Pixel 2 – A Google Phone Review

Taking a firm stance against Apple, Google surprised a lot of fans by launching the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2XL , a few months earlier in 2017. This phone captured all the eyeballs, thanks to its many interesting features.  With its release in India, just weeks after the US release, I managed to get one during the sale period at a very good price (almost a couple of thousand cheaper than the US listings). So a few months down the line, how does the Pixel 2 fare? Is it worth a buy and meets all the hype and expectations? Read on..

Price :  

But barely two weeks later, the price crashed from 61,000 to just 40,000 (A Massive drop of 35% ). This was the biggest letdown for all those fans who bought it at the original price of 61,000 or 79000 (for the 2 or 2XL versions). No one can actually reason out such a massive price drop , barely two weeks since its release , despite good sales figures..

But , from my point of view, having bought at the revised price of 40,000 this is an excellent buy.

Camera 

Some random clicks from my Pixel 2

Rear Camera : 12.2MP and Front Camera : 8MP

OS & Processor 

Memory 

Google boasts of an unlimited storage through uploading in Google Photos cloud. The inbuilt memory is 64GB , which is more than enough to take a zillion pictures and store a lot of music and data.

Battery 

Frankly this is one small area, which I feel is a letdown. Despite being only a 5′ device, the battery capacity of 2700 mah is very low , given the current industry average of best 4GB mobiles is 3300+ mah. This may have a significant impact on the talk time and usage. However the Pixel 2 XL , being a 6′ device has a battery of 3520 mah.
However it comes with a super fast charger and takes hardly any time to get a 100% charge.

Other Interesting Features

• AR Stickers : You can actually pick your characters from famous movies and drop in during the camera/video mode. This includes Star Wars, Stranger Things and so many other shows
• Now Playing : This is one super interesting feature that I love the most. The phone automatically detects the song being played in the nearby area and displays it in the homescreen.
• Face Unlock : Without a doubt, the face unlock is super simple and ridiculously fast.

Things that could have been better

• Single Sim : It would have been so much better if the device had come with a dual sim feature.
• No 3.5mm Jack : Most phones are discontinuing this feature, including Apple. However a universal 3.55 mm jack is super useful when you want to grab some headphones and play a video in your phone than searching for an additional connector
• Battery : An additional 1000mah battery could have significantly improved the usage.
• Portability of Connectors : When I tested with one of my own 3.55mm to USB-C from my LeTV phone , it failed to recognize the headphones.

You can buy the Pixel 2 Phone here