We tried the Pixel 2 XL: this is the first Google mobile that hits (almost) everything
October 30, 2017
His camera aims to be the best on the market. The same goes for the OLED screen without six-inch frames. And the same thing happens, once again, with the price.
The ballot for Google is not easy. He arrives with his phones in October.Practically all the brands, as has been discussed these days, have put their progress on the table for months. To make matters worse, the Mountain View have absorbed part of HTC's mobile business, which adds morbidity to the matter, although you can not expect any fruit of this purchase. The leaks - we could also call them premature corporate revelations, that the company is responsible for several of them - had dissected the Pixel 2 and its older brother the Pixel 2XL at its best before the official presentation on Wednesday. It was known what was going to come out of the hat. Complicated ingredients to start a 'Wow', that effect so desired when someone launches something in the world of consumer electronics.
And Google, despite everything, has succeeded. In the first contact we have had in Teknautas with this phone, it gives the feeling that it hits (almost) everything. Some of the mistakes that leave a bad taste in the mouth rather than the terminal must be attributed to the incomprehensible policy of the company against Spain. Only a 64 GB model will arrive , in black and white. Nothing of 128 GB. And nothing of the little brother. And in the price conversion we left, talking in silver, clapping pasta. If in the US the starting price is $ 849 on this side of the ocean we will have to draw the card to earn 950 euros.
The '90 -60-90 'of the Pixel 2 XL
But we'll talk about the cost later. The Pixel 2 XL is a clear candidate for Android phone of the year. Why? Design, screen and camera. Pillars in every phone worth its salt. Vital points in which this first review, in the absence of a more comprehensive review, goes very well stopped.
Let's start on the outside. The frame of the Pixel 2 XL has personality . It has followed the line that its predecessor initiated, although it has refined it. His back has two finishes: tempered glass and aluminum(with IP 67 resistance). In addition to giving it a more than pleasant touch (we will not talk about the traces, which seems an insurmountable sin for the entire guild) the truth is that it gets an identifiable style and 'face', something that is not always achieved at the time of create a new device
The screen without frames is appreciated in front. Any self-respecting high-end mobile should adopt this mantra. There is no chance. It is simply another different experience. And more importantly: it allows you to concentrate a 6-inch screen in a 'contained' measurements. 15.76 centimeters high by 7.6 wide and a thickness of just 0.77 centimeters.It is your particular '90 -60-90', since the Google Pixel 2 XL is a device that tames well with one hand.
The only 'but' that some can find is the strange 'hug' that occurs in the contours of the terminal , where it seems that the back layer envelops the screen. All this generates a bevel that goes unnoticed when we are with the completely black model. When we have the white rear highlights a little more.
The screen without frames is appreciated in front. Any self-respecting high-end mobile should adopt this mantra. There is no chance. It is simply another different experience. And more importantly: it allows you to concentrate a 6-inch screen in a 'contained' measurements. 15.76 centimeters high by 7.6 wide and a thickness of just 0.77 centimeters.It is your particular '90 -60-90 ', since the Google Pixel 2 XL is a device that tames well with one hand.
The only 'but' that some can find is the strange 'hug' that occurs in the contours of the terminal , where it seems that the back layer envelops the screen. All this generates a bevel that goes unnoticed when we are with the completely black model. When we have the white rear highlights a little more.
The design is one of the great attractions of the Pixel 2 XL, a phone with personality
For the rest, the placement of the elements is successful. The camera is located in the upper corner and the unlock button in the center of the B side . The most logical position next to the 'Home' key. The placement of the speakers is also ideal: up and down in the front. As I pick up the phone, I can not cover them and the sound is really good when one is watching a piece of video. The laterals, reserved for volume controls. And no, there is no port jack, so either wireless headphones or pay for the adapter for USB Type C. All right.
OLED, screens that fall in love
The screen is a delight . Another one for this course. If 2018 is postulated as the arrival of the 'folding' screens, 2017 has been crowned as the year of the panels without frames. And the return of the OLED.The V30 left me with a good feeling after meeting us at IFA after their presentation and here again the 'feeling' is repeated. Good brightness and great color reproduction , plus a QuadHD + resolution, which translates to 531 pixels per inch.
A screen density that exceeds the Galaxy S8 +, but stays below the standard S8. Although you have to try it outdoors, the truth is that from a first glance leaves a good taste. Very good taste, I repeat. They have also marked it with ' Always on display' or 'Tap to wake' (touch to wake up), two functions to facilitate consultation and access to information.
No, dual cameras are not required
When the first rumors began to circulate weeks ago everything pointed to Google going from the double cameras . In the last days that idea intensified but the information did not finish putting a stop to the specifications. "That can mean two things: either they have not done anything or they have done a lot and they have kept it with suspicion," commented a professional colleague minutes before the presentation.
And it was the second. Google has achieved with a single lens to catch up with what other terminals do with two . It includes portrait mode ... but how do you do it if it is mono and not dual? Well pulling on 'software'. And the result is spectacular. It allows to do it in the front and back camera. Here you have some examples. You have to bear in mind that these are photos in an interior room, with lighting that leaves something to be desired, and still comes out quite well both the 'portrait mode' and when it comes to capturing details.
You can see how despite being a solution based solely on software and having a double set of lenses, it comes out very well in an environment where, as we said, the light is far from the desired one. It is worth recalling now the characteristics of the cameras: the main one has an aperture of f / 1.6 (the most outstanding figure in the market) and a sensor of 12 megapixels , as well as dual pixel technology and optical image stabilizer. The front also has OIS, as well as an 8 megapixel sensor and f / 2.4.
The first impression is very good in both cases. In the portrait with the front (last photo) we can see how the contours perfectly silhouetted, although it is difficult to differentiate the foreground and the background have a very similar hue and opt for 'fat brush'. We will have to give this camera a lot of wax to confirm these good feelings and if it really deserves the note that DoXMark has put on it . This community is, so to speak, the great thermometer of mobile photography in specialized gossip rooms. And the note was a 98. What does it mean? That for these experts is the best in the market.
Google Lens and AR, the goodies
In the absence of being able to put it to the test, comment two more things. The Pixel 2 XL will arrive with Google Lens exclusively. It is an 'app' to identify the world around us thanks to Assistant (which will certainly arrive in Spanish exclusively to this terminal when it is released). In the tests of this platform, he has answered honestly. He has recognized a woman's hand and the cover of the book, offering information about it in a few seconds.
The other surprise, in response to Apple's AR KIT , are Augmented Reality apps. This Wednesday we were able to try one that allowed to superimpose the characters of 'Stranger Things' anywhere and the experience was quite fluid. We will have to wait for the developers . It depends on them that this is a candy or something really useful.
Of the performance, little to say. You have to make a long use to be able to judge it . It would be criminal if it did not work like silk in the first contact taking into account the status of the Pixel 2 XL. The camera opens up fast, the apps too ... Everything as it is assumed to a terminal that equips the best Qualcomm processor of the moment, the Snapdragon 835 and 4 GB of RAM. Here it is worth mentioning that they have inherited from their HTC partners the function of 'squeezing' the phone, which with a slight pressure on the edges allows launching from the camera to open the virtual assistant. The battery (3,520 mAh)promises to endure a day even in heavy use, although again we will have to wait.
The microSD and price, its weak points
One of the complaints is the absence of expandable memory. Why? In addition, only the 64 GB model will arrive in Spain . To compensate for the bad taste that can leave, the owners of a Pixel can now store in 'Google Photos' videos in 4K without limit until 2023. Something is something. Not only do you have to think about photos. There are games more and more complete and of greater weight, the downloads of Netflix ... Something that makes that we require a bigger 'storage room'.
With 950 euros, one enters to compete with the iPhone and the Note 8. And here do not count only your mistakes or successes, but the enormous attraction of others
The other is the price. The Pixel 2 XL seems to be a victim of the uptrend in our country. In the US it will go for $ 849. An attractive price for a top of the range watching the times. However, with 950 euros of price, it surpasses the iPhone 8 Plus and is close to the territory of the iPhone X and Note 8. Uppercase words in both cases.
More than by its merits or demerits by the power of attraction of its rivals, which can end with a 'For that price, I shot an iPhone'. You have to see in what also materializes his agreement with Orange and if it gives him more visibility than they have had until now. These are questions that will only answer the time and, for now, it seems that the Pixel 2 XL hits (almost) everything.
0 comments