Google Pixel 2 XL

Earlier this year, we reported that Google was going to forgo the headphone jack on the Pixel 2. Naturally, that tidbit was met with some pretty negative reactions at first. In a poll, we asked if the lack of a headphone jack be a dealbreaker and almost 60% of you said yes. Despite this, it appears that the demand is still extremely high for both Pixel 2 models.

Now that the Pixel 2 is arriving on your doorsteps, what are your thoughts on the lack of a headphone jack?

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With the release of the Pixel 2, Google launched the “Made for Google” accessory program. This meant that companies a part of the program would have its products certified by Google as being at or above the quality level needed to work correctly with the Pixel 2 and 2 XL.

One of these companies, Bellroy, has released a case that features real leather and comes in four different color choices. But is it worth $45 or more? Let’s check it out…

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Following Pixel 2 reviews dropping on Tuesday, many pre-orderers have received their new devices. iFixit has as well, with the repair service just completing their teardown of the Pixel 2 XL to reveal some interesting build aspects of the phone.

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Google’s Pixel 2 XL is a good phone, but between reviewers and early adopters, the general consensus is that it has one flaw — the display. Between a blue tint when the angle is shifted and pretty dull colors overall — both of which were pointed out in our initial review — people aren’t in love with the 6-inch OLED display. Google has heard those complaints, and now it’s apparently open to solving them.

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One of the biggest trends of the last year has been the addition of a secondary camera on the back side of smartphones. While this second lens can be used for a lot of things, like zooming in on landscapes and taking ultra-wide photos, the most popular camera feature has been Portrait Mode, especially on the iPhone 7 Plus and 8 Plus.

Google has now released its brand new Pixel 2 smartphones and with it, the company’s own take on portrait mode. Let’s take a look and see if the Pixel’s single lens can compare to the iPhone’s dual-camera setup.

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The Made for Google program announced at the October 4th event will yield a bevy of cases for the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL. However, Google is still making first-party cases for its phones, including revamped Live Cases that forego one notable feature, while adding more protection.

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Update: It turns out that, unsurprisingly, this was a bug. Google confirmed to CNET that a fix will be coming in a future software update.

Back in Android’s early days, the menu button was one of the most used buttons on the navigation bar. Eventually, Google ditched it in exchange for recent apps, but it stuck around for while on devices all the way up to the Galaxy S4 and others. At this point, everyone uses recent apps, but Google has quietly added a menu button to the Pixel 2…

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We published our initial reviews of both the smaller Pixel 2 and larger Pixel 2 XL this morning, and without surprise, we found pros and cons to both handsets. We also looked at if the Pixel 2 was enough of a reason to upgrade from the first generation, but now want your opinion on the subject.

Is the Google Pixel 2 enough of an upgrade over last year’s model to get you to shell out $650 or more for the latest and greatest?

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Google’s latest flagships start shipping this week and our initial reviews of each are live today. However, the biggest question we see a lot of people asking is which of the two new Pixels to get. While we gave you the simple answer in the title of our initial review of the smaller one, we thought we’d take a closer look to see how they compare.

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Google’s latest flagships, the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL, start shipping later this week to early adopters. We’ve been messing around with the phones for a little while and our initial reviews of both are already live, but let’s take a minute to see what comes in the box.

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OLED technology has gotten a lot better over the years, especially when you look at what Samsung has been doing. One big fear for users, however, is burn-in. Google’s new Pixels both ship with OLED displays and a new always-on display. Here’s how they avoid burn-in.

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Google is able to take such fantastic photos on the Pixel 2 because of a fine-tuned mix of physical hardware (camera lens and sensor), software (enabling HDR+), and machine learning. Even in its current form, the new phones take some of the best photos on a phone.

But the HDR+ process on the Pixel 2 and 2 XL uses a lot of processing power when capturing stunning photos with almost no latency, so Google made Pixel Visual Core, its first consumer-facing system-on-a-chip, which will help it process photos faster and more efficiently.

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Theming is an Android feature many have wanted for a very long time, but outside of OEM customizations and clever developers, it hasn’t really arrived. Oreo has added some capabilities for this in the background, and Google is actually taking advantage of it on the Pixel 2 — sort of.

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Last year’s Pixel XL was one of my favorites phones of all time, if not my favorite. It had stellar performance, great specifications, comfortable hardware, and lots of software features I could appreciate. On top of that, it had what is still one of the best cameras on a mobile phone, but it wrapped all of that in a design that wasn’t very good-looking and did have some missing features.

Now, we’ve got the Pixel 2 family, and Google has made some major improvements. The larger of the two phones, the XL, is the one getting all the attention, and rightfully so…

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