of models from Apple, Huawei and Samsung.

Overall, if you already have a Pixel 3 then there’s not a huge amount here to demand an immediate upgrade. If you can live without the extra telephoto lens, then you might be better off waiting until the Pixel 5 makes its debut.

However, if you’re coming from either a different brand or an older version of the Pixel, it’s well worth taking a look at the new Google Pixel 4. For the next iteration, we’d love to see an ultra-wide-angle lens and perhaps some more control for enthusiasts.

Ratings (out of 5)
Design	4
Features	4
Ease-of-use	4
Image quality	4
Value for money	4.5

Main Rivals

Listed below are some of the rivals of the Google Pixel 4.

Review Roundup

Reviews of the Google Pixel 4 from around the web.

Specifications

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