Pixel 2 – A Google Phone Review

Taking a firm stance against Apple, Google surprised a lot of fans by launching the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2XL , a few months earlier in 2017. This phone captured all the eyeballs, thanks to its many interesting features.  With its release in India, just weeks after the US release, I managed to get one during the sale period at a very good price (almost a couple of thousand cheaper than the US listings). So a few months down the line, how does the Pixel 2 fare? Is it worth a buy and meets all the hype and expectations? Read on..

Price :  

I’m beginning my review with the price , because this is where Google made the biggest blunder.  They had a pre-booking price of 69,000 for the Pixel 2 and 79,000 Rs for the Pixel 2XL.  Given the strong positive buzz, this seemed to be a great deal, given the fact that the iPhone X, also launched at the same time had a starting price of 89,000 and went upto 1,04,000 and was hardly in stock as well..

But barely two weeks later, the price crashed from 61,000 to just 40,000 (A Massive drop of 35% ). This was the biggest letdown for all those fans who bought it at the original price of 61,000 or 79000 (for the 2 or 2XL versions). No one can actually reason out such a massive price drop , barely two weeks since its release , despite good sales figures..

But , from my point of view, having bought at the revised price of 40,000 this is an excellent buy.

Camera 

Without a doubt, one of the best camera phones in the world is the Pixel 2. With a DXO rating of 98/100 , edging out even the iPhone X, the portrait mode of the Pixel 2 was highly talked about. The picture resolution is ridiculously good with exceptional clarity. Capturing movements in perfect sync, the phone can do wonders with it’s camera. No Surprises that you can blindly buy the phone, just for the camera

Some random clicks from my Pixel 2

Rear Camera : 12.2MP and Front Camera : 8MP

OS & Processor 

With Google having installed the stock android version of 8.0 (Oreo) , you can be assured of a smooth experience while navigating across multiple tabs and simultaneous usage of many applications. 
They have also gone ahead with the most recent & advanced 64 bit Octa core processor of Qualcomm Snapdragon 835.

Memory 

Google boasts of an unlimited storage through uploading in Google Photos cloud. The inbuilt memory is 64GB , which is more than enough to take a zillion pictures and store a lot of music and data.

Battery 

Frankly this is one small area, which I feel is a letdown. Despite being only a 5′ device, the battery capacity of 2700 mah is very low , given the current industry average of best 4GB mobiles is 3300+ mah. This may have a significant impact on the talk time and usage. However the Pixel 2 XL , being a 6′ device has a battery of 3520 mah.
However it comes with a super fast charger and takes hardly any time to get a 100% charge.

Other Interesting Features

  • AR Stickers : You can actually pick your characters from famous movies and drop in during the camera/video mode. This includes Star Wars, Stranger Things and so many other shows
  • Now Playing : This is one super interesting feature that I love the most. The phone automatically detects the song being played in the nearby area and displays it in the homescreen.
  • Face Unlock : Without a doubt, the face unlock is super simple and ridiculously fast.

Things that could have been better

  • Single Sim : It would have been so much better if the device had come with a dual sim feature.
  • No 3.5mm Jack : Most phones are discontinuing this feature, including Apple. However a universal 3.55 mm jack is super useful when you want to grab some headphones and play a video in your phone than searching for an additional connector
  • Battery : An additional 1000mah battery could have significantly improved the usage.
  • Portability of Connectors : When I tested with one of my own 3.55mm to USB-C from my LeTV phone , it failed to recognize the headphones.

You can buy the Pixel 2 Phone here

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