Google Pixel 2 XL
The Pixel 2 XL releases this week, but what makes Google’s plus-sized flagship better than last year’s effort. Google’s fresh wave of Pixel smartphones are finally official. Following an unveiling event on 4 October 2017, the Californian tech giant spilled the beans on its latest pair of handsets, and the Pixel 2 XL is here – this is what’s new.
Both smartphones are the successors to last year’s Pixel and Pixel XL, and there are a handful of important upgrades. They may have similar features, but there are a couple of crucial differences that set the two apart – just like last year.
Now that both phones have been unleashed, we elbowed our way to one of the handful of Pixel 2 XL’s at the event, to offer our initial hands on impressions of Google’s latest supersized flagship.
Focusing on the Pixel 2 XL, the company clearly put some effort into making something more than just a larger version of the Pixel 2, as it did last year. In fact, this plus-sized phone visually stands out next to its smaller kin to such a degree that it might as well be a whole new product line.
The Pixel 2 XL’s raison d'être is in the name. Yep, you guessed it: the Pixel 2 XL is bigger than its regular-sized alternative, with a 6in display on the front. It’s bezel-less too: just like with Apple’s iPhone X and Samsung’s Galaxy S8 Plus. Other than that, If you’re already familiar with last year’s effort, 2017’s design won’t really surprise you. The Pixel 2XL and its regular-sized alternative retain the Marmite-like two-tone design of their predecessors.
From the front, both phones look near-indistinguishable from 2017’s other flagships, but turn them over and we’re treated to the same mash-up of glossy glass and matte aluminium. Google’s mishmash design is an acquired taste, and it still riles up debates in the Expert Reviews offices from time to time.
You’ll still find the small, circular fingerprint reader on the back, along with the volume rocker and power button on the left edge, with the solitary USB-C charging port on the bottom. Like the regular-sized Pixel, the XL variant doesn’t come equipped with a 3.5mm headphone jack, despite the grilling the firm gave Apple last year. I suggest investing in a good pair of Bluetooth headphones.
It’s always on, which means you can see the time and notification icons without having to press a button, tap the screen or anything else: you can simply look at it. There are other uses too, On-device machine learning identifies thousands of tracks without calling home to Google, and it will display the name of a songLike the regular-sized Pixel, the XL variant doesn’t come equipped with a 3.5mm headphone jack, despite the grilling the firm gave Apple last year. I suggest investing in a good pair of Bluetooth headphones.
Look past the design, and there isn’t much that separates the Pixel 2 XL from the smaller Pixel 2. There’s a Snapdragon 835 paired with 4GB of RAM, plus either 64GB or 128GB of internal storage. In my short time with the device, it felt fast –but I wouldn’t expect anything less. The real test will be how it performs over an extended period of time. The first Pixel handsets impressed in this regard, so fingers crossed that the same is true with these new devices.
The bump up in storage is welcome – the older Pixel XL started with just 32GB – but the lack of a microSD card will no doubt irk many. The phone is at least IP67-rated for water-resistance, plus it features new pressure-sensitive sides that can be squeezed to open up Google Assistant.
This means the Pixel 2 XL can take better HDR photos by combi ning more frames. There's also Portrait mode without needing a second camera, or for you to move the phone around in strange ways. For the uninitiated, it means you get a blurred background behind a nice sharp subject.
This is done using dual pixels rather than a second lens, and it uses Google's 'computational photography' to work out what's in the foreground and the background so you can use the mode on both the front and rear cameras. Video is shot using both OIS and EIS - Google calls this Fused Video Stabilisation - for smoother video with less blur.
One benefit of the Pixel 2 XL, as with last year's model, is that you get unlimited Google Photos storage for videos and photos at original quality - until 2021. Google reckons this is around 23GB per year. It's hard to guage just how good are the cameras from our limited time in a dimly lit room, but DxOMark has given the camera a rating of 98, the highest of any smartphone. And the demo photos and videos certainly looked impressive.
It’s too early to come to any definitive conclusions about the Pixel 2 XL. We still need to run our full set of tests to find out how it performs, particularly for battery life and its cameras.
Initial impressions are good though, and if the camera is as good as Google says, it will certainly be a phone to add to your shortlist.
You see, the Pixel 2 XL doesn’t come cheap, and it’s much harder to recommend than its regular-sized alternative. Case in point: the Pixel 2 XL starts at £799, that’s a good £180 more expensive than last year’s supersized handset. This, like the pricey iPhone X, will be a very hard sell.
Google’s plus sized Flagship Better than Last Year’s Effort
The Pixel 2 XL releases this week, but what makes Google’s plus-sized flagship better than last year’s effort. Google’s fresh wave of Pixel smartphones are finally official. Following an unveiling event on 4 October 2017, the Californian tech giant spilled the beans on its latest pair of handsets, and the Pixel 2 XL is here – this is what’s new.
Both smartphones are the successors to last year’s Pixel and Pixel XL, and there are a handful of important upgrades. They may have similar features, but there are a couple of crucial differences that set the two apart – just like last year.
Now that both phones have been unleashed, we elbowed our way to one of the handful of Pixel 2 XL’s at the event, to offer our initial hands on impressions of Google’s latest supersized flagship.
Focusing on the Pixel 2 XL, the company clearly put some effort into making something more than just a larger version of the Pixel 2, as it did last year. In fact, this plus-sized phone visually stands out next to its smaller kin to such a degree that it might as well be a whole new product line.
Where the Pixel offered bland hardware with stupendous software, the Pixel 2 XL offers modern, eye-catching hardware with an even better software experience (presumably) than what we got last year.
Google Pixel 2 XL Design, Display and Specs
The Pixel 2 XL’s raison d'être is in the name. Yep, you guessed it: the Pixel 2 XL is bigger than its regular-sized alternative, with a 6in display on the front. It’s bezel-less too: just like with Apple’s iPhone X and Samsung’s Galaxy S8 Plus. Other than that, If you’re already familiar with last year’s effort, 2017’s design won’t really surprise you. The Pixel 2XL and its regular-sized alternative retain the Marmite-like two-tone design of their predecessors.
From the front, both phones look near-indistinguishable from 2017’s other flagships, but turn them over and we’re treated to the same mash-up of glossy glass and matte aluminium. Google’s mishmash design is an acquired taste, and it still riles up debates in the Expert Reviews offices from time to time.
With its 6in screen, this isn’t a small phone. But thanks to minimal screen bezels it isn’t as big as you might imagine. At 175g, it’s the same weight as the new iPhone X which has a marginally smaller screen at 5.8in. It’s roughly the same thickness, but taller because of bigger top and bottom bezels. those screen bezels, they're much slimmer than on the 2016 Pixel XL and it looks all the better for it. The screen is slightly curved at the edges where it meets the aluminium frame.
It's an OLED display that can display a wider colour gamut than before. It has an 18:9 aspect ratio and a QHD+ resolution which equates to a density of 538ppi.
It's an OLED display that can display a wider colour gamut than before. It has an 18:9 aspect ratio and a QHD+ resolution which equates to a density of 538ppi.
It’s always on, which means you can see the time and notification icons without having to press a button, tap the screen or anything else: you can simply look at it. There are other uses too, On-device machine learning identifies thousands of tracks without calling home to Google, and it will display the name of a songLike the regular-sized Pixel, the XL variant doesn’t come equipped with a 3.5mm headphone jack, despite the grilling the firm gave Apple last year. I suggest investing in a good pair of Bluetooth headphones.
Look past the design, and there isn’t much that separates the Pixel 2 XL from the smaller Pixel 2. There’s a Snapdragon 835 paired with 4GB of RAM, plus either 64GB or 128GB of internal storage. In my short time with the device, it felt fast –but I wouldn’t expect anything less. The real test will be how it performs over an extended period of time. The first Pixel handsets impressed in this regard, so fingers crossed that the same is true with these new devices.
The bump up in storage is welcome – the older Pixel XL started with just 32GB – but the lack of a microSD card will no doubt irk many. The phone is at least IP67-rated for water-resistance, plus it features new pressure-sensitive sides that can be squeezed to open up Google Assistant.
Google Pixel 2 XL Camera
Dual-camera setups are in fashion at the moment, but Google eschews a pair in favour of just one camera both front and rear. At the rear is a 12.2Mp snapper, though this time it has the support of optical stabilisation. It has an f/1.8 lens and the sensor has 1.4 μm pixels - larger than your average phone camera's.
This means the Pixel 2 XL can take better HDR photos by combi ning more frames. There's also Portrait mode without needing a second camera, or for you to move the phone around in strange ways. For the uninitiated, it means you get a blurred background behind a nice sharp subject.
This is done using dual pixels rather than a second lens, and it uses Google's 'computational photography' to work out what's in the foreground and the background so you can use the mode on both the front and rear cameras. Video is shot using both OIS and EIS - Google calls this Fused Video Stabilisation - for smoother video with less blur.
One benefit of the Pixel 2 XL, as with last year's model, is that you get unlimited Google Photos storage for videos and photos at original quality - until 2021. Google reckons this is around 23GB per year. It's hard to guage just how good are the cameras from our limited time in a dimly lit room, but DxOMark has given the camera a rating of 98, the highest of any smartphone. And the demo photos and videos certainly looked impressive.
Verdict
Initial impressions are good though, and if the camera is as good as Google says, it will certainly be a phone to add to your shortlist.
You see, the Pixel 2 XL doesn’t come cheap, and it’s much harder to recommend than its regular-sized alternative. Case in point: the Pixel 2 XL starts at £799, that’s a good £180 more expensive than last year’s supersized handset. This, like the pricey iPhone X, will be a very hard sell.
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