Hi guys, it's MTG here and today I'm going to take another look at two of my favorite
Android smartphones: the Pixel 2 XL and the OnePlus 5T.
These are two great phones that I find myself recommending a lot.
In this video I'll be comparing the phones in six different categories, and in the end
I'll give my recommendations.
You could keep a mental scoreboard as to which one wins each category for you, and hopefully
this video helps you out if you happened to be stuck between the two.
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The first category I will look at is design and specifications.
Both phones are very similar in terms of their size and their feel.
The construction of the Pixel 2 XL feels very solid.
It has a mostly aluminum back with a glass portion at the top for its antennas.
The front of the phone is Corning's Gorilla Glass 5.
It's not the best designed phone by any means, but personally, I think the design is very
clean, and I also applaud Google for putting two big, front-firing speakers on the front
of its phone.
Powering the phone is an octa-core Snapdragon 835 processor.
The Pixel 2 XL has 4 GB of RAM and comes in either 64 or 128 GB storage options.
Its screen is a 6 inch P-OLED panel with a QHD+ resolution of 1440 by 2880 (538 ppi).
The OnePlus 5T has an aluminum body that also feels very solid in the hand.
The front is also Corning's Gorilla Glass 5.
The 5T is a phone that no doubt looks and feels like a premium phone.
It's powered by an octa-core Snapdragon 835 processor as well, but comes with an impressive
6 or 8 GB of RAM along with its storage options of 64 GB and 128 GB.
The 5T sports a 6 inch AMOLED panel with a resolution of 1080 by 2160 (401).
Next I'll get into the batteries.
I wanted to mention that recent Android phones, in large part due to the efficiency of these
newer chipsets, have had some impressive battery lives.
The OnePlus 5T has a 3300 mAh battery whereas the Pixel 2 XL has a 3520 mAh battery.
Both phones have really great battery lives.
With either phone, I very rarely feel as if I need to charge it before the end of the
day.
However the OnePlus 5T stands out from other smartphones, including the Pixel 2 XL, because
of how fast it can charge.
The included Dash Charging cable and adapter charge the 5T significantly faster than I've
seen on any other phones.
The Pixel 2 XL does charge really fast with its fast charging capabilities, but it charges
slower than the 5T for sure.
It is a downside that both phone manufacturers didn't elect to put wireless charging on their
new devices, but both phones do slightly make up for it in terms of their ability to recharge
relatively quickly.
Camera is a category that I don't want to spend too much time on because I do have an
in-depth camera comparison up on my channel that you should check out if you want to see
more test shots, videos, and microphone tests.
The OnePlus 5T has a dual camera setup.
Its main camera is 16 Megapixels whereas the second, low-light camera is 20 Megapixels.
The lowlight camera sounds good in theory, but in reality, you can't switch to this camera
manually, and it only comes on when it senses the scene is dark enough, which very rarely
happens.
The 5T can shoot 4K at up to 30 fps and has electronic image stabilization.
Its front camera is an impressive 16 Megapixels, has an aperture of f/2.0, can shoot video
at up to 1080p, and also has EIS.
The Pixel 2 XL has a single 12 Megapixel camera that has an aperture of f/1.8.
It can shoot 4K at up to 30 fps and has both optical and electronic image stabilization.
The 2 XL's front camera is 8 Megapixels with aperture of f/2.4 and can shoot 1080p video.
Both phones don't have telephoto cameras so they both rely heavily on software to process
portrait mode pictures.
In my testing, the OnePlus 5T actually did a lot better that I had anticipated.
The 5T takes some of the most realistic shots of any smartphone camera system in terms of
keeping colors true to life.
In outdoor shots with good lighting, it was difficult to distinguish between the two phones'
pictures.
However in more complex lighting scenarios, Google's superior post-processing shows through
with better HDR capabilities.
In terms of portrait mode or pictures of people in general, there still isn't a phone that
does a better job than the Pixel 2 XL.
In whatever the lighting scenario, the Pixel 2 XL knows how to process its pictures to
maintain detail in the subject.
That being said, you will not be disappointed by either camera system.
Both Google and OnePlus didn't pack too many extra features into their late latest smartphones.
The 5T and 2 XL are both designed to be simple and bloat-free, which many people do like.
That being said, both smartphones do have extra features that will help you out on a
day-to-day basis.
The OnePlus 5T has facial recognition, albeit not very secure facial recognition, that instantly
puts you into your home screen.
The 5T has different gesture controls that can do different actions on your phone like
turn on and off the flashlight or open different apps.
Also, the phone almost miraculously it seems, maintains a headphone jack.
Bluetooth has been improving, but still just being able to plug in some wired headphones
that don't need to be charged is very convenient.
The Pixel 2 XL is IP67 rated water and dust resistant.
It has an always on display that displays the time, date, and any notifications you
may have.
When music is playing, the phone can locally detect what song it is and display that for
you as well.
On the 2 XL you can squeeze the body of the phone to activate the Google Assistant.
It doesn't have a headphone jack, but it has two large front-firing stereo speakers that
do get pretty loud.
Keep in mind that both phones do not support expandable storage, but Google includes unlimited
Google Photos storage with the Pixel 2 XL, and OnePlus only charges $50 to upgrade to
the 128 GB storage and 8 GB of RAM option OnePlus 5T if you wanted the extra storage
or RAM.
All of the features and specs wouldn't mean anything if your phone didn't have a nice
interface.
So overall usability and software is a category that is extremely important when choosing
a new smartphone.
A major pull factor Google has with its smartphones is the fact that they will always be running
the latest and greatest stock Android.
The stock experience is very noticeable in terms of its snappiness, responsiveness and
overall clean interface.
That being said, the OnePlus 5T has a very minimal Oxygen OS skin on top of Android,
keeping its interface very clean as well.
Both phones rarely stutter.
Where the OnePlus 5T excels in pure RAM capacity, the Google Pixel 2 excels in optimization.
You'll be able to navigate both phones very quickly, and especially with the 8 GB model
OnePlus 5T, you'll be able to keep many apps open and ready in the background.
Both phones are also great for media consumption, in theory.
The OnePlus 5T may have a lower resolution screen than the Pixel 2 XL, but it looks like
the higher quality display between the two.
But, even with the Oreo update, the 5T still cannot watch Netflix or Amazon Prime Video
in HD.
The 2 XL does have a noticeable blue shift when you tilt the screen, but in all honesty
I got over the issue very quickly and I don't take notice to it on a daily basis.
The stereo speakers also prove to be a very nice feature when watching videos.
Naturally, both phones do occasionally stutter, but in those instances a simple restart gets
everything running smoothly again.
These phones show how far Android has come in terms of its ease of use.
One thing I wanted to also make note of is the fact that Pixel 2 XL's are sold in physical
stores like Best Buy and Verizon here in the U.S.. As a result, you'll be able to get technical
assistance easily.
On the other hand, OnePlus operates in China with everything done through their website.
I haven't had any issues yet, but I imagine that it will be harder to obtain technical
assistance with the 5T as opposed to the Pixel 2 XL.
In this instance, the price of the two phones are going to really impact your choice between
these two phones.
The Pixel XL starts at around $850 whereas the OnePlus 5T starts at only around $500.
OnePlus doesn't just give you a great phone for the price, they also give you a free case
and a free pre-installed screen protector.
On the other hand Google includes unlimited Google Photos storage for your pictures and
4K videos.
Pixel users are also guaranteed the newest updates at all times.
A $350 price difference is not something that you can simply ignore.
It comes down to what you value most in a phone to determine whether a phone is worth
it.
You have to determine monetarily how much certain things like camera or stereo speakers
or water resistance mean to you.
Different people are willing to pay more for certain features.
The Pixel 2 XL and the OnePlus 5T have both pleasantly surprised a lot of people.
The 2 XL has shown just how great a smartphone could process pictures regardless of lighting
scenario.
The OnePlus 5T showed how much you can pack into a phone that costs half the price as
some of its competition.
If you value a camera above all else, you should go with the Pixel 2 XL.
Even if other camera systems are improving, the Pixel 2 XL is still on another level in
terms of its detail in its camera.
If you want a stock Android experience and always want the latest software updates, then
you should also go with the Pixel 2 XL.
If you need a headphone jack, then you should go with the OnePlus 5T.
If you don't mind not having a major name brand phone, I think you'll be really happy
with the OnePlus 5T.
In the end it comes down to what you value most in a phone.
Given this information, pick the phone that suits your needs better, whether they be feature-wise
or monetary-wise.
You really can't go wrong with either one.
That's all I had to talk about today, thanks for watching, and I will see you in the next
video.