For quite some time, I was eagerly anticipating the announcement of the Pixel 2 XL.
I was stuck on an old shitty LG Nexus 5x, that had already bootlooped once, and was running like absolute crap.
Shortly following the announcement of the Pixel 2 XL was finally announced, the negative stories started to come flooding in. Reports of blue shift on the screen, grainy screen, poor colour exposure, screen burn in, terrible durability tests, etc etc
I actually got spooked off by these reports, and ended up pre ordering a Pixel 2 (standard size).
Eventually though, I decided to change my order back to an XL. It was the phone I truly wanted, larger screen, larger battery, smaller bezels.
I figured if I had have purchased the standard size, and ended up not liking it, I would always regret not getting the XL. I also started reading accounts of people who have purchased the phone who were pretty happy with it. The final straw was when i went into a store and had a play around with it. Of all of the reported issues, the only one that was evident to me was the blue shift. And honestly, I didn't care. It was such a minor thing that I knew I would not even notice it after prolonged use of this device.
So now that I've had the phone for almost a month, I thought I'd do a little write up about it.
Overall, it is a fantastic device. Very happy with my purchase.
Physical Aspect
The size of the device may be a decisive point for some, whether you want a larger phone or not. I think however, that the way Google has designed this device is pretty good. The phone isn't very wide, in fact, it's almost the same width as my Nexus 5x. This means that you can more or less operate the device with one hand. Without a case, it does feel a bit difficult to grip. Kind of slippery, if not too thin. It is a good weight though.
The curve of the screen is nice, and quite subtle. It can be a bit problematic to find the right screen protector though.
The finger print reader location is perfect, and as has been widely mentioned in pretty much every review I've read, the sensor is super quick.
Screen
I've already mentioned above that I have noticed the blue shift. it's noticeable if viewing the phone from extreme angles. Some may say that you don't often view the phone from these angles, but I disagree. If the phone is on your desk while you work, a quick glance at it while the screen is on and the blue shift is visible. However, it honestly does not bother me in the slightest.
The screen burn in I have not noticed at all, and the colours, despite what some reviews have mentioned, seem absolutely fine to me. The only caveat I would mention is when the night mode is activated, the colours definitely go further to the orange/red side than other devices that I have used with night mode. But that can always be deactivated if it's a problem for you.
Performance
This needs to be mentioned, because the speed and responsiveness of the phone is absolutely fantastic. Not much more needs to be said really.
Active Edge
I disabled this after a few days. I kind of like the idea, but I found it annoying that I would have to dismiss the assistant every time I placed the phone in my car holder.
UI
This is the reason I wanted the phone. I'm more of a software guy, and I've always preferred the stock Android experience. Comparing this to my Nexus 5x however, there are some very suttle UI improvements. Almost not noticable in isolation, but overall creates a nice user experience.
Camera
Great camera. The software can be slightly improved though - They've implemented the iOS "Live" photo feature, and called it motion. I find it's not quite as smooth an implementation as what Apple has done. You need to have the phone in portrait, and you either click "motion" or hold down on the photo and it starts playing, however, the starting action is a bit clunky.
Not sure about portrait mode, it seems to touch up your face a little bit too much for my liking, almost as if I'm wearing make up, and I can't work out how to remove it.
The camera is fantastic in low light, and the video stabilisation is great. To test this, I recorded video of my TV, and you cannot see the image moving at all (and my hand is not that stable).
Audio
The front facing stereo speakers are great. I often find myself listening to music on my phone without any headphones, which is a new experience for me. The sound is rich, and deep. Call audio quality is also very good, though it can occasionally distort on loudspeaker.
Battery
The battery life is also great. Part of that if no doubt due to the bigger battery in the bigger phone, but I am quite a heavy user and get a day of usage out of this phone easily.
It also charges very quickly
I will add to this review as I think of anything that is worth mentioning.