Today I received my new Google Pixel 2 XL and wanted to share some of the love I now have for my new found communication device.
This is my first Google phone and I have to say it is so refreshing to not get a phone that is riddled with pre-installed “Junkware” that I don’t need. What I mean here is all the proprietary applications that many cellular companies pre-load. Similar to when you purchase a new computer from a big box retailer and the first hour after you turn it on is spent uninstalling all the crap that comes with it.
The Google Pixel 2 XL is a sleek phone with a massive 3 in x 6.2 in tall screen with Gorilla Glass so you know it’s tough. Here’s the full specs on the screen…
- Fullscreen 152-mm display
- QHD+ (2880 x 1440) pOLED at 538ppi
- 18:9
- 3D Corning® Gorilla® Glass 5
- Always-on display
- 100% DCI-P3 coverage
- 100000:1, super contrast ratio
- True black level
- Full 24-bit depth or 16.77 million colors
It’s also water resistant and has a long life battery that lasts 7 hours on a 15 minute charge! The camera is a whopping 12.2 megapixel and in my testing so far has taken some amazing photos.
A feature I just used this morning is called Google Lens. This is an add-on to the camera making it an intelligent eye. For example I took a picture of a business card and Google Lens automatically read all the details off the card and allowed me to quickly create a new contact without typing anything! Now that’s a smart camera.
The same feature allows you to take a picture of a book to get detailed information on the contents and author, it will read event details if you snap a pic of an event poster and give you landmark information for pictures of landmarks…great for tourists!
The rear of the device includes the camera, flash, light sensors and a fingerprint reader which can be used to unlock the phone quickly without punching in a code. You can register multiple fingers as well so you can open it easily with both hands.
A strong Qualcomm Snapdragon 935 processor makes this phone nice and snappy and a built in security chip to reinforce your lock screen protects against malware and hardware attacks.
Alright I’ve talked about how great this thing is but what are some of the not so great points. Here’s my list of things I don’t love about it:
Cannot change the battery. Common among all new phones now is the inability to replace the battery. I don’t understand why this is becoming the trend but I suspect it is to maintain the water resistant feature. Not great for the environment though as it causes more people to upgrade their entire phone instead of just replacing the battery.
No expandable memory (albeit it comes with 128 GB and includes unlimited cloud storage for your photos and videos). You cannot plug in any additional memory cards to expand storage so make sure you buy what you need up front.
Yet another charging adapter!! Be prepared to change all the chargers you purchased for your previous phone. The Google Pixel 2 requires a USB-C cable. It comes with one.
No headphone jack. You’ll need to use either the included adapter that plugs into the charging port and gives you a standard headphone jack or get yourself a set of wireless Bluetooth headphones.
Well that about covers this review. So how do you get your hands on one of these beauties? Simply go to your local cell phone retailer or visit your cellular carriers website and they’ll likely have a great offer for you. I’ve also seen them on Amazon as well for varying prices. Here’s a link to one that had 5 left at the time I wrote this post https://amzn.to/2uvLOaI.
You can also grab one directly off of Google which apparently means you get updates faster than from buying from a cellular carrier but you’ll have to pay full price rather than subsidizing it on a cell plan over a few years https://dylanhodge.biz/maket3e3d9.
Thanks for reading Google Pixel 2 XL Review – Best Phone For Your Business.
