Google didn’t lag far behind after the world witnessed major launching events from Apple and Amazon in a short span. The global tech giant in its release of the year event promised big, smart and beautiful. The successors to the previous versions, Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL proved to be the highlights of the October 4th event. Google promised the new Pixel phones to be the best smartphone cameras on the market. (We’ll see about that later.) We waited for the Pixel 2, and this is our take on the latest smartphone in town. Is the new flagship really worth the hype and do you really need it? You’ll have your answers. Stay with us.
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS
Operating System
- Android 8.0.0, Oreo
Processors
- Qualcomm® Snapdragon™835
- 35Ghz + 1.9Ghz, 64Bit Octa-Core
- Adreno 540 GPU
Display
- 0-inch FHD AMOLED at 441ppi
- 5D Corning® Gorilla® Glass 5
- Always-on Display with 16.77 million colors
Cameras
- 2MP rear camera with f/1.8 aperture
- Optical and electronic image stabilization
- Rear Camera Video Capture in 4K @30fps
- 8MP front camera with f/2.4 aperture
Memory & Storage
- 4GB RAM
- With 64GB and 128GB internal storage
Battery
- 2700 mAh battery
- 7 hours of power with just 15 minutes of charge
Network & Connectivity
- Wi-Fi 2.4G + 5GHz 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac
- Bluetooth 5.0 + LE
- NFC
- GSM/EDGE: Quad-band (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz)
- UMTS/HSPA+/HSDPA: Bands 1/2/4/5/8
Sensors
- Active Edge™
- Proximity/ Ambient light sensor
- Accelerometer/ Gyrometer
- Magnetometer
- Barometer
- Back-mounted fingerprint sensor
Colors
- Just Black
- Clearly White
- Kinda Blue
Dimensions & Weight
- Length: 145.7 mm
- Height: 7.8 mm
- Width: 69.7 mm
- Weight: 143g
DESIGN
Let’s get into details about the aesthetic aspect of the flagship smartphone. If you’re more into the appeal of the phone, you probably may have figured it out that it is not in the same league as the latest iPhones or the most recent Samsung releases regarding design. The design is quite basic if that’s what Google tried to achieve. Simple. Sleek. Elegant. (By the way, we loved the Neon power button.) The rear camera is a single lens setup in contrast to the recent trends of the Dual-camera lens. We will discuss Pixel 2’s Camera in detail in the coming section.
Pixel 2 flaunts an Aluminium unibody design with hybrid coating and is IP67 water and dust resistant (only the phone, not the charger and accessories.) So you might have to keep that in mind. The ultra vivid OLED display is protected by the latest Corning® Gorilla® Glass 5.
The front-facing stereo speakers under the hood are meant for clear and crisp delivery of perfect balance of volume, clarity, and frequency so that you don’t miss a beat. Easy connectivity to the newly launched Google Home Mini and Max speakers takes care of all your audio needs and that too in a variety of surroundings. But to people’s dismay, Google did away with the 3.5mm Headphone Jack following in the footsteps of major players like Apple, Lenovo, and LeEco.
CAMERA & FEATURES
The Pixel 2 is already garnering a lot of attention and head swivels in the boundless domain of Mobile Photography. A lot of us expected Google to come up with the latest design trend of the dual primary lens, but Pixel 2 stuck with the Single-lens Rear camera setup. That doesn’t mean they didn’t tweak it up a bit. Deploying the extensive technologies of Optical and Electronic Image Stabilization and the dual pixel phase detection Google has achieved above par performance with the stellar capturing of Pixel 2. We are overly anxious for a hands-on experience and if you love mobile photography as we do be prepared to be blown away with just the camera you ever wanted in a smartphone camera.
Other Features
- Portrait Mode
- Portrait Selfies
- OIS & EIS video stabilization
- Motion Selfies
- Great photos in low light
Camera Gestures
- Quick Access: double click the power button in quick succession to launch the camera from any screen. Never miss a click
- Double Twist your Pixel 2 for Selfie mode
What did we LOVE about Pixel 2?
Google Lens
Google Lens is a fresh new tool that lets you search what you see. How do you use it? It cannot be any simpler. Just snap a pic, go to photos and tap on the Google Tool icon. There it is! Information at your fingertips. You can get information on anything, find directions or just use it because you can with the power of Pixel 2 in your hands.
Active Edge™
Active Edge™ lets you draw up your Google Assistant with a gentle squeeze on the sides of your Pixel 2. (Just like conjuring up the magical Genie by rubbing the lamp!)
AR Stickers
The Augmented Reality experience is set to be awesome with the AR stickers built right into the camera app. Google announced the rollout of AR stickers to the Pixel 2 smartphones later this year.
WHAT MORE WE EXPECTED?
- A slight more effort on the design part to make you really want to have it.
- Well, to be honest, we are a bit disappointed with the loss of 3.5 mm audio headphone jack.
- There’s not much difference between Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL excluding the larger display and bigger battery of the Pixel 2 XL.
- Somewhere along the line, we expected to see a pure bezel-less
IS IT FOR YOU?
With a starting price of $649 which can soar as high and hefty as $949 for 128GB XL, the price seems to be concerning. But if you are bored of iOS and in search of pure and immersive Android experience and into mobile photography, Pixel 2 packs a punch. Go for it. Don’t forget to share the experience with us. Go clicking!
