Google Pixel 2 XL
That’s not necessarily a fatal flaw: you can do things competently and still sell. Unfortunately, there’s also one gigantic flaw that holds it back from any possible recommendation.
Google has crafted a fantastic phone with a stunning camera, but there’s still work to be done.
Google Pixel 2 XL Design
With bulging bezels and a 16:9 screen, the vanilla Pixel 2 feels like more of the same - not so with the XL. Here, you get the same eye-catching, front-filling 18:9 aspect ratio screen as the rest of 2017’s big hitters. The XL won’t look out of place next to a Galaxy S8, LG V30 or iPhone X.
However, the Pixel also has to make room for a pair of front-firing stereo speakers at the top and bottom, and and Google’s Active Edge touch panels on the sides. That makes it a bit of a chunky monkey. It’s really only 3mm larger than the original Pixel Xl, but feels sizeable once you get it in your mitts - more so than LG’s V30, which uses the same size display. Sit it to the Galaxy S8’s curved Infinity Display and the XL doesn't have quite the same wow factor.
We're not saying it’s ugly - just that Google seems to have prioritised practical features over a class-leading design. It’s a similar story around back: flip the XL over and you’ll spot hard-wearing aluminium instead of shiny-but-brittle glass. The bare metal has a textured finish that’s easier to grip, and does a great job of hiding fingerprints. It really makes the phone feel like a premium piece of kit, so I'm a big fan.
Google Pixel 2 XL Performance
One of the biggest reasons to choose a Pixel 2 XL over a Samsung Galaxy Note 8 or LG V30 is the software. Instead of layering Android with bloatware and proprietary apps – we’re looking at you, Bixby – Google sticks with a very basic version of Android 8. You’ll also get first dibs on the next three big yearly Android updates, something that’s unlikely with much of the competition.
Read more at http://www.trustedreviews.com/reviews/google-pixel-2-xl-performance-software#z086ODrcxTGhMcKO.99
Android 8.0 on the Pixel 2 XL is clean, well designed and has a sprinkling a surprisingly handy changes. Take the iconic Google search bar, which now sits below the lowest row of icons and can easily be accessed without having to reach up the display. It’s a minor change, but it makes a huge difference on a screen of this size. There are plenty more thoughtful touches dotted around, too. If you allow it, the phone will constantly listen for music playing in the background and throw it up onto your lockscreen. There’s also a new homescreen widget that shows weather and calendar appointments depending on your schedule.
Announced at the developer I/O conference earlier in the year, Google Lens scans your photos and brings up information on what it finds. Take a picture of an iconic monument or DVD cover, and Lens will bring up search results from Google. It will find numbers and websites in pictures and offer up more information about artwork on those occasions you’re wandering around a gallery bemused. Lens is very similar to Samsung’s Bixby Vision, but having spent time with both, I’ve found Google’s attempt much more accurate. Point Lens at some doughnuts and it won’t just bring up a search, it will also accurately pull out the right colours and use that to decide which images to display.
Google Assistant can now be summoned via a tight squeeze of the Pixel 2 XL’s sides – and it works even in the phone’s locked state. This is an interesting addition, but one that feels wasted. This is mainly because you can’t change the action that’s engaged on squeezing the device; it’s either the Assistant or silencing an incoming call. If you don’t plan on using the Google Assistant, then this feature is about as useful as the Bixby button on the Samsung Galaxy S8.
Another annoyance I have with the software is the lack of manual tuning on how apps work with this elongated aspect ratio. The majority of Android apps are designed for 16:9 displays, but the extra height here means you’re going to run into some dodgy-looking black bars. The isn’t really an issue with apps, since most can dynamically shift to fill the screen. However, many of the games I’ve tried don’t fit the screen. Other 18:9 phones have got round this issue by letting you manually stretch apps to fit the whole screen; this isn’t something Google offers, however.
In terms of battery life, we’ve seen some excellent results from Snapdragon 835-equipped smartphones in 2017, with the superb OnePlus 5 leading the charge with its 21-hour lifespan. In our own continuous video playback test, the Pixel 2 XL’s 3,520mAh battery managed to squeeze out 15hrs and 9mins before running out of juice, lagging behind the OnePlus 5 by a good five hours.
This is where the Galaxy S8 Plus comes in: it’s cheaper and has both of those features and matches the Pixel in just about every area.
The Pixel does win out on camera quality – just – but has the advantage of quick updates to future Android releases and unlimited photo and video storage for three years. And it'll be an even better proposition once the price starts to come down.
Pixel's Bigger Sibling
Long story short, the XL is the bigger, more attractive version of the Pixel 2. Just about everything I loved about Google's new small phone applies here too, but the XL has a few distinct advantages -- its battery life is much better, and Android Oreo shines on its bigger screen. Considering how much the phone costs, though, I do wish Google and LG had gone with slightly better display panels. That aside, the Pixel 2 XL improves on its predecessor in almost every way that matters and claims the crown as my favorite Android phone of the year so far -- it's just too bad that headphone jack is gone.
That’s not necessarily a fatal flaw: you can do things competently and still sell. Unfortunately, there’s also one gigantic flaw that holds it back from any possible recommendation.
Google has crafted a fantastic phone with a stunning camera, but there’s still work to be done.
Google Pixel 2 XL DesignWith bulging bezels and a 16:9 screen, the vanilla Pixel 2 feels like more of the same - not so with the XL. Here, you get the same eye-catching, front-filling 18:9 aspect ratio screen as the rest of 2017’s big hitters. The XL won’t look out of place next to a Galaxy S8, LG V30 or iPhone X.
However, the Pixel also has to make room for a pair of front-firing stereo speakers at the top and bottom, and and Google’s Active Edge touch panels on the sides. That makes it a bit of a chunky monkey. It’s really only 3mm larger than the original Pixel Xl, but feels sizeable once you get it in your mitts - more so than LG’s V30, which uses the same size display. Sit it to the Galaxy S8’s curved Infinity Display and the XL doesn't have quite the same wow factor.
We're not saying it’s ugly - just that Google seems to have prioritised practical features over a class-leading design. It’s a similar story around back: flip the XL over and you’ll spot hard-wearing aluminium instead of shiny-but-brittle glass. The bare metal has a textured finish that’s easier to grip, and does a great job of hiding fingerprints. It really makes the phone feel like a premium piece of kit, so I'm a big fan.
There is a small glass panel, but only at the very top, and it isn’t offensively glossy. It holds the single, slightly protruding camera lens, and stealthily hides the phone antennas - leaving the rest of the rear looking minimal and uninterrupted. The fingerprint sensor sits just below, and Google reckons it’s the fastest you’ll find on any smartphone. We’re talking milliseconds here, so you’d need a seriously slo-mo camera to see any difference between this and the Huawei P10, which for my money is still incredibly quick at recognising your digits.
It’s great to see Google add IP67 dust and water resistance, meaning you can give the phone a dunking without making an insurance claim. After being noticeably absent from the original Pixel, this puts the second-gen phone on par with other big-name handsets.
Our one gripe is the lack of a headphone jack. Google has ditched it, so it’s the dongle life from here on, or a switch to Bluetooth headphones.
It’s great to see Google add IP67 dust and water resistance, meaning you can give the phone a dunking without making an insurance claim. After being noticeably absent from the original Pixel, this puts the second-gen phone on par with other big-name handsets.
Our one gripe is the lack of a headphone jack. Google has ditched it, so it’s the dongle life from here on, or a switch to Bluetooth headphones.
Google Pixel 2 XL Display
The Pixel 2 XL display has proved to be a divisive issue, with Google recently addressing user complaints in a software update that will allow your smartphone the ability to saturate more colors. Although in my experience, it has not been a problem, though I appreciate that it is a subjective topic.
The panel is a 6-inch POLED produced by LG with QuadHD+ resolution (i.e. 2,880 x 1,440 pixels) and 18:9 aspect ratio. The resolution is great for enjoying multimedia content such as photos and videos, although we can hardly ever enjoy the full range of colors this display is capable of.
There is support for HDR content, but currently only the YouTube platform supports playback: no Netflix or Amazon Prime Video in HDR. You can use a media player such as VLC to watch offline HDR video content, if you have it available. During the playback of these videos, the colors are alive, bright and pleasant, but there's just not that much HDR content available right now.
The panel is a 6-inch POLED produced by LG with QuadHD+ resolution (i.e. 2,880 x 1,440 pixels) and 18:9 aspect ratio. The resolution is great for enjoying multimedia content such as photos and videos, although we can hardly ever enjoy the full range of colors this display is capable of.
There is support for HDR content, but currently only the YouTube platform supports playback: no Netflix or Amazon Prime Video in HDR. You can use a media player such as VLC to watch offline HDR video content, if you have it available. During the playback of these videos, the colors are alive, bright and pleasant, but there's just not that much HDR content available right now.
In all other aspects of smartphone use, flat and washed out colors are the norm on the Pixel 2 XL. But, I have to admit that after two weeks my eyes have already gotten used to it, and looking at the S8 Plus, I sometimes wonder how it made me like overly saturated colors so much in the first place. It really just depends on what you're used to seeing, even if the Pixel 2 color problem undeniably exists. If you want extra explanation about the calibration of colors on the Pixel 2 XL, I suggest you read this Google+ by the famous developer Supercurio
Google Pixel 2 XL Camera
Finally, on to the Pixel 2 XL’s excellent rear camera. The folks at DxOMark awarded it a score of 98 – higher than any other smartphone camera on the market – and I've been itching to put it through its paces ever since the grand unveiling.
The Pixel 2 XL’s 12.2-megapixel sensor, equipped with a bright f/1.8 aperture, optical image stabilisation and phase-detect and laser autofocus produced images with loads of detail. And, with Google refining the performance of its excellent HDR+ processing algorithms, those images are much speedier to capture.
Put the Pixel 2 XL up against last year’s effort, and photographs captured by Google’s latest have better colour reproduction in outdoor conditions and a more neutral cast in low light. If you recall, last year’s Pixel struggled with white balance compensation, producing images with a warm, yellowish tint, but there’s no such evidence of that here. With the two images side-by-side, the differences aren’t quite so in your face, but pictures did look slightly more natural, with a touch more accurate colour saturation.
The Pixel 2 XL’s 12.2-megapixel sensor, equipped with a bright f/1.8 aperture, optical image stabilisation and phase-detect and laser autofocus produced images with loads of detail. And, with Google refining the performance of its excellent HDR+ processing algorithms, those images are much speedier to capture.
Put the Pixel 2 XL up against last year’s effort, and photographs captured by Google’s latest have better colour reproduction in outdoor conditions and a more neutral cast in low light. If you recall, last year’s Pixel struggled with white balance compensation, producing images with a warm, yellowish tint, but there’s no such evidence of that here. With the two images side-by-side, the differences aren’t quite so in your face, but pictures did look slightly more natural, with a touch more accurate colour saturation.
There’s also a handful of new shooting features too, including “motion photo”, which captures a brief section of video to go with your still shots, and a portrait mode, which replicated the blurred “bokeh” background effect you get when shooting with a DSLR.
The Pixel 2 is also capable of shooting 4K video at 30fps. Although, quality isn’t as good as still shots - with footage looking too dark and oversaturated. Samsung’s Galaxy S8 definitely has the upper hand when it comes to video, even if the Pixel 2 XL does try to compensate with 120fps and 240fps recording.
The Pixel 2 is also capable of shooting 4K video at 30fps. Although, quality isn’t as good as still shots - with footage looking too dark and oversaturated. Samsung’s Galaxy S8 definitely has the upper hand when it comes to video, even if the Pixel 2 XL does try to compensate with 120fps and 240fps recording.
At Google’s launch event, it stated that judging a phone based on specs alone doesn’t cut it anymore. While there’s some truth in that because of recent advancements in cloud computing and utilizing some artificial intelligence-like smarts to achieve, say, fantastic photo results, there’s also still value in breaking down what’s inside.
The Pixel 2 XL features the Snapdragon 835 chipset, much like what we’ve seen in the Samsung Galaxy Note 8, OnePlus 5 and many others, as well as a standard 4GB of RAM.. On the whole, it feels as fast as the others in most tasks. Multi-tasking is quick as can be, as is the general performance found in games and downloading media content. But there are some areas where the performance seems to defy the specs.
This device’s impressive 10-second boot times are a good example of Google’s tightly-knit software and hardware working together to achieve more than was previously possible. Obviously, only time will tell if Google can keep things speedy with future updates, but it has been one of the more apparent facets of the Pixel 2 XL’s solid performance thus far.
The Pixel 2 XL features the Snapdragon 835 chipset, much like what we’ve seen in the Samsung Galaxy Note 8, OnePlus 5 and many others, as well as a standard 4GB of RAM.. On the whole, it feels as fast as the others in most tasks. Multi-tasking is quick as can be, as is the general performance found in games and downloading media content. But there are some areas where the performance seems to defy the specs.
This device’s impressive 10-second boot times are a good example of Google’s tightly-knit software and hardware working together to achieve more than was previously possible. Obviously, only time will tell if Google can keep things speedy with future updates, but it has been one of the more apparent facets of the Pixel 2 XL’s solid performance thus far.
We’ll touch more on this later, but the camera is another area that can’t help but stick out as phenomenal, even though its specs wouldn’t seem to offer anything better than we’ve seen before. Looking at benchmark scores compared to other flagships, the Note 8’s 6GB of RAM and Snapdragon 835 helped to keep it comfortably above the 6,000 multi-core score.
With a slight drop in RAM to 4GB, we’re impressed that the Pixel 2 XL can also hang with it, putting up an average of 6,120. In the end, numbers are numbers, and we’re confident in saying that it can provide a true flagship experience, but it’s worth knowing where this phone lies in the spectrum of power.
With a slight drop in RAM to 4GB, we’re impressed that the Pixel 2 XL can also hang with it, putting up an average of 6,120. In the end, numbers are numbers, and we’re confident in saying that it can provide a true flagship experience, but it’s worth knowing where this phone lies in the spectrum of power.
Google Pixel 2 XL OS
One of the biggest reasons to choose a Pixel 2 XL over a Samsung Galaxy Note 8 or LG V30 is the software. Instead of layering Android with bloatware and proprietary apps – we’re looking at you, Bixby – Google sticks with a very basic version of Android 8. You’ll also get first dibs on the next three big yearly Android updates, something that’s unlikely with much of the competition.
Read more at http://www.trustedreviews.com/reviews/google-pixel-2-xl-performance-software#z086ODrcxTGhMcKO.99
Android 8.0 on the Pixel 2 XL is clean, well designed and has a sprinkling a surprisingly handy changes. Take the iconic Google search bar, which now sits below the lowest row of icons and can easily be accessed without having to reach up the display. It’s a minor change, but it makes a huge difference on a screen of this size. There are plenty more thoughtful touches dotted around, too. If you allow it, the phone will constantly listen for music playing in the background and throw it up onto your lockscreen. There’s also a new homescreen widget that shows weather and calendar appointments depending on your schedule.
Announced at the developer I/O conference earlier in the year, Google Lens scans your photos and brings up information on what it finds. Take a picture of an iconic monument or DVD cover, and Lens will bring up search results from Google. It will find numbers and websites in pictures and offer up more information about artwork on those occasions you’re wandering around a gallery bemused. Lens is very similar to Samsung’s Bixby Vision, but having spent time with both, I’ve found Google’s attempt much more accurate. Point Lens at some doughnuts and it won’t just bring up a search, it will also accurately pull out the right colours and use that to decide which images to display.
Another annoyance I have with the software is the lack of manual tuning on how apps work with this elongated aspect ratio. The majority of Android apps are designed for 16:9 displays, but the extra height here means you’re going to run into some dodgy-looking black bars. The isn’t really an issue with apps, since most can dynamically shift to fill the screen. However, many of the games I’ve tried don’t fit the screen. Other 18:9 phones have got round this issue by letting you manually stretch apps to fit the whole screen; this isn’t something Google offers, however.
Google Pixel 2 XL Speakers
As you’d expect, the stereo speakers are a great match to the screen, pumping out clear and loud audio. They easily out-shout the LG V30’s single driver setup, and aren’t as easily muffled by your hands like the iPhone 8.
Vocals are clear, acoustic tracks impress with their clarity, and even heavier songs have a clear bass presence, without any noticeable distortion. As far as phones go, only HTC’s Boomsound setups come close.
Vocals are clear, acoustic tracks impress with their clarity, and even heavier songs have a clear bass presence, without any noticeable distortion. As far as phones go, only HTC’s Boomsound setups come close.
The volume doesn't reach the speaker levels of the iPhone 8 Plus, when watching videos and playing games, you'll appreciate the positioning. You won't cover either of the speakers with the palm of your hand when grabbing your smartphone as is the case on many competing devices.
Google Pixel 2 XL Battery
It’s also a shame that, unlike the Galaxy S8 and iPhone 8, the Pixel 2 XL doesn’t come equipped with wireless charging. Having said that, the Pixel 2 XL does benefit from fast charging, taking roughly 1hr and 27mins to reach full capacity from flat.
Google Pixel 2 XL Price
Pricing for the Google Pixel 2 XL starts at £799 for the 64GB model and rises to £899 for the 128GB option.
Verdict
The Pixel 2 XL is a fantastic phone. It’s well designed, well built and looks great. The screen issues could put you off, and don't forget there's no headphone socket or microSD slot.
This is where the Galaxy S8 Plus comes in: it’s cheaper and has both of those features and matches the Pixel in just about every area.
The Pixel does win out on camera quality – just – but has the advantage of quick updates to future Android releases and unlimited photo and video storage for three years. And it'll be an even better proposition once the price starts to come down.
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