Pixel 3 XL Durability Test - Does the back glass Scratch?!
Pixel 3 XL Durability Test - Does the back glass Scratch?!
2018-10-19
the pixel 3xl google's own flagship
Android phone is arguably one of the
best smartphones on the planet but is it
durable does the new back glass scratch
easier than fingernails on a chalkboard
or is the notch distractingly large will
it hold up to the test of time so many
questions and only one way to find out
let's get started out of the box the
phone actually looks pretty impressive
the dual textured glass feels unique it
goes from the glossy smooth glass at the
top to a more matte velvet vibe on the
body which I'm a fan of much better than
last year's thick coating of paint on
the pixel to flipping it over reveals
that knotch
it's much larger than I anticipated
which is something I've heard a lot from
other reviewers and I agree completely
normally notches don't bother me but
this one is from a different realm the
top speaker grille is smaller this year
both stereo grille slots at the top and
the bottom have been downsized usually
the slot is more aesthetic and has
nothing to do with speaker size but will
dig deeper into that during the teardown
to find out for sure other than that
things look pretty similar to the pixel
2 XL from last year let's start with the
scratch test using a set of Mohs mineral
picks we can assess the hardness level
of different materials Google has
advertised Gorilla Glass 5 on the pixel
3 XL which has been pretty standard
across most flagships for a while now
smooth hard scratch resistant tempered
glass scratches at level 6 with deeper
grooves at a level 7 my razor which is
about a 5.5 on Mohs scale won't be doing
any damage up here we got the
texas-sized notch covering some hardware
the speaker grille is made from a metal
mesh a definite improvement over the
white cloth on the original pixel one
super cool thing that pixel 3 has this
year is dual front cameras a normal
camera for selfies and a wide-angle
camera that can take groupies you know
that fit multiple people which is super
useful if you have friends or go outside
but since we're all here watching nerd
videos on YouTube I got a feeling the
grupe camera isn't gonna get used a
whole lot
the larger speaker grille on the bottom
is still made from metal and won't be
falling out on its own let's take a look
at the unique dual tone glass on the
back now the company oneplus has used
frosted glass before but the one plus
was frosted on the underside of the
glass
google has frosted the outer layer which
unfortunately looks like the frosting
scratches much easier than regular
glossy glass and the scratches don't rub
off for example if there's a coin in
your pocket or purse your phone
instantly turns into an aesthetic
nightmare trying something softer like a
toothpick it does leave some marks on
the back glass but these do mostly wipe
away almost completely leaving no
residue behind plastic doesn't leave any
marks but keys do when people normally
think of a pixel they imagine one
singular dot on a display screen but
each individual pixel on your screen
actually has three different lights
inside red green and blue that light up
alone or in groups to formulate all the
different color combinations your eye
can see kind of like little teams of
friends taking groupies together the
sides of this phone sound different it's
not the normal metal on metal sound we
get with anodized aluminum but it's also
not the crappy plastic II paint stuff
like we had on last year's pixel - this
is more of a glossy powder coating like
the one I applied to my metal off-road
wheelchair it feels much more durable
you can see it shave off in smooth
chunks instead of disintegrating into a
plasticy powder it feels good Google
does say again that this paint is chip
resistant but might absorb colors from
the jeans or leather but in my opinion
with the glossy non-porous surface I
really doubt that this year at least
with the black one I'm a fan so far the
power button is made from plastic again
the volume button is the same painted
metal as the rest of the phone the
bottom of the pixel three while void of
a headphone jack and expandable memory
slot has more of the same glossy paint
now I'm a feature guy Google does
include wireless charging this year
which
is cool but the lack of Jack an SD slot
still make me think twice about
upgrading switching to a phone that has
less features isn't super appealing
after contemplating the back glass a bit
more I thought it could just be that the
cloudy glass was acting like a level 6
abrasive like the glass is literally
sanding off bits of the metal I'm
scratching it with kind of makes sense
when we see what the cloudy surface does
to my level 3 most pick but the level 4
leaves much more consistent scratches
that don't wipe away even with moisture
they don't disappear either way whether
the cloudy glass is an abrasive or just
weak the marks from keys and coins are
very permanent so keep that in mind one
way to keep your phone pristine is with
the skin like this matrix Marble combo
from D brand it fully covers the soft
glass and the corners of the phone
keeping scratches and chips at bay the
textured matrix kind of feels like cloth
and might just be my new favorite right
after bullet proof banana of course I'll
leave a link for you in the video
description if you want to customize
your own phone and thanks addy brand for
sponsoring this durability test the 12
megapixel rear camera is protected by
glass along with the dual flash both are
covered with the smooth non frosted
glass so they aren't going to accumulate
permanent abrasions the fingerprint
scanner is back here on the rear of the
phone and is scratch with the damage
inflicted it did have some issues
registering my fingerprint but once
everything was set it did end up
recognizing my finger every time and
unlocking which is good the fingerprint
scanner passes the scratch test even if
only barely now it's time for the burn
test let's see how the pixels on this
pixel 3 hold up to a little bit of heat
Google is using a 1440p OLED display
this year it's 6.3 inches but I feel
like that football-field-sized notch
needs to be deducted at some point not
just don't even normally bother me but
this guy's got a complete face and is
just sitting there like judging me
either way this guy's belly lasted 30
seconds before the pixel started turning
white but then completely recovered
after the heat was removed which is
great news for me because these screens
are expensive the cool thing about D
brand scans is that they're easy to
remove and don't leave any residue as
they come off so switching to a new
scanner color is pretty simple let's
start that bin test the pixel lineup has
always had solid structure and it looks
like this new glass
which design is sticking with that same
solid theme with barely any flex when
been from the front and more importantly
no glass separation on the back meaning
that the new ip68 rating is still intact
when Vint from the back we get the same
minor flex but no cracked glass or
permanent damage the phone retains its
shape with no kinks in the middle if the
XL can survive a pin test the regular
size pixel three should also be just
fine google has done a good job this
time around
yeah the back glass can be scratched but
overall that pixel three XL passes my
durability test and gets a thumbs up for
me they definitely did a better job this
year
check out D brand if you want to protect
your phone without the bulk of a case
link is in the description would you buy
this phone let me know in the comments
thanks dumb for watching and I'll see
you around
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