Google Pixel 2 XL

I’ve been using the original Google Pixel for almost an year, and while it’s not perfect, I love it for the snappy performance, the latest and purest iteration of Android and of course, the cameras. In fact, as a reviewer, I don’t have a permanent daily driver, but the Pixel has come closest to that (if not as a primary phone, then as a secondary one). So naturally, I was excited to test out its successor and see whether it takes forward the brand’s ideology, and if it irons out the kinks in the first-gen Pixel. For the most part, the answer is a resounding yes. Interestingly, even without entirely following the latest trends in the smartphone industry, it manages to offer a smooth performance, impressive cameras, and a long-lasting battery life, topped with the goodness of Android Oreo. So is the Google Pixel 2 XL the best Android smartphone out there, especially considering its starting price of Rs 73,000? Well, it’s not as clear as black and white, so read on to find out why we think so.

Well, I can’t proceed with the review before addressing the elephant in the room. The Pixel 2 XL has been mired in controversies ever since its launch, but the biggest issue is its pOLED panel which is manufactured by LG. Following the trend of tall displays, the screen measures 6-inches diagonally and bears a resolution of 2,880 x 1,440 pixels, resulting in a crisp text and images. However, Google has opted for a wider P3 colour gamut, instead of the prevalent sRGB profile, and along with 8.0 Oreo’s colour space, it aims to deliver accurate colours. Sadly, in my experience, this has resulted in a dull display with muted colours. Thankfully, the company is taking user feedback, and it has now rolled out a software update which introduces boosted and saturated modes, along with the normal one. In my experience, I couldn’t find much difference between natural and boosted modes (it’s similar to the vivid mode in the factory-installed build), but the saturated mode works well – it certainly results in pleasing vivid colours, even though that might not be entirely accurate. It’s still not comparable to the competition like the Galaxy Note8 or iPhone X – both of which use OLED screens – but still it’s better than before, and shows Google’s willingness to listen to frequent complaints and fix them immediately. 

Last year, Google Pixel duo’s design seems to be inspired by the Apple iPhone 6, but this year the brand has ensured that its devices stand out from the crowd. It continues with the glass portion at the top of the rear panel of the Pixel 2 XL, which thankfully is now smaller in size than earlier. While it makes the design slightly fragile, it does lend a distinct identity to the smartphone.

There’s a popular saying “tools don’t make the artist”, and if we take the same parallel in the world of smartphone photography, then the Google Pixel 2 XL takes this philosophy to heart. On the spec side of things, the smartphone flaunts a single rear-facing 12-megapixel unit with f/1.8 aperture. Not a big deal in the age of dual rear camera-toting phones or devices with wider f/1.6 lenses, you’d think, right? But looking past the specs, the Pixel 2 XL blows the competition out of the water. We’ve been strong believers in the fact that software makes the world go round, and the camera capabilities of the Pixel 2 twins are the prime examples of that. With the help of Google’s computational photography, the phone is able to deliver impressive images across all conditions. The photographs clicked with the Pixel 2 XL show an ample of amount of detail with impressive colour reproduction. Not just landscape or close up shots in good lighting conditions, the smartphone delivers great pictures in dim settings too.

For years, Nexus-branded devices were responsible for delivering the latest iteration of Android. However, with the Pixel smartphones, Google has changed that equation. Last year, LG’s V20 offered Android Nougat before the original Pixel, and this year, it was the Sony Xperia XZ1 (review) that brought us Android Oreo first. That said, Android 8.0 Oreo brings quite a few small-yet-useful changes to Android along with bringing several behind-the-scenes improvements. Additionally, the Pixel 2 siblings do bring some features which are exclusive to them at the moment. 

The Google Pixel 2 XL continues to follow, yet defy trends in its own way. While the smartphone features the top-of-the-line Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 SoC, it’s mated with standard 4 gigs of RAM, and not 6GB or 8GB as is the case with many other flagships. But you’ll hardly be able to notice the difference in real-life performance. From basic navigation to jumping between screens, and from switching between apps to running heavy apps or games, the device performs like a champ. There was nary an instance of lag, except for the aforesaid app freezes, the blame for which goes to the software. At any point of time, I had anywhere between 15 to 20 apps open, and not only the device jumped between them instantly, it also retained the position where I was in the particular app.

As much as I love my Google Pixel, its battery life is its weak link as it runs out before the end of the day. That wasn’t the case with its bigger brother, the Pixel XL, and nor with its next iteration, the Pixel 2 XL. The latter's 3,520mAh battery has been well optimised and ensures that you get a day’s worth of battery life and then some more. Even with heavy usage of 4G / Wi-Fi, gaming, 30 minutes of calls, GPS navigation for around two hours and streaming music or podcasts for the same amount of time, the device manages to go on till the next day comfortably. I constantly got a screen-on time of around four hours, and on one instance, it reached a record five hours and 30 minutes. I have rarely come across a device with such an impressive runtime. The experience reflected in the 91mobiles battery test as well, wherein we ran an HD video on loop with both the brightness and volume levels set at 50 percent and all connectivity options turned off except for cellular, and the devices lasted for more than 15 hours before the battery died.