Tech Giant Google LLC has been changing the lives with all the software developments since its birth. The brainchild of Larry Page, Sergey Brin, has been changing the lives of millions with their groundbreaking technologies, and the Pixel series is yet another bold statement of the Giant. The Tech Demi-God shattered all the excitements and caught the eyes of the whole world when they launched Pixel smartphones back in 2016. After the ‘Made by Google’ event, smartphone companies started to sweat in tension because the ‘Big Dog’ has entered the backyard to dominate! This article show the google pixel 2 XL review.
Google Pixel 2 and Google Pixel 2 XL has been the talk of the town right after their launch in October 2017. The phones are the true successors of STOCK Androids! Today we will be focusing on the Google Pixel 2 XL and see what this bad boy is made of!
Google Pixel 2 XL review
Boy! Oh Boy! My brain is literary running faster than my hands as I am completely mind blown after seeing Google Pixel 2 XL for the first time. But hold it right there! I have to control my emotions a bit. What can I say! I am that five-year-old kid right now who has just got himself the Candy he always craved for! Anyways, enough of the fan moments; let us dive into some serious business. As you guys know, I like to examine certain aspects on which I will be judging the Smartphone. The aspects are:
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Design
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Display
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Performance
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Camera
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Battery
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Sensors and Other Features
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Water Resistance
These aspects somewhat reflect the true capability of a particular smartphone. So what are we waiting for?! Let us dig into it!
Design: The All-Time Sexy Google Pixel 2 XL!
Yes, guys! I am thrilled with this epic Smartphone. It is finished to perfection as the design is concerned. The body has been made out of premium quality Aluminum, which has a premium coating to withstand the scratches. To be honest, you will be bluffed with the layer as it will feel like rough plastic, but it is just a coating to protect the phone. The Rear Camera module is placed on a glassed window. That is not too different, as no notable improvement is seen from its predecessor. The dimension of the Smartphone is 6.22-inch x 3.02-inch x 0.31 inch. It is a big phone, no doubt. But surprisingly, it fits right into your hands quite comfortably. The phone is almost weighed 175 grams. It is slightly heavy but negotiable.
The volume rocker and the lock button is placed on the right side of the phone. It is pretty crisp, and the bounce back is tremendous. The Display is 6 inches with no notch. Fairly thick Bessel might annoy some consumers, but it is totally worth it for the front blasting stereo speakers.
The phone has to color variant; one is the combination of Black and White, and the latter one is like, you know, just Black!
The design of this phone will attract some eyeballs when you pull it out from your pocket in public. I am delighted with the design and build quality. But I was not surprised. Google LLC is the company on which people expect significant milestones and great products such as The Google Pixel 2 XL.
I give the design a Solid 9 out of 10 for the high-end finish and durability.
Display: The O-LED Marvel
The Display is no doubt built with the best Display, O-LED. The 6.00 inch POLED Display has a resolution of 1440 x 2880 pixels. And the PPI count is 538. The Display is pretty bright, and the contrast is solid. The picture quality is very vivid right after the software update. The Black is dark, and the brightness is very decent. You can easily use it indoors and also on a bright sunny day. Some users do complain that the screen does burns off in the navigation area. But there is no viable proof whatsoever. The blue light effect can be witnessed if we tilt the phone a little bit from the right. It might be annoying to some users, and some consumers won’t even notice it.
In short, the Display is dope, and that is expected from Google. Kudos to that. If someone asked me to rate this Display, then considering the fact that there are some better screens in other competitors, I would be satisfied to settle in with a solid 8 out of 10.
Performance: The Flagship Everyone wishes for!
Before going deep into the performance, let me remind this to my good souled readers that we are dealing with a flagship smartphone. So all the specs should be top of the line, and the performance should be buttery smooth.
I relinquish the performance sector in two subsectors; Hardware and Software. Let us dig into the Hardware sector first.
Hardware
The flagship Smartphone of Google LLC, The Google Pixel 2 XL, is powered by a 10-nanometer chipset of Qualcomm; The Qualcomm Snapdragon 835. It is the top of the line CPU with an Octa-Core processing clock speed of 4 into 2.35 GHz Kryo and four into 1.9 GHz Kryo, respectively. The most astonishing or rater a unique thing of this Smartphone is that it has a dedicated GPU; Adreno 540, which is assigned to process images enabled via the OTA facility of Android 8.1. That’s why the pictures are the best in the business.
The RAM is of 4 GB. However, the internal storage has two variants. One is 64 GB, and the latter is 128 GB. But it has no expandable options.
Software
Suppose you want to experience the best Stock Android, then what better way other than buying a phone of a specific brand who bloody owns the OS. Yes, Android is owned by Google. No wonder they are giving the best OS in their own successors. The Google Pixel 2 XL comes with the latest Android 8.0 Oreo. The best part is that all the updates come directly from the manufacturers.
For the best combination and collaboration of hardware, Google Pixel 2 XL has been indeed the top-notch product available in the market. I will rate it a happy 9 out of 10.
Camera: The Game Changer Tech
The best of the best camera in the market so far in a smartphone is indeed belongs to the Google Pixel 2 XL. Some people will be scratching their heads as the Smartphone has a single camera. What can a smartphone possibly achieve anything out of the box with a single camera?
Let me break the shackles for you. The main camera or the rear camera is of 12.2 Mega Pixels. It has a sensor of a size of 2.6 inches. The pixel size is 1.4 µm. There is a LED Flash. Some cool features like Google’s very own HDR facility and the algorithm are the difference makers.
The front-facing, AKA, the Selfie Camera, is the best in the business so far. It has an 8 MegaPixel camera and a 1/3.2” sensor. The aperture is f/2.4, and the pixel size is 1.4µm.
The Adreno GPU Chipset makes the difference with the minimal hardware backup. The GPU is dedicated to making things spice up as it only processes the images and makes them stand out from the crowd.
I rate it 9.5 out of 10. You will be amazed to see the results.
The Videography supports up to 4k with great color balance, and the image stability is upscale to the nest level. But the audio input is mono in the videos.
I rate the Videography of the said phone 8.5 out of 10 for great image quality and stability.
Battery: The Power House
The Smartphone has a 3520 MAh Lithium-Ion Battery, which is sealed and unmovable. It is sealed inside the phone. The power port is USB-C, and the power delivery 2.0 is supported for fast charging. The Charging brick, which is included inside the packet, is an 18-watt fast charger with a type C cable. The duration of the durability is 88 hours at max!
I rate this 9 out of 10 because the power management of the phone is very much optimized for better performance.
Sensors and Other Features
This phone is equipped with all the sensors which are needed on the phone in this modern market. But there are some cool features in this Smartphone that makes it the best in the business. Basic features like Fingerprint scanner, dual stereo speakers, Always-on, or ambient light display are included in this unit.
Perhaps the most exciting feature is that the Edge Squeeze Detection. When you hold the phone firmly and squeeze it, the Google Assistant will be activated, and you will be able to enjoy all the facilities of Google Assistant.
However, this very feature is only limited to activating Google Assistant. It would break the roof if it had the availability or accessibility to customize certain features into various gestures.
The Ambient Light Display or Always on Display is great for looking at the time and some basic yet important notifications which will appear as small icons just below the clock. It is a handy feature of the course, and people will surely like this one indeed.
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Water Resistance
This phone is a certified Water-resistant device. The certification is IP 67. That means it will remain harmless in splashes and daily stains and also remain integrated underwater from 1 to 30 meters, respectively. Top-notch product of this sort is usually expected to be water and dust resistant, and this device has not disappointed the valued customers.
Google Pixel 2 XL Full Specifications
General
| Brand | |
| Model | Pixel 2 XL |
| Release date | November 2017 |
| Form factor | Touchscreen |
| Dimensions (mm) | 157.90 x 76.70 x 7.90 |
| Weight (g) | 175.00 |
| Battery capacity (mAh) | 3520 |
| Removable battery | No |
| Colors | Black & White, Just Black |
| SAR value | 0.98 |
Display
| Screen size (inches) | 6.00 |
| Touchscreen | Yes |
| Resolution | 1440×2880 pixels |
| Pixels per inch (PPI) | 538 |
Hardware
| Processor | 1.9GHz octa-core |
| Processor make | Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 |
| RAM | 4GB |
| Internal storage | 64GB |
| Expandable storage | No |
Camera
| Rear camera | 12.2-megapixel |
| Rear flash | Dual LED |
| Front camera | 8-megapixel |
| Front flash | No |
Software
| Operating system | Android 8.0.0 |
Connectivity
| Wi-Fi | Yes |
| Wi-Fi standards supported | 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac |
| GPS | Yes |
| Bluetooth | Yes, v 5.00 |
| NFC | Yes |
| Infrared | No |
| USB OTG | Yes |
| Headphones | No |
| FM | No |
| Number of SIMs | 1 |
| Wi-Fi Direct | No |
| Mobile High-Definition Link (MHL) | No |
| SIM Type | Nano-SIM |
| GSM/CDMA | GSM |
| 3G | Yes |
| 4G/ LTE | Yes |
| Supports 4G in India (Band 40) | Yes |
Sensors
| Compass/ Magnetometer | Yes |
| Proximity sensor | Yes |
| Accelerometer | Yes |
| Ambient light sensor | Yes |
| Gyroscope | Yes |
| Barometer | Yes |
| Temperature sensor | No |
Advantages and Disadvantages of Google Pixel 2 XL
Even the moon has some flaws. As the product is top-notch, it will still have some shortcomings which will be fulfilled with later editions. First of all, let us talk about the good advantages of Google’s flagship smartphone.
The Advantages are given as follows:
- Full Metal body and high end finishing.
- Top-Notch Display with vivid colors
- Stock Android Experience
- Powerful Processor and Dedicated GPU for image processing
- Insane Camera Technology
- Front-firing stereo Speakers with awesome detailing
- Cool and Unique features like Squeeze Detection technology.
The Disadvantages are given as follows:
- A bit heavy as per the weight is a concern.
- NO headphone, Jack!
- Unable to customize Squeeze Detection tech.
- Video records Mono audio-only.
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Some Frequently Asked Question about the Google Pixel 2 XL
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Is the One Camera setup efficient for a flagship Model like the Google Pixel 2 XL?
The Google Pixel 2 XL has been doing some magic with a single camera setup both in bright and low light. The main camera or the rear camera is of 12.2 Mega Pixels. It has a sensor of a size of 2.6 inches. The pixel size is 1.4 µm. There is a LED Flash. Some cool features like Google’s very own HDR facility, and the algorithm are the difference makers. The best part is that the phone has a dedicated GPU of Adreno, which processes the image and makes it rise high and proud.
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Does Google Pixel 2 XL has water resistance?
IP 67 is the water-resistance certification for the Google Pixel 2 XL. For that, it is waterproof up to 30 meters underwater. So don’t bother jumping into the pool to take some cool underwater pictures and shoot some videos as well.
Conclusion
So that is all for today folks. It was a sheer privilege to experience the top-notch game-changing flagship from our old friend Google. As I say flagship, it means that it will cost you some money. The price tag is around 900 US Dollars considering the variant you chose for yourself. But I must assure you this phone is worth buying if you want a real Android experience and take some insane photos to enjoy life!
