Google Pixel 2 Review: The phone that made me consider ditching iPhone

I started using the iPhone as my personal device in the 4S era of 2011. I liked the hardware and the fact that it let me avoid all the tricky Android version and compatibility issues. Since then, I have waited for an Android phone that could sway me to the other side, away from the iOS life I chose for myself many years ago.

I have used some great Android phones along the way, from the original HTC One to the versatile Moto Mods system, but nothing has convinced me. The Pixel 2, however, is as close as any phone has come to making me join the green text bubble crowd. The Pixel 2 and the Pixel 2 XL aren’t the biggest or most powerful phones—and they lack a few features that would certainly be nice—but what’s there congeals together into a very pleasing smartphone package. Here’s a rundown of everything I liked and didn’t like about Google’s new phones, mostly so I can consult my own notes when it’s time to upgrade in a few months.

Things I liked

— Both Pixel phones have identical specs except for the screens, including the latest Qualcomm processors and 4GB RAM each. As usual, those specific numbers are useless to the average human. Long story short, they have plenty of power to run any current app, and it should be that way for a few years.

— Android 8.0 Oreo comes stock on the Pixel 2 phones, and it’s not jammed up with manufacturer-specific nonsense and apps like provider-specific navigation apps and other such flotsam I don’t want. It’s clean and it’s quick. It’s the Android experience I want.

— Both Pixel 2 models use OLED displays, something the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus are lacking—Apple is apparently saving that for the iPhone X. It makes an immediate, noticeable difference with darker blacks and more natural color, and it’s one of the key advantages it has over the iPhones. Samsung, of course, has been using OLED for some time, but I actually prefer to keep some bezel around the screen. I’m a smartphone hipster in that way. I use my fingers to hold my phone, and I like having a place to put them. The Samsung phones also look cartoonishly oversaturated in comparison. [NOTE: Some users have been experiencing issues with the Pixel 2 XL screen, including weird coloring and even burn-in. Google issued an official statement to The Verge about it.]


Read More at:

https://www.popsci.com/google-pixel-2-XL-smartphone-review#page-2

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Here’s What Happens To Your Body If You Eat Too Much Salt

Image
TABLE SALT Healthy in moderation Shardayyy via Flickr, CC by 2.0 Salt does more than just make your food taste more delicious—it’s important for your body to function properly. Sodium, one of the key ingredients in table salt, regulates blood flow and pressure, and helps transmit messages between nerves and muscle fibers. Chloride, the other chemical in table salt, aids in digestion. Foods in your diet need to have enough salt replenish these nutrients to keep you healthy. But too much salt can be bad for you. Processed foods are packed with the stuff; restaurants add more salt to their food to make it taste better. As a result, more Americans are eating high-sodium diets (sometimes without even knowing it), which has some pretty drastic effects on their health. When you consume too much sodium in your diet, your body holds extra water. That’s because the kidneys, which filter out waste from the blood, maintain a special ratio of electrolytes, such as sodium to potassium,...
Read more

The best science podcasts to make you smarter

Image
Bite-sized science knowledge for your hungry ears. By Rachel Feltman  May 21, 2018 This post has been updated, and will probably be updated again, because that's how best-of lists should work. I love podcasts, you love podcasts, your grandma probably loves podcasts. Looking for some science you can enjoy while your eyeballs do stuff that isn't reading? Perhaps hoping to regurgitate something that sounds smart while sitting around with family on a summer vacation? Great. Read on. Flash Forward Half science, half fiction (which is why it also made our list of the best sci-fi podcasts): Every week, host Rose Eveleth picks a fictional future and has real experts explain how it might work. What if all drugs were made legal? What if antibiotics stopped working? What if the internet suddenly disappeared? Episode recs: Micro But Mighty, The Altered State, Bye Bye Binary 30 for 30: On the Ice This is another Rose Eveleth creation, so if you like the work she's done w...
Read more