Google Pixel 4 launch confirms most of the leaks, pre-orders up now

There wasn't much that was kept under wraps with the Google Pixel 4 and Pixel 4 XL. And the leaks, for the most part, told us everything we were expecting to show up, even the Canadian prices were leaked. But it's good to know that what was leaked is off of what Google is offering.

Here's a quick rundown of the Canadian prices: 

• Pixel 4 - 64GB: $999 
• Pixel 4 - 128GB: $1,129
• Pixel 4 XL - 64GB: $1,129
• Pixel 4 XL - 128GB: $1,259 

The phones are available for pre-order now, and these will be released on October 24th. And for those who pre-order, you get $150 Google Store credits.

Aside from size and battery capacity, the Pixel 4 and Pixel 4 XL share all its specs.

The Pixel 4 has a 5.7-inch OLED display with 1,080 x 2,160 resolution, while the Pixel 4 XL has a 6.3-inch OLED display with 1,440 x 3,040 resolution. Both have a 19:9 aspect ratio and a 90Hz refresh rate. To make sure this variable refresh rate doesn't burn through the batteries quickly, Google introduces the Smooth Display feature. It's designed to "dynamically" adjust the refresh rate between 60Hz and 90Hz.

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This feature is essential as these two phones do not have large capacity batteries, especially when compared to its competition. The Pixel 4 only has a 2,800mAh battery, while the Pixel 4 XL has a 3,700mAh battery.

The phones run on Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 processors, which help them catch up (albeit belatedly) with the current flagships, 6GB of RAM, and Android 10 out of the box with support for updates for the next three years.

One of the critical features of the Pixel 4 series is its cameras and what they can do. For the first time, Google added a second camera sensor to its smartphone. We get the primary 12-megapixel Dual Pixel sensor and a new 16-megapixel telephoto lens that can support hybrid optical and digital zoom. In front, the Pixel 4 has an 8-megapixel ultra-wide selfie camera.

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And since it's a Pixel phone, it isn't all about the hardware. Software plays a vital part of the photography experience on this handset. Some of the key features include a new astrophotography mode for shooting stars, a new Live HDR+ that shows you the HDR+ processing before you take the photo, a better Night Sight and portrait mode. Google also claims it has improved white balance in all these modes for more accurate colours. There is also the new handy Dual Exposure controls that let you tweak shadows and highlights separately before you take the shot.

Another thing we've learned early on about the Pixel 4 is that it houses many sensors at the top of the device (thus giving it the thicker than usual forehead). This move was made to introduce a new face unlock system and gesture control for the phone.

Google follows the lead of Apple and gets rid of the fingerprint sensor. In place, it wants you to rely on its new face unlock feature. One that Google says you don't need any extra swipes or movements to get going. Simply pick up the phone and let it recognize you almost instantly. You don't even need to have the phone at a specific orientation for it to work. This is possible with the help of the Soli radar motion sensor, infrared flood illuminator, and IR camera on both the left and right sides of the phone.

If you are worried about your face data getting into the hands of others, Google emphasizes that your data "never leaves your phone." The company promises it will not save or share your face data with other Google services, and that it will be stored in the Pixel's Titan M security chip.

Soli won't just be used for face unlock. It's also capable of recognizing gestures, which will allow you to do things like skip songs, turn off alarms, silence calls, and the like. This Motion Sense feature will be coming to Canada, but we can't say for now if it is available out of the box. What we do know is you can opt-out of using it. Google says you can turn this feature on and off as you please.

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One other feature not available at launch will be the "New Assistant." This revamped version of Google's virtual assistant is said to be faster. It also looks to be more conversational, allowing you to ask it one question after another without using the "Hey Google" hotword. The change is possible with the help of on-device machine learning and its "Continued Conversations" feature. It can use on-device machine learning for simple tasks while relying on Google's data centers for more complex requests.

The Pixel 4 and Pixel 4 XL come in three colours: Just Black, Clearly White, and Oh So Orange. The black and orange variants get a white power button, while the white gets an orange one.