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Pixel 2 Reviews: Iterative Update Lacks 'Wow Factor' But Still 'Best Android Phone You Can Buy'

I tried the pixel 2 xl in store and liked it a lot!! Enough to preorder one. I don’t get the hatred on why you have to choose Apple or Google?? They both make great phones! I have had almost every iPhone and too many android phones to count. I’m just sick of the games with iPhone X and how I probably won’t have it till December, as well concerns on the face scanner, it’s a first gen model so I may sit this one out. Also iOS 11 SUCKS for now. My iPhone 6s+ runs like crap now! Very unhappy!! Still have my Apple TV (4K) MacBook and iPad and soon a new pixel phone. Some of you need to stop drinking the kool-aid.
 
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The camera is bananas. Beats every phone ever, the end. Not based on dxomark, based on reality.

I have the Pixel (o.g. 5") and iPhone 8+. T-Mo digits cloned SIM in the Pixel and main SIM in the 8+.

Best of both worlds and the original Pixel camera is really, really good...free full size photo/video uploads forever, too.

The new Pixel 2's are really great phones and frankly the only Android device anyone should buy. The 2XL's screen is not that great though (sunken in, a bit fuzzy, just not good). If I spent money on the 2, I'd get the smaller one. Yes, CHIN FOREHEAD but so what...it's a great design and has a mature Samsung OLED panel (2XL is LG...no Bueno).

Choices are great, folks.
 
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Sitting this iteration of phones out.
I tried the Essential and it had great feel but the software had issues.
The iPhone 8? Old design and nothing really new except wireless charging.
The iPhone X? V1, just like the Essential, pass.
The Pixel line, too much for too little.
I had a Nexus 6P that I got rid of about six weeks ago.
I bought a LG G6. High resolution screen. No side bezels, and no cutout on the top.
Fast enough, carrier unlocked and only $450. I needed a phone after I got rid of the 6P.

Nothing being released is exciting. More rehashed commodity stuff.
 
Google is seen as a geeky-company, like Android: common people will never buy their phones while they are marketed like this. That is why the iPhone is successful: it simply fits the need of a teenage girl to the ones of a grandpa. Brilliant.
 
lowendlinux said:
There's more to a phone than the display but more importantly Pixel customers are not Samsung customers they're looking for different things, and since this is the tech media they're going to align more with the Pixel customer base
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True there are few pixel customers in the great design of things. But display is what you see first and foremost. Even a LCD iphone 8 looks better in person than this display. I wouldn't give 800 dollars for the Pixel 2 XL with a display like that. No way.....................on the otherhand the Samsung made display on the regular Pixel 2 with 1080p is much better calibrated which is the one I would recommend if you are interested in a Vanilla Android phone.
 
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jamesrick80 said:
True there are few pixel customers in the great design of things. But display is what you see first and foremost. Even a LCD iphone 8 looks better in person than this display. I wouldn't give 800 dollars for the Pixel 2 XL with a display like that. No way.....................on the otherhand the Samsung made display on the regular Pixel 2 with 1080p is much better calibrated which is the one I would recommend if you are interested in a Vanilla Android phone.
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I wouldn't walk across the street for any Samsung because it doesn't offer what I'm looking for. I'm also not all that particularly interest in the stock Android the way google ships it but I am interested in the ease and flexibility that Nexus/Pixel lets me make it the way I want it.
 
nilk said:
7 Jet Black is better than 8 metal/glass. On the 8, the metal sides are slippery, whereas the 7 Jet Black has the same grip on the sides as it does the back. That said, all these iPhones are too slippery and I'd just end up using a case/wrap to add grip just to make them usable.

I haven't tried a Pixel 2 in person, but I'd be interested in how the grip compares to iPhones. Looks like another phone I'd use a [thin] case with, but hard to tell without holding it in person.
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Good point. Dramatic difference between jet black and regular black like my 7. (I would have gotten jet black if it wasn't out of stock everywhere XD)
 
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techwhiz said:
Sitting this iteration of phones out.
I tried the Essential and it had great feel but the software had issues.
The iPhone 8? Old design and nothing really new except wireless charging.
The iPhone X? V1, just like the Essential, pass.
The Pixel line, too much for too little.
I had a Nexus 6P that I got rid of about six weeks ago.
I bought a LG G6. High resolution screen. No side bezels, and no cutout on the top.
Fast enough, carrier unlocked and only $450. I needed a phone after I got rid of the 6P.

Nothing being released is exciting. More rehashed commodity stuff.
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Yeah, Apple and Essential are on the same planet.
 
BriSpe said:
If this is your priority than don't look at some numbers and look at pictures taken with both devices and compare them. iPhone 8+ pictures easily beat the P2 pictures. Of course mostly it's a matter of taste but I find iPhone pics also sharper
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Please show me this comparison. Every comparison I've seen the 2xl is noticeably much better than the 8+.
 
The portrait mode that Google has done with the single camera appears really impressive. The video and the slider on this review show it off pretty well:

https://www.theverge.com/2017/10/17/16486108/google-pixel-2-xl-review-android-phone-camera

I'm planning on updating to a 8 later this year and was in an Apple Store playing with a 8 Plus just to sample the Portrait mode performance last weekend. Since its tethered I did portrait mode of the nearest 8 (couple of feet away) with a far wall with light as the background and while it blurred the background beautifully, it consistently blurred the top bezel of the 8 I was photographing - leaving me somewhat deflated, portrait mode was the only reason I wanted the Plus.

That Google can do what they do with a single camera in their 5 inch phone (so you don't have to pay extra and get the huge phone) is tempting - as the camera is one of the main things I look forward to upgrades in performance. Apple should be doing this on the regular 8.
 
It's funny, it seems like for Google devices, "lacking a 'wow' factor" is a minor side note that is quickly glossed over, while for Apple devices the same is an existential crisis of innovation that they get crucified for.
 
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lowendlinux said:
There's more to a phone than the display but more importantly Pixel customers are not Samsung customers they're looking for different things, and since this is the tech media they're going to align more with the Pixel customer base
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I would have been perfectly satisfied with the Pixel 2 panel on the XL. The XL panel's graininess was compared to super low end phones by AndroidCentral. Thats just unreasonable for $900 because the screen has to be acceptable enough to interact through software. It also has a blue tint when you even slightly tilt the phone. Even the original Pixel XL displays were better.
 
drewyboy said:
So in other words, if you have to have the shiniest thing, the Pixel line is not it. If you want one of the best cameras, it sounds like the Pixel 2 is the one to get.

This is exactly what I'm looking for. Camera is my #1 priority for a smartphone. So far, everything I've seen is Pixel 2 handily beats iPhone 8.
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If you want the best 2017 camera wait for iPhone X.
Non the same as iPhone 8.
 
Sasparilla said:
The portrait mode that Google has done with the single camera appears really impressive. The video and the slider on this review show it off pretty well:

https://www.theverge.com/2017/10/17/16486108/google-pixel-2-xl-review-android-phone-camera

I'm planning on updating to a 8 later this year and was in an Apple Store playing with a 8 Plus just to sample the Portrait mode performance last weekend. Since its tethered I did portrait mode of the nearest 8 (couple of feet away) with a far wall with light as the background and while it blurred the background beautifully, it consistently blurred the top bezel of the 8 I was photographing - leaving me somewhat deflated, portrait mode was the only reason I wanted the Plus.

That Google can do what they do with a single camera in their 5 inch phone (so you don't have to pay extra and get the huge phone) is tempting - as the camera is one of the main things I look forward to upgrades in performance. Apple should be doing this on the regular 8.
Click to expand...

If you get the X instead of the 8, you'll benefit from the smaller form factor and the dual rear cameras. And to comment on what you saw with the blurred iPhone in the foreground of Portrait mode, like anything in photography there will be issues that show up in certain circumstances. That blur you saw may actually have been caused by light reflectance issues at the top of the iPhone 8 you were trying to shoot. It might have been a rendering issue in Portrait mode, but it might have been just an issue of lighting.

It's clear that Google has spent a lot of development work on the Pixel 2 cameras and I applaud them for that. For some people, that may be the only thing that they consider in buying a new device and there is nothing wrong with that.
 
Funny how the Apple haters were always quick to rag on the iPhones because they didn't have removeable batteries, expansion card slots, no wireless charging, and hahahahaha no headphone jack. Now here comes what some have touted as the best Android phone ever and guess what features it doesn't have...
 
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Feenician said:
Plenty of people here on this very forum with 5s'. To answer your question more directly, people who want to, and actually receive software updates.
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Yes but the experience of a 5s running iOS 11 sounds horrible. My iPhone 7+ is not running smooth. It is getting better with each update. But a 5s must be brutal.
 
LMAO the dang Camera chipset wont be activated until Android 8.1. Who knows when that will be released. Also, good luck getting software updates 2 years after release.
 
convergent said:
Seems like a decent phone, but unless Google greatly changes their market approach, it will continue to be a niche player.
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off topic but just looking at your sig.... why are you here??
[doublepost=1508271254][/doublepost]
techwhiz said:
Sitting this iteration of phones out.
I tried the Essential and it had great feel but the software had issues.
The iPhone 8? Old design and nothing really new except wireless charging.
The iPhone X? V1, just like the Essential, pass.
The Pixel line, too much for too little.
I had a Nexus 6P that I got rid of about six weeks ago.
I bought a LG G6. High resolution screen. No side bezels, and no cutout on the top.
Fast enough, carrier unlocked and only $450. I needed a phone after I got rid of the 6P.

Nothing being released is exciting. More rehashed commodity stuff.
Click to expand...
so you didnt sit out this iteration then. LG G6 is current gen.
you chose LG G6
 
The first Pixels were the same way. Lacked any WOW factor. Camera was a little overrated which is why I don't really trust DxO. Not a fan of yellowish HDR+ mode or poor dynamic range. Oreo also kinda killed its standby time. My S7 edge was still better in low light but prefer my LGs more because of that wide-angle.

But that software experience was so ace. I hadn't even set the animations to 0.5x or changed the launcher to Nova Prime and it was already so fluid and instantaneous. Liquid UI. Google and Android has come a long way from their jank and laggy experience of yesteryear. Nougat 7.1.1 and 7.1.2 was awesome on it.

What was weird was Google Photos wouldn't play my videos sometimes. But on my iPhone SE or any other Android, it streamed perfectly. Also SwiftKey could lag or freeze up on it. That was the only glaring bug I had with it. If I typed for like 30 min, it would freeze up momentarily.

I loved Very Silver 5" Pixel. Similar dimensions to the iPhone X. I just had to sell it because it couldn't be recognized with Mac and wanted to cut down my bills. Was on Verizon and T-Mobile and needed to rid of Verizon. Would I still pick up another Pixel? Hell yeah. Maybe wait for Pixel 3 or 4 when they change up the design.

Pixel and iPhones are the only phones with no carrier bloatware, boot animation, and branding. Any new series doesn't really hit its stride until Gen 3-5. The first two gens is mostly trial and error.

The LG-manufactured Pixel 2 XL in panda color looks cool but I will wait for the next refresh in design by next year. The rear design did grow on me but I still wasn't in love with it. If you want the software fluidity to age better, stock Android and Pixels are the way to go.

Would I go back to the og Pixels thanks to having original quality for life on Google Photos and last to offer headphone jack? Maybe. But too much redundancy. I still prefer the hardware features with LG. Pixels are great phones. Highly recommended if you enjoy Android though. But not something to show off. Just to get work done.
 
Konceptz804 said:
LMAO the dang Camera chipset wont be activated until Android 8.1. Who knows when that will be released. Also, good luck getting software updates 2 years after release.
Click to expand...

Maybe do some research before mouthing off about things you clearly know nothing about fanboy.
 
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