Google Pixel 3 Review: This Phone Upgrades the Whole Android Universe

The search giant’s latest smartphone comes with a long list of clever upgrades. But many of them are coming to other phones soon.

Google's latest smartphone promises better pictures and videos through to the power of AI. WSJ's David Pierce pits the Pixel 3 against the iPhone and Galaxy Note 9 in six shooting challenges. Photo/Video: Emily Prapuolenis/The Wall Street Journal

David Pierce

Oct. 15, 2018 12:00 p.m. ET

The age of the annual upgrade is about over. For decades, the only way to get the latest and greatest in tech was to buy new stuff: a new computer with that color screen, a new CD-ROM drive, a new version of “Halo.” Now “Fortnite” drops new weapons and characters every few weeks, your Tesla gains abilities while you sleep and your Alexa speaker gets smarter pretty much constantly.

When Google announced the new Pixel 3, the latest in the company’s lineup of smartphones designed to compete with Apple iPhones and Samsung Galaxy...