Google Pixel 2 XL, one year after review: The most consistent flagship product



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The Pixel 2 phones were announced almost a year ago, with some substantial changes compared to the 2016 pixels. Despite some startup issues with the Pixel 2 XL screen, the phones proved to be a solid choice for those who buy a phone during most of the year 2018. However, the competition has not stopped since last year and we are about to see the Pixel 3. To what extent have the phones survived over the last year?

I use the Pixel 2 XL as a daily driver since November 2017, without any holster unless I was at the gym. The phone was running Android Oreo for most of the year, then moved to the beta version of Pie in July, followed by stable versions of Pie. The phone is currently using the latest patch for October 2018.

Rock-solid

Even a year later, if I had to choose a word to describe the use of the Pixel 2 XL, it would be "consistent". Other phones may have more RAM, and 2018 means that there is a higher performance processor, faster and more efficient. Nevertheless, the Pixel 2 XL is as smooth as butter: the applications open in an instant, there is no offset when you move in the interface, it does not work. There is no stuttering when you use the camera and, overall, the phone is just nice to use.

This may seem like the bare minimum, but when the Pixel line competes with phones with better material on paper, it should be emphasized. I do not remember the last time an application ran out of memory too early or crashed when I tried to open it. There is a good chance that the line Pixel 3 keeps 4 GB of RAM, and that suits me perfectly. Google knows how to write software and knows how to create a good user experience.

Other parts of the phone have also held up. The fingerprint sensor is always easy to find, the cameras are always the best you can get (and more about it later), and the stereo speakers always sound better than those of other phones.

More flavorful with pie

Android Pie was not the biggest redesign of the UI that we had in the history of Android, but I still appreciate it. I still use the navigation buttons of the old school at the moment because it seems that the new user interface of the gestures is not yet completely over. I like the new multitask interface with horizontal scrolling, new design quick settings and other small modifications. Oreo felt good, but using the phone on Pie brings a whole new level of finishing.

The life of the battery has deteriorated slightly with age, but it still works very well.

When I started using the stable version of Pie, the life of the battery was at the rendezvous. Curiously, disabling the new Adaptive Battery feature has significantly improved things for me and now I'm getting the same battery I've had for a year. It breaks down slightly with the aging of the battery, but I can still spend two days in the light – in my case, listening to music through a Bluetooth speaker almost all day, capturing photos and videos of my friends and myself. listening to music, at least ten minutes of phone calls and a fair amount of use of the web and social media.

Even on the heavier days, when I was traveling a lot, especially when I was traveling in areas where there was little or no cell coverage, I still had no problem getting 100% at the end of the day. day. If you buy a used Pixel 2 XL, the battery should still work beautifully.

Always the camera to beat

Even a year after its release, the Pixel 2's camera resists. And by that, I mean phones that perform better than those just released. Regardless of the subject or lighting conditions, you should not have trouble getting a great picture of Pixel 2. This does not mean that other phones have a bad camera, but if you take great pictures photos is your priority, Pixel phones remain the ones to get.

Two more years of support

If you buy an old phone, it still remains to determine how long it will be supported. With the Pixels 2 and 2 XL, Google has been clear from the start: the phones will continue to receive feature and security updates until October 2020. The life of an Android phone is therefore long, so even if you buy a Pixel 2 in the near future, you will have a lot of support coming soon.

What you say?

Do you like the Pixel 2 XL one year after its release or are you ready for something new? Let us know below!

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