With Samsung, the biggest seller of Android handsets, suffering from some serious issues, is Google getting its chance to shine? Last week the search giant introduced two new smartphones: the Google Pixel and Pixel XL. In this article, we’ll be taking a look at a trio of handsets that are available in a bid to see whether the Google Pixel XL can stand up to the other two in an on-paper comparison.
Google Pixel XL vs. Nexus 6P vs. OnePlus 3 vs. LG V20: sizes and weights compared
To start with, we’re going to look at the size and weight of all four handsets. The Google Pixel XL is a phablet-sized smartphone with generous proportions. The search giant has avoided the 4.7-inch miniature size still embraced by Apple and instead directly competes with its Android brethren.
At 154.7 x 75.7 x 8.5 mm, it’s not the largest or smallest handset in this comparison. However, it is the thickest, at 8.5 mm, by a large 0.9 mm difference. It weighs 168 grams, which makes it a middleweight compared to its competitors, although that isn’t bad considering the size of the handset.
Next, we have the Nexus 6P, which has been around for a year. Like the Google Pixel XL, it’s a big handset, with the following measurements: 159.3 x 77.8 x 7.3 mm. It is larger than the previous handset but also 1.3 mm thinner. It tips the scales as the heaviest handset in this comparison, coming in at 178 grams, a good 10 grams heavier than the Pixel.
Launched in June, the OnePlus 3 is another flagship handset the Google Pixel has to compete with. Overall, it is smaller than the Google Pixel XL. It measures 152.7 x 74.7 x 7.4 mm, meaning that it is smaller in height, length, and thickness. It also weighs less, with 10 grams to its advantage, coming in at 158 grams, to be precise.
Next up is the LG V20, which was launched in September but overshadowed by the iPhone 7. It’s the successor to the very popular modular G5 handset. This is the largest handset being compared at 159.7 x 78.1 x 7.6 mm. However, it’s still 0.9 mm thinner than the Pixel. It’s heavier than the Pixel, but not the heaviest of the four compared here, coming in at 174 grams.
Displays compared
All four handsets in this comparison have displays of similar sizes. They can be split into two groups, one with 5.5-inch screens and the other with 5.7-inch displays. Starting with the smaller group, we have the Google Pixel XL and the OnePlus 3. Both feature 5.5-inch AMOLED touch screens and protection from damage in the form of Corning Gorilla Glass 4, but from there, they differ. The Pixel’s resolution is 1440 x 2560 with 534ppi, while the OnePlus 3’s resolution is 1080 x 1920 and 401ppi.
Moving onto the two larger displays, we have the Nexus 6P and LG V20; both have 5.7-inch screens. The resolution of the displays on these handsets is identical at 1440 x 2560 pixels. However, the ppi is slightly different, with the Nexus 6P having 518ppi and the LG V20 having 518ppi.
Cameras compared
Camera specs on modern-day Android handsets can be very similar and difficult to tell apart. So with Apple introducing the iPhone 7 Plus with its dual-lens setup, many now believe the hype that surrounds it and the fact that Apple has said it’s the best camera available on a smartphone. However, with the Google Pixel XL, we have another manufacturer claiming that its camera is the best.
The Pixel has a 12MP rear camera with an f/2.0 aperture, plus a dual-tone dual-LED flash. Also it benefits from HDR+, which apparently gives absolutely no shutter lag. The front-facing camera is 8MP with an aperture of f/2.4.
In comparison, the Nexus 6P has a 12.3MP rear camera with an f/2.0 aperture. Also there’s a dual-LED dual-tone flash and laser auto-focus. Like the Google Pixel XL, its front-facing camera has an 8MP sensor and an identical f/2.4 aperture.
Next, there’s the OnePlus 3 with a 16MP rear camera. On paper, this would seem to be the better camera so far, especially when you take into account its aperture size of f/2.0. However, that’s not all; it also benefits from face detection and HDR. Its front-facing camera also is 8MP, but it has the same aperture size as its primary camera at f/2.0.
Last up we have the LG V20, which has a dual-lens 16MP camera and the largest aperture of the cameras compared. At f/1.8 and f/2.4, its dual-lens setup is a promising one and maybe something that can take on the camera on the iPhone 7 Plus. Its front-facing camera has a 5MP sensor, which is the smallest megapixel count in this article. Its aperture size is also large at f/1.9.
Chipsets, storage and RAM compared
Because there are so many Android handset manufacturers, it is common for them to use the same chipsets. As such, the Google Pixel XL and the three other handsets all feature chipsets from Qualcomm. The Pixel has the Snapdragon 821 chip, which has quad-core 2×2.15 GHz Kryo and 2×1.6 GHz Kryo CPUs, plus 4G of RAM. As for internal storage, it comes in 64GB and 128GB variations.
Next, there’s the Nexus 6P, which is the oldest handset being compared. So as you would expect, it also has the oldest chipset, which is the Snapdragon 810. According to its specs, it runs octa-core 4×1.55 GHz Cortex-A53 and 4×2.0 GHz Cortex-A57 CPUs. It has 3GB of RAM and three storage capacity options: 32GB, 64GB, and 128GB.
The OnePlus 3 has a Snapdragon 820 chipset which runs quad-core 2×2.15 GHz Kryo and 2×1.6 GHz Kryo CPUs. There’s only one storage option, which is 64GB. However, it offers the most RAM at 6GB.
Lastly, there’s the LG V20, which was launched in September and has an older chipset than the Google Pixel XL. With the Snapdragon 820, it’s running two CPUs, a 2×2.15 GHz Kryo and a 2×1.6 GHz Kryo. As for storage capacity, it has two options, 32GB and 64GB, and also comes with 4GB of RAM.
Specs compared
