My Experience with the Google Pixel 3: Six Months Later

I first introduced the Google Pixel 3 to my daily life just over six months ago, and since then, I've learned a lot about what makes this phone truly special. One of the most striking aspects of the Pixel 3 is its camera. I'm still in love with it, and I find myself forgetting about the quality when I'm taking photos of everyday things like food, animals, or pets. However, when I need to take a photo in a challenging situation, such as in a dark bar or while moving, the camera consistently delivers excellent results. The Night Sight feature is particularly impressive, allowing me to capture images that are almost indistinguishable from those taken with flash.

The Pixel 3's camera has been a game-changer for me, and I've become accustomed to its exceptional quality. However, not all aspects of the phone have been as seamless. One issue that has arisen is call quality problems, which some users have reported on Reddit and Google forums. These issues include echoing, tinny audio, and delayed voices that stack up on each other. While these problems are frustrating, I haven't personally experienced them, but I know how annoying they can be. In such cases, I would recommend filing a complaint with Google and requesting a replacement as soon as possible. It's reassuring to know that I'm not alone in this situation.

Another issue that has been reported is the mic flashing a bright white light for a second before unlocking the phone. This jarring effect has been particularly annoying for me, but fortunately, I've found a workaround by turning off the ambient display. While it hasn't resolved the issue entirely, it's provided some relief. It's also worth noting that Google is issuing a fix for this problem in April, which I'm hopeful will provide a permanent solution.

In addition to its camera and call quality issues, there are a few other features on the Pixel 3 that have become integral to my daily life. One of these is Screen, an app that has been instrumental in combating spam calls. With three or four calls per day, it's a problem that affects many people, but Screen provides a sense of satisfaction and control. I've also found myself using Digital Wellbeing, a software feature designed to limit user time on the phone and certain apps. It's been eye-opening for me, as it's helped me set boundaries and reduce my screen time. On average, I spend about two hours per day looking at screens, which is good but not great. However, when I'm aware of how much time I've spent on my phone, I feel motivated to do better.

One feature that has been less impressive for me is Google Duplex's reservation system for Assistant. While the idea sounds convenient, I find it creepy to have a robot call another human person on my behalf. Additionally, I prefer to make reservations directly with humans, ensuring that they get my date and time correctly. Overall, while there are some quirks with the Pixel 3, I remain deeply satisfied with this phone.

Looking ahead, there's excitement about what Google has in store for us. The Pixel 4 XL is already on the horizon, and rumors suggest that a cheaper Pixel 3 model, possibly called Pixel 3 Lite, might be released earlier this year. This would bring more affordable options to those who want the benefits of a Pixel phone without breaking the bank. While I'm not sure what to expect from these rumored releases, I'm hopeful that they'll continue to improve upon the already excellent design and functionality of the Pixel 3.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enGoogle lunch the pixel three October of last year and since then it's been one of the best phones available I made it my daily Android driver and I've learned a lot of things that weren't so obvious the first time I handled the phone so here are the key takeaways I've learned since first the camera y'all knew I was gonna talk about this I'm still so in love with pixel threes camera when I use it every day I kind of forget about the quality when I'm out taking pictures of my friends or my food or animals or pets and dogs that I see on the street I just take a photo and then I don't really think about the quality but when I'm in a really hard situation like a really dark bar or I'm in a moving vehicle and I take a photo and it turns out effortlessly great I'm just reminded every once in a while how great this camera is especially night sight night sight I don't think I'll ever go back to flash again you just take a photo and it could be completely almost art okay not completely dark don't quote me on that but the photo will turn out great and clear and I just am really impressed by the camera next up is call quality issues I personally haven't experienced this but there are enough reports online on Reddit and on Google forums that I'd be kind of remiss not to talk about this users reported things like echoing and really tinny audio and voices kind of delaying and then stacking up on each other which is really really annoying Google hasn't released a reliable fix on this and these are kind of the issues that only come to light months after a launch I remember the first pixel had issues with its microphone back in 2017 and I guess it just hasn't hit critical mass yet that Google has released an official fix and it's really annoying so my advice is at the moment there's any issues with your microphone or your call quality you just need you need a file complaint return it and get a replacement as soon as possible and know that you are not alone in this situation one issue that I have been experiencing personally is that mic will flash a really white bright light for one second before I unlock it and it's really jarring and I had some fix I read online that there were some fixes and that includes turning the ambient display off and for a while that worked for me but then every once in a while it does pop up again and it does worry me that it will just get worse apparently Google is issuing a fix for this this April and I haven't downloaded it yet but I'm kind of hopeful it works because the ambient display turning that offf worked for a little bit and so a lot of other people have been been experiencing this and saying that it's been fixed so I'm hopeful myself so switching to something I do like is called screen I use call screen unfortunately way too much that's because I get a lot of spam calls I get it three or four times a week a day sometimes and it's a really big modern-day problem that affects a lot of people Verizon released an app to try to combat Robo calling and the FCC is trying to sue and find these companies that do these Robo calling calls and for me there's just something really satisfying to turn on call screen see the spammers call and see the text read out and then either hang up or see them hang up on me there's something really satisfying about that and it's just something that I use a lot one thing that I don't see myself using that's related to that is Google duplexes reservation system for Assistant which enables assistant to make reservations on your behalf and I just don't see myself using that one I think it's a little creepy to have a robot you know call this other human person who may not be expecting it and also like I like calling other humans making sure that they got my date and time and reservation correctly so yeah one thing that is on the pixel and available on other Android phones is digital well being digital well being is a software feature that is supposed to limit user time on the phone and certain apps and I use it a lot it's really eye-opening for me I like to not look at screens after work especially from looking at screens all day and so digital well-being helps me set those kinds of boundaries on average I spend about two hours a day looking at my phone which is good not great it's below the national average of three hours but I always feel like I could do better and on the weekends when I look and I see that I only spend like 30 or 45 minutes looking at my phone I feel really accomplished and I also limit myself with certain apps like Instagram makes me feel super self-conscious after scrolling after a while so I've limited myself for 15 minutes and it's actually felt really great that I could when I see that little timer go up with a notification go up saying you know you have five minutes left or we're going to like turn this app off it's nice to set the phone down and be like okay I can go outside now or something so it's been really good so there you have it pixel three six months in I still super love the phone and we're looking forward to what Google has next obviously there's the pixel for in the four XL but there's a rumored pixel 3 light that might come out earlier this year and it's just basically going to be a cheaper pixel for with maybe the pixel Drees camera and I'm excited it means it's more affordable for people and we look forward to seeing that maybe who knows\n"