The two Google Pixel 2 devices launched today bring a lot to the table. They do a lot of things that the previous gen Pixel smartphones couldn’t and improves some others. Like they were anticipated, the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL seem to be a perfect combination of hardware and software made possible by Google.
Design and Display
During the last couple of weeks, the leaks had already said a lot about the design of the Pixel 2 and Pixel XL. In general, the design of both the phones is inspired from the first Pixel series, but the two 2017 phones are still quite different from each other. The Pixel 2 sports a 5-inch 1080p display with the usual 16:9 aspect ratio. Because of this, there are two massive bezels left on the top and bottom.
On the other hand, the Pixel 2 XL houses a 6-inch 1440p display in 18:9 aspect ratio, making it different altogether. The front of the Pixel 2 XL has thinner bezels and more rounded edges of the phone. The bezels on the either sides of the larger 2017 Pixel still seem quite thick. Google has used OLED panels on both the flagships.
The back of the phone resembles the 2016 Pixel series that had a dual tone finish. This year’s Pixels also carry the glass portion on the top while the bottom part is solid aluminium. The colour accents used this year are quite bold, though. The white Pixel 2 XL has a contrasting glass portion in black, while its power key is in bright orange. Same goes for the Pixel 2 in blue, that has a sort of greenish power key.
Features and Specifications
If you remember the Pixel launch event last year, Google took a dig at Apple for removing the headphone jack. And guess what, Google also removed the 3.5mm jack from both the Pixel 2 smartphones. Anyway, Google has compensated for it by throwing in a couple of front-firing stereo speakers. This year’s Pixel devices are also made by HTC, especially because of the “Active Edge” feature on the Pixel phones that was introduced in HTC U11. On the Pixel phones, it will summon the Google Assistant.
Despite the market trend of including dual cameras on the flagship smartphones, Google chose to stay with a single camera. Even with the single camera, the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL will be capable of offering portrait shots with a bokeh effect both from the front and rear cameras. The 12.2MP rear camera, that now supports OIS and f/1.8 aperture, makes use of the “dual-pixel sensor” along with Google’s algorithms to provide a perfect portrait effect.
With all the features, the camera on Pixel 2 scored 98 points on DxOMark, the highest ever for a smartphone.
iPhone’s Live Photos also got ported to the Pixel 2 devices to provide a similar feature of recording 3-second video around a photo. All these photos and videos can be backed up on Google Photos in the highest resolution for free for life! The always-on display is now a thing on Google Pixel 2 while Google Lens has also been introduced but in beta. The Google search bar has been moved to the bottom, right above the Android navigation keys.
For the general specifications, the phones obviously come powered by a Snapdragon 835 processor, sport 4GB of RAM and have an internal storage of 64GB or 128GB. The battery size of the Pixel 2 is 2700mAh, while the larger Pixel 2 XL has a 3520mAh battery. Both the phones come with the IP67 rating and have USB Type-C for charging and data syncing. And in case you didn’t know, both the phones will come with the latest Android 8.0 Oreo pre-installed and will continue to run the latest OS for at least 3 years.
Pricing and Availability
As we mentioned earlier, the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL will come in two storage variants – 64GB and 128GB. The Pixel 2 will be priced starting $649 for the 64GB variant and $749 for the 128GB variant. Similarly, the Pixel 2 XL will start at $849 and go up to $949. The phones will start shipping from October 17th and will also come with a free Google Home Mini for the people who will pre-order the phone.
India is among the first countries to get the Pixel 2 devices but pricing is a different story altogether. They will start shipping in India from November 15th and will be priced starting Rs. 61,000 for the Pixel 2 64GB and go all the way up to Rs. 82,000 for the Pixel 2 XL 128GB variant. The 128GB variant of the Pixel 2 will cost Rs. 70,000 and the 64GB variant of the Pixel 2 XL will cost Rs. 73,000.
Even at these prices, the buyers won’t be getting the Home Mini as the Google Home services haven’t been launched yet here in India.
