##Google pixel XL review##
The Google Pixel 2 XL has its moments, but its display could easily be a deal breaker for some. It has an excellent camera, but it is somewhat inconsistent.
Google Pixel XL Rating 77100100
Our Verdict
Yes, the Google Pixel 2 XL has a class-leading camera, but it's also inconsistent. And that's an issue with this device. Combined with the sub-par display, the overall experience is rather disappointing and we can't recommend the Pixel 2 XL over its competition.
PROS
Good camera
Smooth and fluid performance
Now Playing is awesome
CONS
Camera is inconsistent
Undersaturated display with poor viewing angles
Larger form factor than needed
X
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Google Pixel XL: Detailed Review
Google’s quest to become a mobile hardware behemoth depends heavily on software, particularly including AI and machine learning. You could make a drinking game out of the number of times the company mentioned these technologies during its Pixel keynote this year. And that should tell you everything you need to know about the Pixel 2 XL. It’s high end mobile hardware, driven by artificial intelligence and machine learning. But is the world, and especially India, ready for a device like this?
More importantly, in its quest to provide functional software solutions did Google skimp out on the hardware side of things? After all, the Pixel 2 XL, like the Pixel last year, has been plagued with issues from the get go. On paper, the Google Pixel 2 XL takes some of the best mobile hardware available today and tries to augment it with software. It aims to deliver what Google thinks is the best mobile experience you can find. And it works in a lot of ways, but if I’m being honest, the Pixel 2 XL for me has been like those TV shows my friends oversold to me before I watched them, building my expectations to perhaps unrealistic levels. I must admit that I’m somewhat disappointed with this device, and as it was last year, I’m not sold on many of Google’s decisions. Let me explain how.
We begin with the noted issues
Every friend or acquaintance who wanted to buy the Pixel 2 XL has asked me about the screen burn-in issue. The review unit I have hasn’t shown the problem yet, despite keeping still images on the screen for hours on end. Yet, it’s an issue Google has acknowledged that will make the consumer uneasy. If the Pixel 2 XL is showing problems with burn-in or image retention already, I wouldn’t blame you for not buying this phone.
For me, the larger problem is with how colours are represented on this screen. Google says it’s working on a software fix for this problem, but I don’t see that helping with the poor viewing angles of this phone. Flagship or not, a phone in 2017 shouldn’t be showing a blue tint from off angles, especially when they’re not even acute angles. That’s not to suggest that every phone has good viewing angles, but you can rest assured that all other flagships do.
I found a temporary fix for this problem, with Night Light. You can turn on Night Light (which is a blue light filter on your phone) and turn its intensity to lowest. It will make the display yellowish when viewed up front, but it looks whiter from angles. That said, that’s still a colour shift, so it’s not a real fix by any stretch. And this is only accentuated by the undersaturated colours on the screen, another problem Google aims to solve with a software update.
The company says the Pixel 2 XL’s pOLED display is tuned to a sRGB+10% gamut. That’s because Android could only support sRGB till Oreo came along. But given that the Pixel 2 XL was always meant to be amongst the first phones on Oreo, that explanation doesn’t seem adequate enough to me. The fact is that Samsung, Apple, Sony, Xiaomi and almost every other Android manufacturer has produced better looking displays. What’s stopping Google from doing so?
Furthermore, tuning a display to sRGB in 2017 is archaic. The DCI-P3 colour gamut is not new and pretty much every high quality movie you watch today is shot in that colour space.
How does this matter to you?
While all of the above is true, it’s also true that the terms sRGB and DCI-P3 make no sense or difference to regular consumers. What does make a difference though, are understaurated colours. The Pixel 2 XL’s display feels like a gloomy and hazy day, instead of warm and sunny. There’s a washed out feeling about the whole thing that’s neither natural, nor pleasant. If it's natural you want, I’d direct you to the colour tones Apple chooses, although the iPhone maker has also moved to slightly warmer tones with the last two iPhones. This also means you will never really be sure what photos from the excellent Pixel 2 camera look like, since you will be looking at them on the phone’s display. For those who like to use apps like Snapseed, Lightroom and more, editing pictures on this screen is a strict no no.
The blue tint won’t matter as long as you’re looking at the display up front. But lie down on a bed with the phone next to you, or try and watch a video with friends, and the colours do suffer. Personally, the fact that the Pixel 2 XL doesn’t have a crisp, vibrant screen alone is a deal breaker for me.
Build and Design: Utilitarian, but sturdy...
I’m also not a big fan of the big bezels on the Pixel 2 XL. It has an 18:9 display and yet it’s unnecessarily wide. That makes the Pixel 2 XL unwieldy and difficult to use. Since most videos/movies won’t support 18:9 right now, they are already pillarboxed, but the Pixel 2 XL’s large bezels make them look like they’re pillarboxed as well. I find that distracting and it seems to reduce the total screen real estate.
Otherwise, the Pixel 2 XL is a well built smartphone. Its aluminium casing feels solid and sturdy, though it could do with some heft. The screen curves into the edges on all four sides, which is a nice touch. The back is aluminium, but with a plastic-like textured finish on about three fourths of it. The top fourth is glass for improved antenna performance, with a slightly protruding camera module placed here. The fingerprint sensor lies below this, centered for where your finger will be falling naturally. I’ll also take this opportunity to mention that Pixel imprint is as fast as it was last year.