October is the Google Month, and the company is back with its new generation Pixel devices heading towards the smartphone market to tackle the rivals. Google has introduced Pixel 2 smartphone, the successor to the last year’s Google Pixel smartphone. This is the first Pixel phone to take advantage of the Augmented Reality capabilities with Google Assistant.
Google Pixel 2 equips a 5-inch display covered with 2.5D Corning Gorilla Glass 5 flanked by heavy bezels. The screen sticks to the AMOLED panel with 1080p resolution and Always-on display feature. Moreover, Pixel 2 comes with Active Edge that lets you squeeze the phone to trigger Google Assistant. It’s a lot like some feature called Edge Sense that’s HTC exclusive and can be found on HTC U11 smartphone.
While looking at the Pixel 2, all we can see are the large top and the bottom bezels which may be unpleasant due to the current bezel-less or edge-to-edge designed smartphones including its own upper variant Pixel 2 XL. The Pixel 2 is manufactured by HTC whereas the 6.0-inch Pixel 2 XL is an LG product behind the scenes.
The design resembles last year’s predecessor, glass, and aluminum body and now it’s also IP67 certified meaning it is dust and water resistant. It is worth mentioning that the bezels are utilized by the front-facing stereo speakers, but the 3.5 mm port is gone. If you were hoping for a next-generation bezel-less design, the Pixel 2 is an exception. Although both look different, they share very identical hardware under the hood.
Google has been always at the top (at least) to offer the best hardware and software along with new features. On the software side, Google has its latest operating system Android 8.0.0 Oreo with guaranteed software updates and security patches for 3 years. On the hardware side, it sports the latest and high-end Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 SoC.
Furthermore, the device has 4 GB RAM of LPDDR4X type and 64GB/128GB UFS 2.1 storage with unlimited photos and videos cloud storage. While there’s no microSD support, the unlimited cloud storage should make enough space on the phone moving the photos and videos to the cloud. The 2,700 mAh battery can provide up to 7 hours of go with 15 minutes of charge as per Google.
Talking about the cameras, Google has again put the best camera on the Pixel 2. With 12.2 MP dual pixel camera, taking portraits with bokeh effects relying on a single camera, having optical image stabilization and electronic image stabilization, the all new camera is AR ready. Google says the rear camera is optimized for Augment Reality and can do rendering at 60fps.
Google Pixel 2 Specifications
- Display: 5.0-inch (127 mm) AMOLED Cinematic display, Full HD resolution (1920 x 1080 pixels, 441 ppi),
16:9 aspect ratio, Always-on display, 95% DCI-P3 coverage, 1,00,000:1 super contrast ratio, true black level, full 24-bit color depth, 2.5D curved Corning Gorilla Glass 5 - Software: Android 8.0.0 Oreo, 3 years of Android updates and security patches
- Protection: IP67 Certified – water and dust resistant
- Fingerprint Scanner: Yes, on the back
- CPU: Up to 2.35 GHz octa-core Kyro 280 processor, 10nm Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 SoC, 64-bit
- DSP Processor: Qualcomm Hexagon 682 DSP
- GPU: Adreno 540
- Memory: 4 GB LPDDR4X RAM
- Storage: 64 GB or 128 GB UFS 2.1 internal storage, Unlimited Photos and Videos cloud storage, no microSD
- Rear Camera: 12.2 MP Dual Pixel, 1.4 μm, f/1.8, Phase Detection Autofocus (laser + dual pixel),
Optical Image Stabilisation, Electronic Image Stabilisation, dual-tone LED flash, 4K video @30fps, 1080p slow-motion video @120fps, 720p slow-motion video @240fps - Front Camera: 8 MP, 1.4 μm, f/2.4, Fixed focus, 1080p video @30fps
- Connectivity: USB-C 3.1 port, Wi-Fi 2.4G + 5 GHz 802.11a/b/g/n/ac 2×2 MIMO1, Bluetooth 5.0 + LE, NFC, eSIM, GPS, GLONASS, BeiDou, Galileo
- Sensors: Active Edge, Proximity/Ambient light sensor, Accelerometer/Gyrometer, Magnetometer, Pixel Imprint, Barometer, Hall effect sensor, Android Sensor Hub, Advanced x-axis haptics for sharper/defined response
- Media & Audio: Stereo front-firing speakers, Wireless HD audio with LDAC, Qualcomm AptX and AptX HD audio codecs supported, USB-C digital headphones support, 3 mics, Noise suppression
- Cellular: 4G & VoLTE-enabled, single nano SIM (GSM)
- Battery: 2,700 mAh (non-removable), Up to 7 hours of go with 15 minutes of charge
- Box Contents: Pixel 2, USB-C cable, USB-C charger, USB-C to 3.5 mm headphone adaptor, Quick Start Guide, Quick switch adaptor
- Dimensions: 145.7 mm x 69.7 mm x 7.8 mm
- Weight: 143 grams
- Colors: Just Black, Clearly White, Kinda Blue
Google Pixel 2 Price, Variants & Availability
Google Pixel 2 starts at $649 for 64 GB storage variant and climbs to $749 for 128 GB storage variant. It comes in 3 colors – Just Black (Black), Clearly White (White) and Kinda Blue (Frost Blue).
- Price: $649 onwards (~₹42,200)
- Availability: In US, Australia, Canada, Germany, India, and U.K this year. Retails on all Verizon retail outlets as well as at Best Buy stores, and Google Store.
