FEATURE
- The Pixel and Pixel XL are different only in screen and battery size
- Google boasts that they feature the best smartphone camera ever developed
- Performance in all areas is excellent, including battery life
- 5.5-inch quad-HD display
- Snapdragon 821
- 4GB RAM
- Android 7.1
- Google Assistant
- 32 or 128GB storage
- USB Type-C and fast charging
- 3,450mAh battery
- Daydream VR-ready
- Manufacturer: Google
- Review Price: 57000
Different design, stunning build:
- Metal unibody design, with anodised finish
- 154.7 x 75.7 x 7.3-8.5mm, 167g
- Manufactured by HTC
Each Pixel device that Google has announced has shared the same quality: an uncompromising approach to design. With the Chromebook Pixel, the first of this new family, an eye-wateringly beautiful laptop was born. The Pixel C tablet followed suit. And now we have the Pixel and Pixel XL smartphones.Like those previous devices, the Pixel XL pulls no punches. It is cast from a block of aerospace-grade aluminium, anodised for a finish that's as premium as you will find on any smartphone, with shapely chamfers to the front and curves to the back.In a world where a phone is a slab dominated by the display, the Pixel XL manages to be different. The handset has a polished glass section set into the rear, where the camera and fingerprint scanner sits. Its purpose remains something of a mystery, other than giving this phone a distinctive look. If you wanted to do something to ensure that no one was going to say it was an iPhone clone, that might do it.
At first we were unsure about this detail. It seems to serve no purpose, but as we have used the phone more and more, we've come to love the smooth feel of the glass. It's interesting, it's different and - remarkably - it's unique.From the front the Pixel is less unique. Arguably, if there's one criticism we'd bring to bear against it, it's the height of this phone (at 154.7mm). We criticise the height of the iPhone 7 Plus for the same reason, because there's a little too much bezel above and below the display that doesn't really do anything.
The Samsung Galaxy S7 edge manages to be shorter and by keeping the controls off the display, makes better use of that space. We think that the S7 edge is the Pixel XL's most natural rival: Samsung's phone is a masterclass in Android adaption, a juxtaposition of Google's Pixel purity. Samsung also offers waterproofing, which is another Pixel weakness - the XL is an IP53 device, for fleeting rain splashes only - although some users are finding the Pixel will survive a dunk in water.
Display:
- 5.5-inch AMOLED display
- 2560 x 1440 pixel resolution, 534ppi
When you're choosing between the Pixel and the Pixel XL, there's one difference: the display. Topped with Gorilla Glass 4 to keep scratches at bay, the 5.5-inch display of the XL puts it in an incredibly popular class of big phones. The Pixel XL lives up to its name with a 2560 x 1440 pixel resolution display, resulting in a pixel density of 534ppi. Quad HD is very much the current standard in flagship phones - the Sony Xperia Z5 Premium went one better with its 806ppi 4K display - but the Pixel XL is every-inch competitive with its rivals. Opting for AMOLED, Google's display choice is fantastically detailed and offers bags of punch and vibrancy. It doesn't push the vibrancy quite as vigorously as Samsung often does so it strikes a more neutral balance. There's richness to colours, deep blacks and nice clean whites, although the latter are slightly on the warm side, not that it matters a great deal.
Performance and hardware:
- Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 chipset, 4GB RAM
- 32 or 128GB storage
- Rear fingerprint scanner
The Pixel XL comes up against comparable rivals that have been on the market for some time. There's a small advantage in that it offers the new Qualcomm Snapdragon 821, with 4GB RAM, which is a minor upgrade on one of the year's most popular quad-core chipsets. Flagship specs mean flagship performance and the noticeable thing about the Pixel XL is how smooth and fast it is. Much of this will come down to the clean Android build There are actually two Pixels: the regular 5-inch screen version and a larger 5.5-inch version called the Pixel XL. They are identical in every respect except for the size of their batteries, the resolution of their screens, and, of course, a 32GB Pixel and 128GB Pixel XL. For people who have been following Google's phone efforts so far, the best comparison we have are the Nexus phones spanning the past six years. That comparison has led many to experience sticker shock about the price, because Nexus phones were usually inexpensive. But the Pixel is different: although it is manufactured by HTC, it's fully designed by Google. And Google designed it to compete at the top tier, so it's priced to match the iPhone and the Galaxy S7. It has a couple incredibly obvious objectives in mind with this phone: make it familiar and make it powerful.
Let's start with familiar and say the obvious thing: the Pixel kind of looks like an iPhone. Every high-end phone these days is designed with some combination of metal and glass, and so you could argue that there are only so many ways to make a rectangle. But even so, the curves at the corners, the antenna lines, and the placement of the speaker; the thing looks very familiar. After years of trying, Samsung managed to find its own, techier aesthetic. Maybe Google will do that eventually, but for this first try I think it wants the thing to look like what what people are used to. People are used to iPhones. It makes the phone feel balanced and it's more comfortable to hit the on-screen home button.
TGoogle puts the fingerprint sensor on the back, and I really like having it there. It's a hassle when the phone is sitting on a table, but I usually pick up my phone to interact with it anyway. You can just rest your finger on it to turn on and unlock the phone, but it doesn't serve as a home button. You can also set it up so that when you slide your finger down on it, it pulls down the notification shade.
The Pixel is not waterproof, which is dumb and annoying. I should also note that a very short fall managed to crack the screen on the smaller Pixel during our review. A sample size of one is obviously too small to say that these devices are less durable than they ought to be, but it's not a great sign.
The Pixels are fast noticeably faster than Samsung's Galaxy S7. On performance alone, these are easily the best Android phones you can buy. For a phone made by Google, that's absolutely the expectation. it's just good to note that at its first time at bat, Google hit a home run. For the first time, Google is arguing strenuously that it can make a better phone because it controls both the hardware and software. So I wouldn't enjoy being another Android manufacturer right now. That's not my problem nor yours, though. For us, the really important question is simply this: did Google take advantage of that integration to push the Pixel beyond what has been possible on other Android phones. I also think that Google was able to optimize battery life beyond what other Android phones can do. Over the week and a half I tested the phones, I got absolutely stupendous battery life, especially on the Pixel XL. Last Sunday I streamed two hours of the Vikings-Texans game, used the phone throughout the day, and obsessively scrolled Twitter during the presidential debate. At the end of the day I was still at 30 percent.
In my experience, the Pixels are lasting a couple of hours longer than comparably sized iPhones or Nexuses. That’s better than the "about a day" you get from most phones these days, and it’s so good that I’m a little worried that it won’t last or my results are an outlier. So I’ll note that two other reviewers I spoke with were less pleased with the battery life on the smaller Pixel. If you care about battery life, definitely get the XL. It feels much smaller than the iPhone 7 Plus, too.
Pros :
- Google Assistant is fantastic
- Excellent camera with HDR+ and ES
- Lighting fast experience
- Above average battery life
- Above average speaker performance
- Great display
- Pixel Launcher is one of the best interfaces
Cons :
- Generic, understated design
- Easily chipped and dented
- Lack of OIS can affect videos
- High price tag
The Pixel Phones also feature a bunch of unique software attributes that you CANNOT get anywhere else. These are as follows:
- Google Assistant
- Unlimited Storage For Photos and Video (even 4K video)
- The Pixel Launcher
- Smart Storage
- 24/7 Support
- Pixel Camera
This is Google's first phone, and for a first effort it is remarkably good. By almost every metric I can think of speed, power, camera, smart assistant, you name it matches or exceeds the best phones available on the market today. The Pixel XL is the most accomplished phone that's come from Google. The dabs of consumer refinement that Pixel has applied makes the Nexus programme feel like beta testing. And Google loves beta testing, so in many ways the Pixel is the result of learning through all those Nexus phones.
The XL is a pure delivery of Android: it's fast, it's fun, it's high quality; it has exclusive features, the camera works and the battery lasts too.
And though the design is far from groundbreaking, it’s certainly approachable. The whole package is pretty incredible, and if you are not put off by the premium price, you will be very happy with this premium phone. I prefer the XL, which isn't huge andseems to get notably better battery life. A true iPhone and Samsung Galaxy S7 rival featuring the best version of Android yet and a camera that's sure to get you excited about snapping away with your handset.Fortunately the Pixel XL delivers. It's a premium smartphone at a premium price, but it offers a truly premium experience. And thanks to that glass panel on the back, there'll be no mistaking that you're carrying around the hottest Android phone in town.
No comments:
Post a Comment