on October the 2nd Google unveiled two new smartphones the pixel 2 and the
pixel 2 xl these were two of the most highly anticipated devices for 2017
Google was actually kind enough to invite me to get some hands-on time with
both a pixel 2 and the 2 XLl and I was genuinely impressed with what they
were able to offer I actually ended up pre-ordering the pixel to excel and was
really looking forward to sharing my experience with you guys but that
excitement level started declining after the huge controversy regarding the
display issues that some users were experiencing namely the terrible blue
shift in colors when viewing the phone at a slight angle along with burnin
issues and the list just kept going on I then cancel my pre-order which I still
don't regret because I realized that my phone wasn't really worth the price
given the concerns that it had but instead I decided to give its younger
brother the pixel to a chance and you know what if you're looking for a
smartphone with the best camera you know cleaner software experience and a
relatively compact form factor with really good battery life
I think the pixel 2 should be on the top of your list so in this video I'll be
talking about my experience using the pixel 2 for the past few weeks and of
course I'll be talking about the design the build and some of the things that I
still just mmm can't believe will did but yeah we'll just move on to the video
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let's get pricing and specs out of the way the pixel 2 retails for 650 dollars
and that gets you a 5-inch 1080p AMOLED display snapdragon 835 CPU 4 gigabytes
of RAM 64 gigabytes of storage that unfortunately isn't expandable but there
is a 128 gigabyte variant for an extra $100 there are three color options to
choose from just black clearly white and kind of blue yeah that's what Google
decided to label them as anyways the one thing that took me a while to get over
with was the design of the pixel 2 it's not bad by any means but it just doesn't
fit in with the rest of the competitors within the same price range on one hand
you have the Galaxy s8 featuring that beautiful edge to edge display with
then there is the recently announced oneplus 5t with that gorgeous design that
promises to bring the best of Android to the forefront for just $500 the pixel 2
in my opinion shares a similar design language to the Nexus 6p with its larger
bezels the dual front-facing speakers and the fingerprint reader located at
the back which by the way is really fast and unlocking the device the build
quality certainly feels a lot superior to the 6p
the pixel 2 features a metal unibody construction and the body is covered in
this premium hybrid coating material that feels softer to the touch and I
like that it's a lot better than glass backs that have encountered on some
other smartphones but this material choice meant that Google had to
compromise on an important feature that some users cherish and that's wireless
charging and the lack of a headphone jack was a deal-breaker to me obviously
because I use wired headphones all the time it is unfortunate but for users who
have already adapted the wireless route shouldn't find this daunting now you
could take advantage of the USB-C adapter that's included in the box but that can
easily be misplaced so be prepared for that unlike last year's pixel and pixel
XL google has finally decided to add ip67 water and dust resistant rating to
the pixel - so you're not losing out on a key feature that competitors have
started implementing on their flash chips this phone comes with a 5-inch
1080p AMOLED display and unlike competitors that have started
implementing 18x9 aspect ratio screens this phone sticks with the
traditional 16x9 ratio which can't be taken as a negative factor since most
content these days are only available in that aspect ratio I definitely enjoyed
my time watching YouTube videos and a few TV shows on Netflix and on top of
that you've got those dual front-facing speakers that sound amazing seriously
they're the best that I've come across on a 2017 flagship I definitely enjoyed
my time listening to music here let's take a quick listen
now coming back to the display it's only 1080p but that shouldn't throw you off
since it's perfect for the size and you might not notice the smaller screen to
body ratio if you're coming from something like the 6b or an iPhone 7 but
if you're considering switching from a galaxy s8 or an LG G6 you're certainly
going to notice the difference and it might take some time to get used to now
given that this phone uses an AMOLED panel the colors were surprisingly less
vibrant to the eye when I first started using it until recently Google rolled
out an update for both a pixel 2 and the 2 XL that enables users to boost the
saturation of the colors personally I never took advantage of that preset
since I was more comfortable with the natural color profile either way
watching content on this display was great
given its fantastic black levels and good contrast color shift was barely
noticeable unless you tilt the phone 90 degrees but that's a common problem with
every OLED display out there ok let's switch gears and talk about the software
because Google is taking a completely different approach unlike other brands
by combining AI with software and hardware to create this seamless
experience the pixel 2 comes with the latest operating system from Google
currently it's rocking 8.0 Oreo and it's continually receiving updates I've been
a huge fan of stock Android ever since the Nexus series there are no bloatware
applications pre-installed no custom skins which really contributes to the
performance of the device the UI is clean simple and easier to understand so
if you're considering switching from an iPhone the pixel to should be at the top
of your list Google assistant has also matured over
time and it's a lot smarter too having experienced Samsung's bixby on the
galaxy s8 and the note 8 I'm a lot more comfortable using the assistants simply
because I've heavily invested into the Google ecosystem a quick example would
be home automation and how Google talks to those devices for
instance I can trigger the assistant by simply squeezing the device and ask it
to turn on the heater and set it at a certain temperature or I can ask it to
turn on my studio lights and the list just keeps going on depending on the
amount of smart devices you have connected at home the cherry on top of
this is a new squeeze feature that I just mentioned that triggers the
assistant and I've taken advantage of that a lot of times to control my home
devices now it can be accidentally triggered but the user has the option to
adjust the sensitivity of the squeeze or turn it off completely
either way the assistant is there when you need it and it's one step shorter
than having to hold a home button or yell out okay Google and I'm sure the
must have triggered some of your smartphones so thank you another cool
feature that I found on the pixel 2 and the 2 XL is the ability to identify
songs that's playing the background it uses machine learning to identify the
song along with the artist and it instantly displays that info on the lock
screen and it works just as it should it's a subtle feature but I'm sure a lot
of people would appreciate what Google has done here quick note on performance
this thing flies through a multitasking I've noticed that apps were quicker to
respond with touch gestures and I think part of that had to do with the
Snapdragon 835 pushing a 1080p display rather than a qHD panel and there are
other Hardware optimizations that Google has built in to complete that user
experience battery life was fantastic on the pixel too it only features a twenty
seven hundred million power module which might seem a lot smaller when compared
to the Galaxy S8 or the LG G6 but I was easily able to power through a
couple of days with just a single charge again this shouldn't be surprising since
there are no bloatware applications installed and the 1080p AMOLED display
doesn't require too much power to drive casual usage can get you roughly
five-and-a-half hours of screen on time but if you are a heavy user expect
around four and a half to five hours of SOT which is still great given the
excellent standby time do note that my usage normally consists of checking
Twitter Instagram messaging responding to emails catching up on a few YouTube
videos and that's about it but that could vary from one user to the next
okay so the last thing that I have to talk about is the camera it's seriously
the best in the business guys what you're looking at is a 12 point two
megapixel sensor with an F 1.8 aperture that's capable of shooting 4k video at
30 frames per second 1080p up to 120 frames per second and 720p up to 240
frames per second the sensor also features electronic and optical image
stabilization which should theoretically result in better low-light shots as well
as smoother video I left all the settings in auto mode with HDR turned on
for the best possible results and as you can see they're just stunning to look at
there's fantastic dynamic range and the sensor does a really good job exposing
the highlights but at the same time maintaining the detail in the shadows as
well Google has also implemented portrait mode that blurs the background
to make the subject stand out and here's the most interesting part unlike other
smartphones that utilize two separate cameras to emulate that portrait effect
Google uses advanced depth mapping technology to trace out the subject and
isolate the background and it works really well especially in low light
the front facing camera can also take portrait pictures and the results once
again we're jaw-dropping here are a few more samples
so this is the video test from the pixel to smartphone I'm actually just starting
to walk to see how the image stabilization works in 4k I mean looking
at it from my smartphone it looks pretty good I mean it does a really good job
it's pretty stable it's not too shaky which is great so I think you could use
this too maybe you should do some vlogging if
you'd like there's great range details as the present
there's a moving car and yeah I mean overall it looks pretty good super cool
all right so I think it's about time to wrap up my thoughts on the Google pixel
2 I really enjoyed my time using this device the design was something that
took me a while to get used to especially you know coming from the
Galaxy Sade and the LG G6 but the positive side towards these bezels is
the implementation of dual front-facing speakers and they sound amazing the lack
of a headphone jack is a deal-breaker to me personally but it's what it is we I
guess we have to just live with it but if you desperately need a headphone jack
you should probably avoid this phone and you know look towards something like the
oneplus 5t I think what makes a pixel to stand out from the competition is the
software experience Google has done a terrific job combining AI with hardware
and software to give users this seamless experience the UI is cleaner it's great
there are no bloatware applications it's easier to understand and of course it's
fast it helps a lot with performance but most importantly the squeeze feature is
great you can just squeeze the phone to activate Google assistant and if we have
smart devices connected to your place you can control it seamlessly with just
a few steps and that's amazing it's a lot superior than bixby that's for sure
and the last thing that I have to talk about is the camera it's the best in the
business the results really do speak for themselves and I'd love to hear your
thoughts on that in the comments what really surprised me was the portrait
mode on the sensor it just Google does a fantastic job just analyzing the edges
around the subject and it isolates the background there are no weird artifacts
whatsoever I mean it's a hit or miss sometimes depending on harsh conditions
but most of the time you're really gonna get an awesome image when you decide to
use the portrait mode if you're hardcore into mobile photography the pixel 2 is
certainly for you and finally let's talk about pricing because it's $650 this is
an expensive smartphone especially when compared to the oneplus 5t that retails for
$500 but when you put this up against the Galaxy Note 8 that's $1000 or the
galaxy s8 plus that's even a lot more expensive than the pixel 2 what really
makes a smart phone shine over the rest of competition is the camera the battery
life the software experience you are the first in line to receive updates so you
don't have to worry about that in the long run
so I'd love to hear your thoughts on the Google pixel 2 what do you guys think
about this device would you consider this over something like the pixel XL
or even the oneplus 5t let me know in the comments down below i'm Eber with
Hardware Canucks thank you so much for watching make sure to
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