Last year Google announced it’s entry into the hardware world with a number of devices made by Google which introduced the Pixel and Pixel XL line of Android phones. A few hours ago Google unveiled the Google Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL. The two devices were among a number of devices announced. Other devices announced included Pixel Buds, Home Mini, Google Home, Home Max, Google Clips, Google Daydream View, Google Pixelbook and Google Pixelbook Pen. But clearly the two phones were the stars of the show.
From a design point of view last year’s Google Pixel and Pixel XL looked identical, one only bigger in size than the other. This time round the devices look a little different in design especially on the front. The Pixel 2 is the smaller one with unexpectedly huge chins. One would wonder why Google would have such huge bezels on a 2017 flagship devices. The Pixel 2 XL is the larger one with smaller bezels.
One would assume the reason the Pixel 2 has larger bezels is because it has dual front facing stereo speakers but the Pixel 2 XL has them as well. Perhaps we should just go with fact that the Pixel 2 was designed by HTC hence the similar appearance with the HTC U11 and Pixel 2 XL designed by LG hence the LG G6 looks.
The Pixel 2 display measures in at 5 inches with a 1080p AMOLED display and a 16:9 screen ratio and the Pixel 2 XL at 6 inches with a 1440p pOLED display and a 18:9 ratio. Displays should look similar because they are both OLED. Like the latest Samsung phones with AMOLED displays, these two phone come with always on display to show things like time and quick notifications. The phones are wrapped in a metal water-resistant and dust resistant Aluminum unibody.
The proximity and Ambient light sensor are found on the front top of the two phones next to the front 8mp cameras with f/2.4 aperture. Front camera also records video at a maximum of 1080p at 30 frames per second. At the back we see the 12.2mp single dual-pixel camera with laser auto-focus, optical and electronic image stabilization with f/1.8 aperture. The back camera on this these two phones has been given the highest score of 98 by DxOMark which should translate to best camera in a smartphone. The fingerprint sensor also rests at the back of the phones.
On the right side are the volume rockers and an accent power button that essentially come in a number of colors. On the bottom is the USB Type-C port. Unfortunately, no headphone jack is found on these two devices.
They are both powered by the latest most powerful octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor with Adreno 540 GPU with 4GB of RAM and storage configuration of 64GB and 128GB. And because these two are made by Google, it throws in unlimited online storage for photos and videos.
The two phones come with Android 8.0 Oreo out of the box with fast future OS updates as usual. Google Assistant also comes pre-loaded as the main virtual assistant. Interesting to note too, the assistant can be triggered by squeezing the side frames of the phones, a feature we saw emerge first in the HTC U11.
the assistant can be triggered by squeezing the side frames of the phones
We also see fast charging in both phones with 7 hours battery usage on a 15 minutes charge. The Pixel 2 battery measures in at 2700mAh and the Pixel 2 XL at 3520mAh. Both phones are Daydream ready which is why Google also built the Daydream VR that was specifically made for these two.
The Pixel 2 comes in two colors Just Black and White & Black whereas the Pixel 2 XL in Just Black, Clearly White and Kinda Blue. The Pixel 2 retails at $649 and the Pixel 2 XL at $849 off contact.
