Ever since Google gave us that little sneak peak at the Pixel 4, my interest has been piqued over the next addition to the Pixel line. Like many fellow members of #TeamPixel, I cant wait to see whats new. The Pixel 3 XL has been my primary device since it launched last year and as my review can attest, I’ve been more than happy with the device. That said, there are some improvements I’m hoping for. “Like what” you say? Glad you asked! 😉

(Image from Google’s twitter account)

More RAM. Seeing as how 6 gigs has kind of become the defacto standard for high end phones anyway, this should be a no-brainer. That little extra memory can go a long way when you are multi tasking and frequently switching between apps.

Improved battery life. One of the things that hasn’t aged well with the Pixel 3 XL is its battery. With deliberate use and some foresight, I can make the device last about 14 hours with ease, but overall, battery life is mediocre at best. This is one thing the Pixel 4 certainly needs to improve on.

Better sound processing. The iPhone lost the battle for superior sound quality a while ago and the Android heavyweights continue to dominate here. In particular, Sony and LG consistently put up strong contenders for the throne of “best sound”. Though Google is happy sitting in “best smart-phone camera” castle, I would like to see it put up more of a fight in the audio arena. The Pixel 3 was not bad for music, especially is one uses a decent equalizer app, but it could be better. I’m hoping the DAC improves with the Pixel 4. Which brings me to the next item on the list.

Louder speakers. The Pixel 3 XL had one of the best speakers on a smart-phone when it launched. Clear, crisp and loud, they justified the room that necessitated that infamous notch. Theres no news on whether the notch will make a comeback on the Pixel 4, but if it does, I hope the speakers make up for it again. Not having to use a bluetooth speaker all the time is a big plus in my book.

Better heat dissipation. This is an odd one. The Pixel 3 XL’s thermals are perfectly fine for most use cases scenarios but there is one situation in which it falters. If the phone is mounted on my car dashboard whilst being used for navigation on a hot day, the phone gets stupid hot. More so if it is being charged at the same time. On more than one occasion, it prompted an on screen warning. That is cause for concern. The Pixel 3 uses a metal back so this should not be an issue to begin with. Hopefully the Pixel 4 does a better job of keeping its innards cool. Delhi summers are not going to be forgiving any time soon.

90hz refresh rate. This one is unlikely but I’m keeping my fingers crossed just the same. A higher refresh rate is one of those things that you don’t think you need until you experience it. My iPad has certainly spoiled me here. The problem of course, is that high refresh rates are a real drain on battery life. Adaptive refresh rates can help somewhat in this regard but considering the Pixel 3’s battery life wasn’t its strongest suit to begin with, this one might be asking for too much. Still, one can hope. That said, Google can only dodge this for so long, the competition is rolling this feature out even as we speak.

Expandable memory. Again, unlikely, but fingers crossed again. I find the eschewing of a memory slot to be particularly egregious. Unless phones start coming with 256 gigs of storage as stock, I’m going to call manufacturers out on this bullshit. I carry around a lot of data and the cloud isn’t always accessible. As I write this, I have about 20 gigs of audio-books and 12 gigs of podcasts on me. This makes it all but impossible to have anything but a play-list or two of music. Selling a phone as a flagship device and then crippling users with only 64 gigs of memory is not only cheap, it is counter productive. Just give us a damn slot already.

Improved health features. I’m cheating a little with this one, seeing as how this is more of an Android thing than purely a Pixel problem. Even so, when it mores to health tracking and smart device integration, Apple is way, way ahead. I’m hoping the Pixel 4’s launch comes with a slew of improvements in this area. Who knows, maybe even a Pixel watch? Come on Google, its high time.

Thats it. A few tweaks to an excellent device is all that is needed to keep the Pixel firmly amongst the best Android smartphones. You’ll notice I didn’t mention the camera. This is because I believe that the Pixel 4 will continue the trend of Google’s flagship device having the best phone camera on the market. They have that part of their design nailed down.

October can’t come soon enough.