Google Pixel 2 XL review
Google has done it again. In our review, we rate the 6-inch Pixel 2 XL as the best Android smartphone around, thanks to a stellar camera, blazing fast performance, and a beautiful Android experience.
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Google has done it again. Despite impressive competition this year, the Pixel 2 XL is the best Android smartphone in the world. Now before you start jumping at its faults (the lack of a headphone jack; the edges around the screen; or the missing MicroSD slot when the competing Galaxy Note 8Â and LG V30Â both have one) weâll admit, the Pixel doesnât have the best hardware. Google is a software company at heart â and as we explore in our review, thatâs where the Pixel 2 XL shines.
A 6-inch window to a blissful Android world
The Pixel smartphone line began last year as Google abandoned the Nexus brand, signaling its intention to exercise more control over hardware. What used to be a collaboration with a manufacturer is now a phone designed completely by Google.
There was never a singular, iconic look to Nexus phones. The Motorola-made Nexus 6, for example, aped the look of other Motorola phones. Thatâs not the case with the Pixel 2 XL, which carries forward the design of last yearâs Pixel XL. Itâs becoming easier to distinguish a Pixel in a market flooded with lookalikes. Thatâs important if Google wants the average person to remember what itâs trying to sell.
Julian Chokkattu/Digital Trends
Whatâs nice is it doesnât look like your average smartphone, thanks to the two-tone glass and aluminum rear design. A quarter of the phone top on the rear is glass, while the rest is metal. This yearâs Pixel 2 XL is slightly different, with a bigger camera that sadly sticks out a tad, and the glass stops before the fingerprint sensor. Gone are ugly antenna lines, now masked in glass. It looks a lot more refined and mature than last yearâs Pixel XL, in part because Google has left the edges more angular, rather than rounding them off.
We really love the Pixel 2 XLâs design, and we liked last yearâs model as well, but this is subjective. Weâve already heard âuglyâ thrown around the office, and some friends just arenât sold on the design. The metal on the back, which has a unique matte texture, is particularly polarizing. Itâs almost like a smooth chalkboard. We think it feels nice to the touch, but hold an iPhone 8 Plus or a Galaxy Note 8 and youâll feel as though the Pixel 2 XL isnât made of similar, high-quality materials. The Pixel is far lighter, and the all-glass design on Apple and Samsungâs phones screams premium.
Flip the phone over, and youâll find what makes the Pixel 2 XL the better phone to buy over the regular Pixel 2: A large, display with small bezels. Itâs the smartphone design trend of the year, and any phone that doesnât minimize the edges around the screen easily looks dated against the likes of the Galaxy S8, the LG V30, the iPhone X, and the Essential Phone.
That said, the Pixel 2 XLâs bezels arenât as slim as that crowdâs, and the sides donât blend the display into the rear like the Note 8. Still, you get something close, and we like how the screenâs edges are rounded, like the LG G6. It looks like a 6-inch window into pure Android bliss.
Itâs becoming easy to distinguish a Pixel phone.
The Pixel 2 XL benefits from a gorgeous pOLED screen, with a high 2,880 Ă 1,440 pixel resolution. With 538 pixels per inch, this screen looks sharp, and colors just pop off the screen. When compared to an iPhone 8 Plus, the color temp is cooler, and blacks look far darker. The screen gets bright enough to view outside, but just barely.
Google opted for an 18:9 aspect ratio instead of the traditional 16:9. Most Android apps are designed to scale, but you will run into issues where some apps look a little strange, almost like theyâre cut off at the top and bottom because they do not scale. Weâve only seen this with a handful of games, but strangely Google does not offer an option to force an app to scale, as LG and Samsung do.
While last yearâs Pixel phones had an ambient display that would flash in and out when there was a new notification, the Pixel 2 XL has an always-on display similar to the V30 and the S8. It always shows the time, date, whether the phone is charging, and notification icons. Double tap the screen to wake the display, or double tap a notification to go right into the app.
The reason to buy the Pixel 2 XL over the 5-inch Pixel 2 is the display. It looks great, especially with a wallpaper from Googleâs Living Universe collection, which add eye-catching movements to the screen like waves crashing onto a beach. The minimal edges around the screen really do improve the overall design of the phone, making everything feel far more immersive.
Goodbye headphone jack
Thereâs only one port on the Pixel 2 XL: USB Type-C. After poking fun at Appleâs controversial decision to remove the headphone jack from the iPhone 7 Plus last year, Google has followed suit. Itâs a dealbreaker for a lot of people, understandably. Removing the 3.5-mm headphone jack forces Pixel owners to use a dongle they may likely lose, or shell out for wireless buds, which are often pricier than wired ones.
The only silver lining comes in the form of dual front-facing stereo speakers. No longer do your fingers block the sound from the bottom-firing speakers. They easily get loud, and sound well balanced. Unlike the Huawei Mate 10 Pro, thereâs thankfully Bluetooth 5Â on board. That should bring better range, less interference, and lower battery consumption for wireless headphones.
Speedy performance
Last yearâs Pixel smartphone had an edge over the competition. It was the first to feature Qualcommâs Snapdragon 821 processor, which was a tad better than the Snapdragon 820 found on many 2016 flagships. Despite rumors suggesting the Pixel 2 XL would use a new Snapdragon 836 chip, itâs powered by the same Snapdragon 835 thatâs in the likes of the Galaxy S8, leveling the playing field.
But thereâs still an edge the Pixel has over the Android competition. As Google designed the hardware and software, itâs able to optimize the operating system closely â far more than most manufacturers. It also helps that Googleâs software is pure, bloatware-free Android. As such, performance is blazing fast and weâve yet to run into any issues. Launching apps and moving through the OS is fluid and fast, and games such as Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Transformers: Forged to Fight, and SUP performed without a hitch.
Take a look at the benchmark scores:
- AnTuTu: 111,112
- Geekbench 4: 1,179 single-core, 4,413 multi-core
- 3DMark Sling Shot Extreme: 2,318
Our Pixel 2 XL scores were surprisingly lower than many other Snapdragon 835 devices. Samsungâs Galaxy Note 8, which has the same processor, got an AnTuTu score of 167,946, and the LG V30 scored a 171,669. Unsurprisingly, the iPhone still reigns king with the A11 Bionic processor and an unrivaled score of 222,462. Benchmarks scores arenât the be-all end-all of performance, and all these devices offer plenty of horsepower. Weâve been blown away by the Pixel 2 XLâs speed, and it will likely be just as fast a year down the line like our 2016 Pixel XL.
The Pixel 2 XL comes with 4GB of RAM, and a choice of 64GB or 128GB of storage. Thereâs no MicroSD card slot, but you do get unlimited high-quality photo storage via Google Photos.
An elegantly simple Android 8.0 Oreo experience
The best part about Pixel smartphones is the software experience. Namely, youâll get three years of version and security updates with the Pixel 2 XL. Thatâs important, as it keeps your device secure and brings you the latest features for a longer time than most Android phones.
Googleâs version of Android is simple, uncluttered, elegant, and fluid. The home screen has been slightly refreshed over last yearâs Pixel: The Google Search bar moves to the bottom of the screen, making it easier to access; and a neat new calendar widget shows you your next meeting and the weather. Swipe to the right and youâll access the Google Feed, which sports a transparent background. Swipe down to access the notification drawer, which now adds a shade the color of your wallpaper.
Googleâs version of Android is simple, uncluttered, elegant, and fluid.
Press and hold the power button, and youâll see the Power Off and Restart options look a lot nicer, similar to the design of app shortcuts (the options that pop up when you long-press an app). The Settings menu has been condensed greatly, largely thanks to Android 8.0 Oreo, which introduces a host of new features such as Notification Dots, Picture-in-Picture mode, and more. To learn more, read our in-depth Android 8.0 Oreo review.
Google Assistant is mostly unchanged, but Google has taken a page out of HTCâs book with a feature called Active Edge. Like Edge Sense on the HTC U11, you can squeeze the edges of the phone to trigger an action. It works really well, but itâs tough remembering itâs a feature we can use. Itâs handy when youâre out in public, your hands are full, and you donât want to say âOK Googleâ out loud. Still, we would have liked the option to customize the trigger to do something else, like open an app. This is possible on the HTC U11, but it looks like Google wants to keep it strictly for Assistant, like Samsung forcing people to use its Bixby button for the Bixby assistant.
One of our favorite additions is Now Playing. Itâs a rather simple feature that detects what song is playing in the background and it will add the name and artist to the Always-on Display. Donât worry, Google isnât listening to what youâre saying 24/7 â the phone looks up the audio fingerprint of the song in a database that âlives on the phone.â The database is updated with new music each week, and if itâs there the Pixel 2 XL can tell you what songâs playing. It all happens offline, on the device. You can tap on the song name and Assistant will open it, and allow you to view it in your music app of choice.
It generally picked up pop songs within 10 to 20 seconds of entering a restaurant or store. It took about a minute for songs a little more obscure, and sometimes it just couldnât identify it. Google Assistant, though, can finally identify whatâs playing.
âNow Playing isnât intended to be an âon-demandâ music recognizer,â a Google spokesperson told Digital Trends. âInstead, we mean for Now Playing to be glanceable and ambient. Assistant Sound Search (asking âwhatâs this song?â) will offer on-demand song recognition.â
The recognizer runs once per minute when continuous music is playing to conserve power, and we didnât notice much of a dip. If you donât like it or think itâs affecting battery life, you can turn it off.
All-in-all the software experience is the bread and butter of the Pixel phone, and Google nails it yet again.
The best camera on a smartphone
There could not be a better example of Googleâs software strengths over hardware than the camera on the Pixel 2 XL. While nearly every other manufacturer has gone with a dual-camera setup on their smartphones, Google boldly said it just needs a one.
What blew us away, though, is Portrait Mode â specifically on the selfie camera.
Last yearâs Pixel quickly got a reputation for having an excellent camera. While we thought so too, and said it was often better than the iPhone 7 Plus at the time, one of our complaints was how it tended to oversaturate images. Thatâs not a problem with the 12-megapixel camera on the Pixel 2 XL.
Colors are impressively accurate, images are always brilliantly detailed, and best of all the camera app is incredibly fast and simple to use. Thereâs virtually zero shutter lag.
The Pixel 2 XLâs image processing can do some wonders in taking out or minimizing grain in low-light photos as well. The always-on HDR+Â makes sure photos are never overexposed or underexposed in certain areas â and if they are, a brightness slider usually lets you correct the look. Occasionally, photos can look like someone cranked the clarity a little too high, but the images are always something weâre still likely to share.
What blew us away, though, is Portrait Mode â specifically on the 8-megapixel selfie camera. Portrait Mode is now a feature on many dual-camera phones, as the data from both cams help create a DSLR-like blur (or bokeh) around a subject. Google had a version before called Lens Blur, but it required you to raise the camera up after snapping a shot so it could capture depth data. Itâs now much simpler: Just tap the shutter icon.
Google uses software to determine depth. The results are most often accurate, and images are processed much faster than last yearâs Lens Blur on the Pixel. Sure, thereâs the odd photo or two where the blur wasnât quite right, but weâre genuinely impressed with them when it works. It frequently manages to do a great job of correctly picking out even small strands of hair that should not be blurred out (with exceptions, of course). Take a look at the comparison between the iPhone 8 Plus Portrait Mode vs. the Google Pixel 2 XLâs Portrait Mode. The iPhone 8 Plus has stronger bokeh and a brighter picture, but the hair strangely has a slight blur. The Pixel photo is a littler darker with weaker blur, but you can see strands of hair that are in focus.
Two other smartphone photography tricks Google has added are more gimmicky than useful. Motion Photos mimics Appleâs Live Photos â tap on the shutter icon and the phone will take 3 seconds of video. Googleâs software picks the best place to start and stop the video, and then loops it. Itâd be nice to see some iOS 11 effects here, like Long Exposure and Bounce.
The other is Google Lens, which is still in a preview program. When you activate it on a photo in your library, Google will try to detect whatâs in the image. Itâs not terribly useful right now as itâs limited to what it can detect. We tried to get it to detect crab rangoon, but it just ran an image search for âfood.â Google told Digital Trends Google Lens works best right now with detecting landmarks, books, artwork, movie posters, album covers, video games; and you can âtake action on text,â like email addresses, phone numbers, addresses and URLs. We think the latter feature is the most useful at the moment, and you can use it to scan barcodes and QR codes. Google said more options will be added over time.
The best part of the Pixelâs camera is that it just works reliably 99 percent of the time, and it does a bang-up job in most lighting environments. Portrait Mode is our favorite feature, and youâll fall in love with it if you frequently take selfies. The only other phone that will let you take Portrait Mode selfies is the unreleased iPhone X.
Nearly a dayâs worth of battery
Battery life is perhaps one of the more disappointing areas for the Pixel 2 XL. Itâs not awful, but with heavy usage we hit 20 percent by 8 p.m, after pulling it off the charger around 8 a.m. Thatâs with streaming music, web browsing, using social media, watching YouTube videos, taking photos, and more.
Weâve certainly seen better battery life in other smartphones
On a lighter day of mostly browsing the web and taking a few photos, we hit about 45 percent by 9 p.m. Weâve certainly seen better battery life in other smartphones such as the LG V30. Like most flagship devices, youâll still need to charge your phone every day, but the Pixel 2 XL did make us feel anxious whenever we didnât have a charging cable on hand as a precaution.
At idle, the Pixel 2 XL only lost a little under 10 percent after leaving it on for most of a day. And when you need a boost, it charges up incredibly fast with the included charger. We watched it shoot from 39 percent to 79 percent in only 40 minutes.
Price, availability, and warranty
The Google Pixel 2 XL costs $850 for 64GB of storage or $950 for 128GB. Itâs available on the Google Store, though some models may be out of stock. Itâs also being sold via Best Buy, and the only carrier selling it is Verizon. Beware the âexclusively on Verizonâ signs though, as purchasing the phone from Google means it will work on any major U.S. carrier.
Google offers a standard limited warranty that protects the device from manufacturing defects one year from the date of purchase. If youâre paranoid, you can add Preferred Care for $130 extra, and it gives you âworry-free protection for your phone for two years,â including two claims for accidental damage. It also adds access to walk-in centers for screen repairs, priority access to specially-trained agents 24/7, and unlimited expert sessions to learn tips to use the phone.
Our Take
Blazing-fast speed, a brilliant camera, an uncluttered and beautiful Android experience, all in a futuristic, edge-to-edge design. A headphone jack would have been icing on the cake, but this is still the Android cake to own.
Is there a better alternative?
Yes, the iPhone 8 Plus is a great alternative that matches the Pixel 2 XL on a lot of fronts. It has a great camera, a buttery smooth software experience, and the fastest mobile processor around. If you donât have a preference towards an operating system, the iPhone 8 Plus is worth a look â though you may also want to glance at the upcoming iPhone X.
If you want to stick to Android, we think the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 is a stellar option. It has dual optical image stabilization on its cameras, and it can take excellent photos as well. Itâs a little pricier at $930.
The LG V30 is a nice middle ground, costing around $800, and it has a headphone jack, as well as a fun wide-angle camera if you want something unique.
How long will it last?
The Google Pixel 2 XL is finally IP67 water-resistant, which means you can take it underwater up to 1.5 meters for 30 minutes. This helps with durability, but thereâs not much stopping the phone from shattering if you drop it, unless you grab a case. The Pixel smartphones receive software updates instantly from Google, and the Pixel 2 XL should get them for three years. Expect this device to last four to five years.
Should you buy it?
Absolutely. If you donât care much for the missing headphone jack, the Pixel 2 XL is the best Android phone around.