Google unveiled its latest flagship smartphones at the Google Event on 4th October. The Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL look pretty similar to their predecessors but there are many changes both internally and externally that are worth discussing about. The company ended their nexus line-up and started a new series last year known as Pixel which was loved by the Android Enthusiasts.
This year’s Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL also look great and there is a lot to unpack so let’s jump straight into it, here are the things you need to know about the Pixel Phones.
• Design:
The Design of both the new Pixel Phones closely reassembles to the last year’s flagship. The back is almost identical with the same camera and fingerprint scanner placement. However, this the glossy part of the back ends before the fingerprint scanner to avoid smudges.
The Pixel 2 has a 5 inch display with a traditional 16:9 ratio and the XL variant has a slightly longer 5.5 inch display with trending 18:9 ratio. The display has rounded corners as it has become important in 2017. There are two front firing speakers on the top and the bottom which sounds really great but results in a big chin and top and makes the phone look slightly outdated considering some recent smartphones from other manufacturers which feature edge to edge display. Both the phones use Corning Gorilla Glass 5 at the front and at the back with aluminum chassis frame and there are no visible antenna bands. There is a small G logo at the bottom back of the phone. Overall the phone has a very minimalistic Design.
The Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL will both come in three colors: Kinda Blue, Just Black and Clearly White.
• Hardware:
Google has packed some really decent hardware in their phones. Both the phones share similar specs except for the display and battery. The company: “We don’t set aside better features for the larger device.”
The Phones are powered by the latest Octa Core Snapdragon 835 CPU clocked at 2.35 GHz, paired up with latest Adreno 430 GPU and 4 Gigs of Ram.
Unfortunately, there is no micro SD card slot available, the onboard storage options available are 64 and 128 GB Models.
The Pixel 2 has a 5 inch 1080p OLED screen with 441 pixels per inch, the Pixel 2 XL, on the other hand, has slightly improved and larger 5.5 inch display with Quad HD resolution (1440 x 2880 at 18:9 resolution) with 538 pixels per inch.
In the Sound department Google did a really good job by putting two front firing speakers, unfortunately there is no headphone jack which is the biggest down point of the device, I mean if Samsung can put that little jack in their phones why can’t others but i guess it is just 2017 and we are heading towards a wireless future.
The buttons are placed on the right side of the phone. The power button has a different color accent to it which looks really cool.
• Camera:
The camera of the phone on spec sheet doesn’t sound great as the Google has ditched the dual lens setup which we have seen in all other recent flagships. But the camera still managed to score 98 in the test and proved to be the best while Samsung and iPhone scored only 94 even with a pair of lens. The company says that they do not need to put in two cameras, their single camera can outperform any other flagship smartphones cameras out there.
The Camera quality has also been greatly improved from last year and the HDR+ mode captures even more High Definition images and more dynamic range. There is a portrait mode available which works by tracking the face and depth and delivers really great bokeh or depth of field. Unlike iPhone 8 and 8 Plus the portrait mode is also available in the front camera.
• Battery:
The Pixel 2 comes with a slightly smaller 2,700 mAh battery which is not bad for a 5 inch 1080 p resolution phone. On the other hand, the Pixel 2 XL comes with a 3,520 mAh battery which is needed to power that high resolution screen and more pixels.
There is no wireless charging available which is another major down point of the phone and which is gonna disappoint many consumers.
• IP67 Water Resistant:
Finally, the Google has added water resistance to its Phones. The Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL both are IP67 certified water and dust resistant. This means that they can survive in 1 meter or 3 feet of water for 30 minutes. Now you don’t have to worry about taking your Pixel Phone to the pool with you.
• Extra Features:
Both the phones have Active Edge feature which is similar to HTC’s Edge feature, meaning you can squeeze the frame of your phone to perform small operations like in Pixel Phones it is programmed to launch Google Assistant when you squeeze the frame which is pretty cool.
The other feature is the ‘Always On Display’ which will continually listen to the music playing around you and will show you information about that song without the need to unlock it.
• Price:
The Pixel 2 is up for pre-order and will be hitting the market on 19th October in the United States. The Starting price for 64 GB Model is $649.
You can pre-order Pixel 2 XL for $849 for the 64 GB Model and will start shipping in November in the United States and later in other countries.