Pixel 4 and 4 XL: Industrially chic in glowing orange

Google's flagship phones, the Pixel 4 and 4 XL, begin shipping on Oct. 24, and start at $800 and $900, respectively. They feature two rear cameras, 90Hz displays and Android 10.

For more information, read CNET's review of the Pixel 4 and 4 XL.

The Pixel 4 XL (left) has a 6.3-inch display while the Pixel 4 has a 5.7-inch screen. But other than their screens and battery, the phones are nearly identical.

The Pixel 4 comes in three flavors: Clearly White, Oh So Orange and Just Black.

Another look at the three colors.

The packaging for the Pixel 4 and 4 XL.

Inside you'll get a 10W fast charger, a USB-C cable and a quick switch adapter. There are no earbuds nor an audio dongle.

While most phones refresh 60 times a second, the Pixel phones refresh at a rate of 90 frames a second. By refreshing more often, things like scrolling through webpages and apps feel incredibly fluid.

The Pixel 4 has a Gorilla Glass 5 on both the front and back.

For the first time, Google added a second rear camera. The cameras are inside a big camera bump that protrudes quite noticeably.

Take a look at some other angles of the phone and the color-accented power button.

On the bottom is a USB-C port and stereo speakers.

Compared to the Pixel 3 XL from last year, you'll notice that the Pixel 4 XL does not have a notch. Instead it has an uninterrupted top bezel.

The forehead bezel houses the selfie camera and sensors for face unlock.  

A closer look at the phone's top bezel.

The Pixel 4 and 4 XL both run on Android 10 and will get software updates as soon as they're available from Google.

New to the Pixel is face unlock. Using a combination of radar and infrared sensors, you can unlock your phone and authorize payments with your face.

The phone's face unlock works fast. I don't have to tap-to-wake the screen or press any buttons beforehand, nor do I have to swipe after to use my phone. It's all just one fluent, cohesive process.

The radar sensors also allows the phone to track motions. Here, you can skip a track by waving your hand in front of the screen. 

The phone has a safety app and in some countries this app detects car crashes and automatically calls 911 if you're injured.

Android 10 also has Dark Mode.

You can now trigger Google Assistant by sliding up diagonally from the bottom corners of the phone.

Google also refreshed the look of Assistant.

Check out other close-ups of the Pixel 4 and 4 XL.

The Pixel 4 has a 12.2-megapixel standard camera and a 16-megapixel telephoto lens. 

With the second telephoto lens, the camera takes better portrait shots and it does a better job at smoothing out tricky areas like hair and fur than before. You can also take portrait photos from farther away now too.  

Two new sliders let you adjust a photo's shadows and highlights before firing the shutter.

As far as the competition goes, the Pixel 3 (left) is discounted at $500 and has many things the Pixel 4 has for a lot less, including prompt software updates (including to Android 10), water resistance, and a camera that still holds its weight in 2019.

With their stylish design, great cameras and monster battery life, the Galaxy S10 Plus and Note 10 are two solid alternatives to the Pixel 4 XL. At $1,00 and $949, respectively, they start out more expensive than the Pixel 4 XL. But they have more storage, bi-lateral charging and the Note 10 has an embedded S Pen stylus.  

If you are OS agnostic, the Pixel 4 and iPhone 11 both offer great dual cameras (and unseemly camera bumps!), wireless charging and face unlocking. The iPhone 11, however, is cheaper and there's a 256GB model if you're interested in having even more storage.   

All in all, the Pixel 4 and 4 XL do have fantastic cameras. But so do many other phones now. On top of that, the Pixel phones don't offer expandable storage, earbuds bundled in the box or free unlimited photo storage at original quality (something Pixel users got for the last few years).   

For more information, read CNET's review of the Pixel 4 and 4 XL.