Android Central: Top 5 things I want to see in the Google Pixel 4

Monday, February 4, 2019

Top 5 things I want to see in the Google Pixel 4

A few things I'm hoping Google delivers on for its fourth year of Pixel phones.

As hard as it is to believe, this will be the fourth year that Google releases a new batch of Pixel phones. Although a Pixel 4 series has yet to be confirmed by the company, we're expecting to get our hands on a Pixel 4 and Pixel 4 XL at some point in October as we have for the past three years.

The current Pixel 3 series is already pretty great, but there are a few areas we'd like to see changed and improved in order to make this year's phones even better.

Here are 5 things that we want to see in the Google Pixel 4!

An all-new design

Ever since the first Pixel and Pixel XL came out in 2016, Google's continued to refine that original design of a mostly metal back with a glass frame near the top. The Pixel 3 changed things up slightly with an all-glass build, but the use of frosted glass on part of the back resulted in a very similar-looking device compared to the Pixel 2 (which already resembled the OG Pixel).

Google's Pixel phones do have a recognizable aesthetic to them, but I'd like to see Google try something new this year. That could mean new colors, an unusual material, a different styling on the back, etc.

I understand Google's desire to not shake things up too much so that people still know they're buying a Pixel phone, but if the Pixel 4 comes out looking just like the past three generations before it, it's going to feel like a lot more of the same.

We're seeing exciting developments in the smartphone industry right now thanks to things slider designs, hole-punch notches, buttonless phones, and more. I don't think Google will get too radical with its design choices, but some experimentation would be fun to see.

Improved video recording

If there's one thing the Pixel phones have become widely known for, it's their camera performance. The Pixel 1, 2, and 3 all take jaw-dropping photographs, with noticeable improvements being added with each generation.

We're bound to see an even better camera on the Pixel 4 (as if that's even possible), but one thing I'd really like to see Google focus on even more is video.

The Pixel 3 takes great-looking video as is, but I think Google can push things a bit further. There's no reason the Pixel 4 shouldn't support 4K recording at 60 FPS, and while the Pixel 3 did eventually get its audio issues sorted out when capturing video, I'd like for those to not be a problem at all when the Pixel 4 launches.

A smaller notch

Notches are commonplace on smartphones these days. They're no longer surprising to see and are pretty much expected with any new handset that comes out, but somehow, Google still managed to shock us all with the monstrosity that is the Pixel 3 XL's notch.

If Google does decide to have a notch on the Pixel 4 XL (and maybe the regular Pixel 4, too), it has to be smaller. Either give us a waterdrop-style notch, a hole-punch, or something else. If the notch does remain large, Google needs to justify it with a facial recognition system similar to what Apple has on the iPhone XS and XR.

More RAM

The Pixel 3 + 3 XL had quite a few issues following their release, one of which was terribly poor RAM management. Apps quickly closed in the background, and if you did something like open the camera while music was playing on Spotify, the music would completely stop.

The cause of all this? Poor RAM management.

Google did eventually release a software update addressing this issue that fixed things, but even so, 4GB of RAM is getting to be the bare minimum on an Android phone.

I'd like to see at least 6GB in the Pixel 4, not only to help with multitasking today, but to keep the phone better future-proofed down the road.

5G support

Last but not least, I'd like to see the Pixel 4 support 5G. I know that 5G is still a ways off before being widely accessible, but with all of the marketing and buzz it's already receiving, Google's going to be left in the dust if it doesn't support the new technology and phones from Samsung and Apple do.

We're already anticipating the Pixel 4 series to ship with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 855, and with that being the case, it's just a matter of Google also adding Qualcomm's X50 modem to go with it.

What do you want to see?

With that out of the way, I now want to pass the torch over to you — What are you hoping to see in the Google Pixel 4? Whatever it may be, sound off down in the comments below!

The Pixel 3 Lite will be Google's most important phone in 2019