After testing out my new “just black” Pixel XL 2 over the weekend, I already think it was worth the upgrade from the previous generation Pixel.
The front facing speakers are a wonderful reminder of the joy I used to have with my Nexus 6P compared to the single, bottom-facing speaker on my Pixel. The ingress protection rating of 67 (IP-67) means the phone is totally protected against dust and against the effect of immersion in water up to 1 meter. And then there’s the “squeeze” feature – squeeze the phone sides together and activate the Google Assistant. 🙂
I felt like sizing up to the “XL” screen size would be appropriate after moving away from an Android tablet to the iPad Pro. Many early reports indicated a blue tint of the screen at certain angles (which is certainly evident) as well as a color scheme that appears washed out. I surmise Google will implement some sort of sRGB toggle via a software update in the future to address the latter. However, newer reports are also suggesting screen “burn in”, something which is well known on OLED displays after months to years but not really within days. Google is apparently looking into this issue.
At last… the fantastic camera – worthy of DxO Mark’s highest score to date for a smartphone camera. Over the weekend, I explored much of Boston and was amazed by the speed and quality of the pictures as I snapped them in non-ideal conditions.
Overall, I’m very pleased with Google’s flagship this year. Everything is just better – the design, the speed of the fingerprint sensor, the speakers, the camera, the processor, the IP67 rating, the side squeeze feature, etc. It’s unclear how/when/if the display issues, a very important aspect of a large touchscreen smartphone, will be addressed, but currently, I’m a very happy user with my handset. 🙂
