Google Pixel 4, Pixel 4 XL launched with big hardware, software upgrade: Price, specifications

Google Pixel 4 is finally here. The annual upgrade to the Google Pixel series comes with a range of new features, driven by advanced software and upgraded hardware under the hood. As expected, Google Pixel 4 comes with deeper Assistant integration as well as air gesture features based on Soli radar motion sensing chip.

Google Pixel 4 series will be available at a starting price of $799 ( ₹57,000 approximately). The Pixel 4 XL price starts at $899 ( ₹64,200 approximately). The phones will be available starting October 24 in the US. Pixel 4 comes in three colors, including Clearly White, Just Black, and a limited edition, Oh So Orange.

In terms of design, Google Pixel 4 and Pixel 4 XL phones are a big departure from the last generation Pixel 3 series. The wobbly notch is gone and comes in a thick bezel on the top. The bezel houses a bunch of sensors such as face unlock IR camera, front facing camera, ambient light/proximity sensor, audio port, soli radar chip, face unlock dot projector, face unlock flood illuminator.

These sensors enable air gesture features. For instance, you can skip a song or snooze alarm by just waving your hand. Another remarkable upgrade is the absence of fingerprint sensor on the new Pixel 4. Google is now betting on Face Unlock as the go-to biometric authentication - a move Apple took a couple of years back with iPhone X. Google, however, says its new Face ID is much more efficient as it allows users to unlock even when the phone is placed upside down. You can use Face ID to make app payments and authenticate logins on compatible applications. Google says users will have the option to disable motion sensors. 

Google also unveiled a new voice recording application. The recording app can real-time transcribe audio into text. The app also has a search functionality allowing users to search for voice clip based on keywords. Google's new voice recording app also works fine.

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Google Pixel 4, Pixel 4 XL Full Specifications

Google Pixel 4 comes with a 5.7-inch full HD+ OLED display. Google Pixel 4 XL has a larger 6.3-inch Quad HD+ OLED display. The phones come with 90Hz refresh rate. Unlike other 90Hz phones, Google Pixel can automatically adjust the refresh rate to help save battery. Both the smartphones run on Android 10 out-of-the-box and powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 processor with 6GB of RAM.

Google Pixel 4 series comes with dual camera. The phones have a telephoto lens and live HDR+. The camera comes with dual exposure controls. The HDR+ settings allow users to adjust brightness and shadows. The phone comes with improved Portrait and macro modes. The Night Sight mode also been improved and comes with an "astrophotography" mode (Google recommends tripod for nightsky photos). Google said it will soon improve the camera with future updates.

Google Pixel 4 series come with 12.2-megapixel primary lens (f/1.7 aperture, 77-degree field of view) and 16-megapixel telephoto lens (f/2.4 aperture and 52-degree field of view). On the front, Google Pixel 4 and Pixel 4 XL offer an 8-megapixel camera f/2.0 aperture and 90-degree field of view.