Google announced the third generation of its Pixel phones last week , once again with regular- and XL-sized variants. I was given the Pixel 3 XL to review, and I absolutely love it... except for the hideous notch.

The Pixel 3 is a great phone. It's not the Android phone designed to appeal to everyone. It's the Android phone designed to appeal to everyone else. It has a great camera, better build quality, improved screen, updated water-resistance rating, fast charging and wireless charging, new chipset, and...

Outstanding camera Great screen Better build quality Wireless charging Very smooth software Bundled Pixel Buds

Average battery life Screen brightness

The hounding influx of new smartphones, slipping into the market every other day, can be tiring but there are select smartphones that cut through this noise and still manage to keep you raring and interested.

Scratch-resistant glass design; IP68 rating; Striking display rated among best by DisplayMate; Mind-blowing and unbeatable camera; Wide-angle selfies; AR characters and Google Lens built into the camera app; Front-facing stereo speakers; Wireless charging and Pixel Stand support; MIMO Wi-Fi

Lacking RAM; 4K video capped to 30fps; Poor notch optimization in YouTube; Disabling the Notch is unnecessarily complicated; Inability to disable navigation gestures

It's a testament to just how high expectations are for the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL that, even after months of the Google phones leaking, interest in them remains high. Now, the pair of Android 9 Pie handsets are finally headed to shelves, promising the cutting-edge in Google's computational...

Camera technology leads the pack; Elegant; tactile glass & metal design; Wireless charging is a welcome addition; OLED screens look great

Pixel 3 XL notch is divisive; More expensive than last year's Google phones; Still no headphone jack

If there's one thing I wanted from the Google Pixel 3 XL, it's that it didn't make a repeat of last year. The Pixel 2 XL was an otherwise cracking phone but its flawed display held it back from greatness.

Fabulous camera; Superb performance; Android Pie goodness

Mediocre battery life; No secondary rear camera

A device is more than the sum of its parts. In the three years since Google first introduced the Pixel series of smartphones, it has consistently proved that plain and simple hardware specs do not matter as much as Google's OEM partners would have you believe.

The Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL were unveiled a week ago in Google's third attempt at establishing itself as a serious player in the premium smartphone segment. There really weren't many surprises to be had on the hardware front, as all the leaks and rumours we'd seen in the months leading up to the...

The Pixel 3 doesn't stand out in any specific areas - and lags behind in one or two - but what it does do is bring together all of its functions to form a whole that feels genuinely smart, deploying clever AI and software tweaks to create something that's genuinely useful.

Outstanding camera; Incredibly smart AI features; Gorgeous design

Disappointing battery life; Not the fastest

Google has announced the latest models in its Pixel range of smartphones: the

The Google Pixel 3 can shoot incredible photos and videos, plus they leverage some pretty amazing AI and machine learning feature. Some of them you'll use. Some you won't.