Thoughts on Pixel 4?

I assume your using an iPhone?

I’m using a Pixel 4 XL. Lastpass fully identifies me by my face. I wish other apps did as well.

1 Like

Hmmmm… I don’t see a setting for that. Only for the fingerprint. It always prompts me for a password.

Ah, they just released an update supporting this. Got it! Thanks

I ordered the 4xl orange 64gb or whatever it is because of that reason. I should be ok with that. I don’t run a lot of apps. And don’t keep a lot locally.

So, after a few days of use I managed to get this thing on a tripod and try some astrophotography mode shots.

Although I live in the suburbs, light pollution is generally low but was still an issue with the new night mode. Some liberal use of the Dehaze tool in Lightroom does reveal a lot of stars being captured.

The moon light caused it to freak out a little, but still impressive.

In the end however, I’m not sure how often I would use this.

2 Likes

I just got the 4 XL today. Here are some initial thoughts -

  • The app and data transfer from the old phone (2 XL) certainly went smoothly. I’m glad Google put some effort into this since it makes setting up the new phone less of a chore. I still need to sign in to a bunch of apps and tweak settings, but way better than starting from scratch.
  • Oh So Orange could be a bit more orange.
  • The matte finish on the back is pretty nice. No more glossy finger print magnets. Overall the phone’s design looks nice.
  • Face unlock is pretty quick, and seems to work well. The only problem I’ve found so far is trying to unlock while outside with sunglasses on (no dice). It’d be nice to be able to store two or more different face profiles.
  • It’s nice that Lastpass added the face unlock biometric. If you are already looking at your phone and logging into an app , the Lastpass popup is pretty instantaneous.
  • Performance overall is very snappy.

Hmm… I am a bit of a Oakley fan and have about 6 pairs, and when I need sun protection I switch them out regularly, plus I have a couple of different pairs of reading glasses. So unless I am an anomaly, you’re basically asking for it to disregard that portion of the face for identifying you… which is probably less secure, but way more convenient.

The Windows facial recognition feature (Windows Hello Camera) seems fine with my reading glasses… so I wonder how they manage it. (I am not terribly worried about security here, so this is why I use Windows Hello.) I’ve never tried them with sunglasses, as who wears sunglasses indoors, but I must try it once sometime in the future for a lark.

I just tried the 4 XL indoors with both sunglasses and reading glasses. It seemed to unlock with no problems. It might have been a glitch when I was outdoors, or maybe the bright sun reflecting off the glasses interfered.

I think it is still relatively secure, since these facial recognition systems measure many points on the face to create their map. They probably unlock based upon a certain percentage of match.

I believe it’s the sunlight affecting the reading, not the glasses. I’ve also noticed it in direct sunlight sometimes with sunglasses on.

Either way, I don’t find it too much of an issue at this stage.

I took some Astrophotography photos in Rio Rancho, New Mexico this past weekend and I’m impressed…

4 Likes

That is a great photo!

Just read the review in c’t magazine, here in Germany. They compared the photography capabilities with the Huawei P30.

Wow, the difference is day and night, when it comes to zoomed images. They photographed a tree using the telephoto capabilities of the phones. At 10x the Pixel 4 photo looked like a pixelated point-and-shoot camera image from the 1990s, whilst the P30’s image was crystal clear. It just shows what using an actual lens of the correct focal length to capture the image does, compared to using a shorter lens and using AI to create data that isn’t there.

The other interesting by-product was, that the image was a fuzzy, muddy brown on the Pixel, whereas on the P30 you could see the various shades of vivid red in the autumnal maple leaves.

So I keep playing around with the Pixel 4 camera, particularly Super Res Zoom. While it does get soft but still very usable past 4x, one area I’m pleasantly surprised by is using Super Res Zoom for macro photography.

A small example of what’s possible below. Never going to match a proper macro but good in a pinch.


Standard wide, close as I could focus (approx 5cm)


4x zoom


8x zoom

3 Likes

I bought a Pixel 4 XL on Black Friday $200 discount. I used it for two days and am returning it. I like the phone, it’s just too big for me. I won’t even try the smaller one because of the battery. I hope the 4a brings better battery life to the smaller one.

2 Likes

Makes sense. Crappy battery on the smaller 4 is sad.

1 Like