Google Pixel / XL / 2 Discussion

[Kong Wen]

Since my iPhone started acting up last summer, I've been keeping my eye on the Apple competitors to prepare for an upgrade. I like what I've seen of the pixel so far, but of course in the phone business, you're on an annual hardware cycle, so I figured I'd hold out and see what Google's successor phone looked like.

This is a rumour/leak of the probable Pixel 2 XL. It fixes my major complaint about the first one (stripping down big bezels), so it looks quite promising, if that prototype closely reflects the final product.



The only other thing I'm not too keen on is the position of the fingerprint sensor, but maybe someone who has a Pixel (Clay?) can chime in on how well that works?

The idea of being able to squeeze the frame to launch Google Assistant (or map it to another app, like the camera or Fire Emblem Heroes) sounds gimmicky but possibly useful?

[Claytone]

The only other thing I'm not too keen on is the position of the fingerprint sensor, but maybe someone who has a Pixel (Clay?) can chime in on how well that works?

I think it's great. Possibly my favorite feature of the phone (I'm not joking). Mind you, I'm upgrading from a phone that could only be unlocked by passcode, so upgrading to one with the ability to be unlocked by essentially just holding it is pretty nice.

I like the Pixel pretty well in general. I certainly miss the battery life of my Droid Turbo, but having a flagship (and thereby always having the latest version of Android) is really nice. I will probably go for the Pixel 3 when I'm up for an upgrade in a couple years. May even bite on the 2 if I'm feeling particularly impatient next year (or if it's a substantial enough upgrade).

[Kong Wen]

Pixel 2s are being revealed and launched on 4 October (next week). Lots of rumours circulating about them. Google definitely has a good opportunity to poach some Apple customers if people are opportunistically looking to compare new models.

I think Vic recently got one of these.

[Kong Wen]

The Pixel 2 [XL] review embargo lifted today. (e.g.)

I pre-ordered one.

[VictorViper]

Kong, you're probably going to love having the sensor on the back, I know I do.

My pixel is having a weird reboot issue using certain apps and I'm likely going to need to put it in for warranty repair. Disappointing, but out of the box defects happen.

[Kong Wen]

There seems to be a bit of controversy in Android circles about the quality of the OLED screen on the XL, but I'm honestly not too concerned. Most of the back and forth sounds like nitpicking to me. If the panel I get happens to be really bad, I'll exchange it. The other Android options don't appeal to me very much (certainly not Samsung).