Just received my Pixel 2 XL yesterday... Some first impressions.

[DocSwag]

So... I just got my shiny new Just Black Pixel 2 XL yesterday, and I've been using it a lot since. Some first impressions:

 

The design: While I personally would like for the glass shade to be smaller or for their to just be none all together, I gotta say I prefer it to an all glass phone because of durability reasons as well as the fact that I just prefer metal. The back feels nice in the hand, the phone is relatively thin so it's nice to use and there's still a good bit of weight to it so it feels pretty premium. I'm digging the design.

 

Speakers: While they're pretty nice, I gotta say sound isn't as nice as I thought it would be with two front firing speakers. They're still pretty decent though and good enough for me.

 

Performance: Ohhhh boy. This thing is smooth and FAST. I definitely haven't used a phone this nice before. I haven't even realized that it's become second nature for me to expect small stutters and stuff here and there while web browsing, browsing reddit, etc. or that it's second nature to expect small delays when opening and closing apps. This thing just responds when you touch it and I've only experienced any stutter at all in a few cases (swiftkey app though it seems their app just sucks and one or two websites that seem to jump around because of ads). Everything else is just butter smooth and this thing really just doesn't slow down. Did I mention the thing boots up in 5 seconds or so (from being fully shut down!)?

 

Some people argue that SoC performance doesn't matter anymore since smartphone SoCs are fast enough already. I'm just going to go ahead and disagree with this. I tested with speedtest and I'm getting about the same network performance from the same location with my Pixel 2 XL as with my OnePlus 2; however, websites feel like they load faster on the Pixel, which is most likely down to the faster SoC crunching those websites faster. Look at web benchmarks such as Octane and Kraken and you'll see a numeric representation of what I'm talking about. Things just load.

 

Display: As everyone knows the display has been a hot topic on the pixel 2 XL. There have been lots of things people have pointed out as issues and out of these I've only noticed two of them.

 

Noticeable blue shift when viewing off axis: There definitely is a blue shift. I would say that if you're viewing the screen from more than 45 degrees off axis that there is a significant blue shift of the display. 45 degrees sounds like it wouldn't happen much, but it does. Sitting a little farther from the phone while it's flat on a table? Blue shift. Holding the phone somewhat close to your face while your face is towards the top of the display? The bottom blue shifts. 

 

Forty five degrees sounds like it wouldn't matter, but it really does. The blue shift is definitely there. However, for me it doesn't matter too much. You only really notice it when looking at mostly white stuff, so whenever watching videos or whatnot you really don't notice it even if you tilt the phone to really large angles. It's only when browsing the web with a white background that you might notice it. For me, while somewhat annoying, it isn't that horrible and not a dealbreaker.

 

The other big thing I've noticed with the display is graininess. People haven't seemed to been talking about this much compared to black smudging (which I think there might be A LITTLE bit of, but if there is any there's so little that I really don't notice it) and burn in (which I can't report on since I literally got the thing yesterday lol). Even at really high brightness there is a noticeable graininess to the display which is most pronounced in whites. You don't see it as much in other colors. 

 

To best explain it, the graininess sort of looks like the way that white looks on a kindle e-paper display, if you've used a kindle before. It doesn't really bother me that much but that may be a dealbreaker for some people and it is there nearly all the time (if you're displaying white).

 

I don't have much to report on when it comes to other aspects of the phone (such as camera) since I've only used it for less than a day. My first impressions though are pretty positive and the only downside is the display (but it's not a dealbreaker for me, just a mild annoyance). If anyone has any questions about it or stuff they would like me to test I'd be happy to do it (provided it doesn't involve breaking or damaging the thing lol).

[Siedge]

Here's what I got from this

 

"Things just load." - Docswag

[79wjd]

6 minutes ago, DocSwag said:

The design: While I personally would like for the glass shade to be smaller or for their to just be none all together, I gotta say I prefer it to an all glass phone because of durability reasons as well as the fact that I just prefer metal. The back feels nice in the hand, the phone is relatively thin so it's nice to use and there's still a good bit of weight to it so it feels pretty premium. I'm digging the design.

I really like the partial glass back concept, I just hate Google's implementation of it. The 5s is still my favorite stylistic design and I really wish Apple went back to it.

 

[DocSwag]

Just now, djdwosk97 said:

I really like the partial glass back concept, I just hate Google's implementation of it. The 5s is still my favorite stylistic design and I really wish Apple went back to it.

 

I like the Pixel 2's take on it better than the original one. I agree with you though, I would still like it smaller (somewhat like what it was on the Nexus 6P, or as you mentioned how it was on the 5/5s). I like the two tone idea but it shouldn't be a competition between the two, but more so of one accenting the design.

[79wjd]

3 minutes ago, DocSwag said:

I like the Pixel 2's take on it better than the original one. I agree with you though, I would still like it smaller (somewhat like what it was on the Nexus 6P, or as you mentioned how it was on the 5/5s). I like the two tone idea but it shouldn't be a competition between the two, but more so of one accenting the design.

Yeah, well, Google doesn't like subtle....I can't think of any other reason for the orange button on the panda pixel.

 

EDIT: I'm actually really upset it's called the Pixel 2XL and not the Panda Pixel.

[DrMacintosh]

12 minutes ago, DocSwag said:

Performance: Ohhhh boy. This thing is smooth and FAST. I definitely haven't used a phone this nice before. I haven't even realized that it's become second nature for me to expect small stutters and stuff here and there while web browsing, browsing reddit, etc. or that it's second nature to expect small delays when opening and closing apps. This thing just responds when you touch it and I've only experienced any stutter at all in a few cases (swiftkey app though it seems their app just sucks and one or two websites that seem to jump around because of ads). Everything else is just butter smooth and this thing really just doesn't slow down. Did I mention the thing boots up in 5 seconds or so (from being fully shut down!)?

 

Some people argue that SoC performance doesn't matter anymore since smartphone SoCs are fast enough already. I'm just going to go ahead and disagree with this. I tested with speedtest and I'm getting about the same network performance from the same location with my Pixel 2 XL as with my OnePlus 2; however, websites feel like they load faster on the Pixel, which is most likely down to the faster SoC crunching those websites faster. Look at web benchmarks such as Octane and Kraken and you'll see a numeric representation of what I'm talking about. Things just load.

This stuff is so cute to read from the Android users perspective 

[ARikozuM]

31 minutes ago, DocSwag said:

So... I just got my shiny new Just Black Pixel 2 XL yesterday,

Is this really where we are with phones now?! 

 

Are we going to have another Honda Civic GT SE Convertible Hatchback Sports-package incident?

 

#FaithInHumanityLostAgain

[DocSwag]

4 hours ago, DrMacintosh said:

This stuff is so cute to read from the Android users perspective 

*android users with eh phones

 

Top end I believe has generally been OK. For example my mom's nexus 6 has been pretty smooth. Not pixel 2 xl smooth but a lot smoother than my oneplus 2.

 

I won't deny it though, iPhones always have been and for the foreseeable future will be smoother and more responsive than even the best android phone. That's just how it is. 

3 hours ago, ARikozuM said:

Is this really where we are with phones now?! 

 

Are we going to have another Honda Civic GT SE Convertible Hatchback Sports-package incident?

 

#FaithInHumanityLostAgain

The color naming scheme trend has been going towards fancy for a while now, and unfortunately it doesn't look to be stopping soon.

[ARikozuM]

1 hour ago, DocSwag said:

The color naming scheme trend has been going towards fancy for a while now, and unfortunately it doesn't look to be stopping soon.

I don't think I would use "fancy" to describe it. I think I would say "faux modern" or "false modesty". 

 

And that's saying a LOT after Apple released "Rose Gold" which would have been slightly better as "Metallic Pink", though rose gold is a jeweler's term for pink-hued gold pieces. 

[79wjd]

5 minutes ago, ARikozuM said:

I don't think I would use "fancy" to describe it. I think I would say "faux modern" or "false modesty". 

 

And that's saying a LOT after Apple released "Rose Gold" which would have been slightly better as "Metallic Pink", though rose gold is a jeweler's term for pink-hued gold pieces. 

Rose gold makes perfect sense though, since as you said, it is a known term/color. It kind of loses its sensibility when you realize that Space Gray is a thing and that every Space Gray has been a different color.