**** The Official Google Pixel 2/Pixel 2 XL Thread ****

I don't really care about it being popular or not, I just want a decent camera on a phone without spending silly money (also stock OS, NFC and updates). I'm not really interested in the XL or + versions.. phones need to stop growing!

I also have an iPad and a couple of Apple computers - but I'm still not really sure I'd want IOS as my phone OS. Gonna sit back and await proper reviews for the Pixel 2 I think before making any choices, but there really isn't anything else (I liked the look of the MI A1 because AndroidOne, but then BAM, no NFC).

Fair enough, although for me I like having phones (or in fact, many products) that are a bit rare and non-mainstream.

If all you want is a good camera in a small body then just get an iPhone 8 or standard Pixel 2.

If I was all Apple though it'd be a no-brainer for me to get the iPhone.

Also personally I wouldn't touch a cheap imported chinese Android phone with yours, cheap or not.
 
You might find the DXO Mark review of Google's Pixel camera of interest:

https://www.dxomark.com/google-pixel-2-reviewed-sets-new-record-smartphone-camera-quality/

Indeed, it's very intriguing. What I wonder is could get a £200 phone and a £400 digital camera to do a better job though; I wouldn't carry that camera round with me all the time though I guess.

Also personally I wouldn't touch a cheap imported chinese Android phone with yours, cheap or not.

If it wasn't AndroidOne then I wouldn't either, but that aspect of it made it worth looking at for me. Shame it has no NFC and is a bit big.
 
Thinking some more about Clips, you might be surprised to learn that the number one use case for GoPro and Yi cameras is family despite their sporting image, and this is the market that Google is going after. What makes Clips different it seems is its functionality.

The idea with Clips is to position it during an event or gathering and leave it to gather the best photos and video clips. This is Google using its AI chops to best effect----note the AI is kept local and not sent off automatically to the Google cloud for processing.

If it works well I think it will cut into GoPro quite significantly.

While Clips is not yet available in the UK (coming soon), I found this 6 minute YouTube video review by The Verge to be helpful in understanding this camera much better. I thought it would have a more direct impact on GoPro at first blush, despite GoPro main use being family gatherings rather than sport action, but might create its own niche.

Clip uses a video processing unit (Myriad 2) built by Intel-owned Movidius to keep the data on the device and save battery consumption. The Myriad 2 is a processor tailor-made to handle machine vision tasks like object recognition, and Movidius claims it’s the “industry’s first always-on vision processor.” Google has previously used this VPU in their Project Tango. The VPU saves on battery as it does not need to be connected to the internet at all times. After watching this video I wonder if the "creepiness" factor some have cited is less of an issue? New way to imagine photography?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w05jWoaIHUs&t=335s
 
@GeX I have been debating the same whether to get a phone with a decent camera and have with me all times or a mid ranger and something like a Sony RX100 or Canon G7x.

At the moment it's between the Pixel 2 and iPhone 8 as purest OS. The larger versions are just too large I feel sometimes.

To those who have ordered Pixel 2 what colour did you go for? Direct? EE also have it so may ask upgrade price.
 
@GeX I have been debating the same whether to get a phone with a decent camera and have with me all times or a mid ranger and something like a Sony RX100 or Canon G7x.
You'll most likely find that you'll ditch any bridge/compact camera when you see googles image processing in action. My 6P continually raises eyebrows at events with its low light quality alone. My DSLR usage dropped massively since I purchased the device.
 
Anyone know why there aren't any contracts available for the pixel 2 xl yet? wanting to upgrade my Vodafone contract but carphone warehouse just turns me away :( i would go the EE route but £57 a month is just that slight bit too expensive and staying with Vodafone would be easier. cheers
 
No, the reason google didn't go into the hardware as much is because it's not really that great. Apple had something to shout about. The A11 chip is pretty damn awesome, I think everyone agrees on that. FaceID is technically brilliant no matter what your option is on its implementation. They have dual cameras for great portrait mode, and the X has OIS on both cameras. .........

After reading your comment about your shout out for Apple, I thought you might find this comment from an iPhone user on The Verge to be refreshingly different. A few of his comments stand out:

1. Google is "tryingharder" to compete.
2. Unlike Apple, Google has put its Portrait mode achievement into both Pixels whereas for Apple it is only for someone paying top price for the X.
3. Shoot too many pics or videos on Apple and you pay a penalty beyond the sad default of 5GB. On the conference call this week, Google revealed its average users take up 23 GB and get unlimited storage----hence Android users take more pictures.
4. The Pixel 2 XL is the best looking phone since the iPhone 5. I am sure you will disagree.
5. Apple is getting on that users nerves.

Enjoy:

https://www.theverge.com/circuitbre...ogle-pixel-2-vs-apple-iphone-price-tryharding
 
After reading your comment about your shout out for Apple, I thought you might find this comment from an iPhone user on The Verge to be refreshingly different. A few of his comments stand out:

1. Google is "tryingharder" to compete.
2. Unlike Apple, Google has put its Portrait mode achievement into both Pixels whereas for Apple it is only for someone paying top price for the X.
3. Shoot too many pics or videos on Apple and you pay a penalty beyond the sad default of 5GB. On the conference call this week, Google revealed its average users take up 23 GB and get unlimited storage----hence Android users take more pictures.
4. The Pixel 2 XL is the best looking phone since the iPhone 5. I am sure you will disagree.
5. Apple is getting on that users nerves.

Enjoy:

https://www.theverge.com/circuitbre...ogle-pixel-2-vs-apple-iphone-price-tryharding


Good read and very valid points. I have been an iPhone user since 2009 and this last few years of apple reusing the same design and now charging £1000 for a 64gb phone has made me look at leaving and going for an android phone. I am also not alone in this as a few friends have already made the switch over the last few weeks.
 
... Just hovering over the store page again and I've noticed something, the design has been changed from the "wedge" design and the camera lens on the back is now raised. I actually liked the wedge design as it keeps everything nice and flush, so I'd be interested to see how the new design actually feels in the flesh.

Not a deal breaker for anyone no doubt, but just noting the point that the older design seemed better in that respect?
 
Well, by the time I've sold my Pixel. The Pixel 2 will have roughly cost £250-£300.

Am I missing something when people use these calculations? the first google pixel XL was £819 for the 128gb new. You sell it a year later for say £400 (if you are lucky) then you buy the new 128gb XL for £899 quid so you have spent £1318 pounds of your money (£819-400=419, 419+899 = 1318).
 
... Just hovering over the store page again and I've noticed something, the design has been changed from the "wedge" design and the camera lens on the back is now raised. I actually liked the wedge design as it keeps everything nice and flush, so I'd be interested to see how the new design actually feels in the flesh.

Not a deal breaker for anyone no doubt, but just noting the point that the older design seemed better in that respect?

I have a dream! Remember that famous line by Martin Luther King? Well in my Pixel-related dream, I see myself armed with my Pixel 2 XL and my Pixel Bud headphones doing most things I need to do with my phone in my pocket! (of course not take pics or videos yet--bring back Google Glass version 2).

My Buds will allow me to access a souped-up Google Assistant when I am on the move.

But my point really is quite simple: future wars between OEMs should really be less about hardware and more about how helpful your digital assistant becomes as it learns more and more about you. Enter Pixel Buds. I see screen based interactions moving to more and more voice based (and probably soon gesture based) control. In that world, people really won't care about how their phone looks or feels.

Let the war between Google Assistant, Siri, Alexa etc really begin. Pass the popcorn.
 
Am I missing something when people use these calculations? the first google pixel XL was £819 for the 128gb new. You sell it a year later for say £400 (if you are lucky) then you buy the new 128gb XL for £899 quid so you have spent £1318 pounds of your money (£819-400=419, 419+899 = 1318).

Well, yes, you're missing something. Lets say the first phone you buy is your initial outlay. Any phone after that, the upgrade is the cost of the new phone less the sale of the old. I didn't think it was that complicated tbh?

I guess you're kinda there. £1318 is two phones though. If the first was £819 then the second one was just £499.
 
I have a dream! Remember that famous line by Martin Luther King? Well in my Pixel-related dream, I see myself armed with my Pixel 2 XL and my Pixel Bud headphones doing most things I need to do with my phone in my pocket! (of course not take pics or videos yet--bring back Google Glass version 2).

My Buds will allow me to access a souped-up Google Assistant when I am on the move.

But my point really is quite simple: future wars between OEMs should really be less about hardware and more about how helpful your digital assistant becomes as it learns more and more about you. Enter Pixel Buds. I see screen based interactions moving to more and more voice based (and probably soon gesture based) control. In that world, people really won't care about how their phone looks or feels.

Let the war between Google Assistant, Siri, Alexa etc really begin. Pass the popcorn.

You make me chuckle in a good way, mate. If Google are head hunting, you must be in their cross hairs. :D

When GA can understand my Jockanese accent, and when I don't have to constantly say "OK Google" (they really need to change that), and when the light that my phone can control costs less than the phone itself... I might eventually buy in to all this internet of things pish. ;)
 
So if you pre order through CPW do they take the money there and then or when it's eventually dispatched like Google? Tempted to stick an order in and CPW are giving earlier dates than the Google store.
They could have course be lying!
 
So if you pre order through CPW do they take the money there and then or when it's eventually dispatched like Google? Tempted to stick an order in and CPW are giving earlier dates than the Google store.
They could have course be lying!
Last year they were lying, IIRC.

Think they take the money straight away too
 
Well, yes, you're missing something. Lets say the first phone you buy is your initial outlay. Any phone after that, the upgrade is the cost of the new phone less the sale of the old. I didn't think it was that complicated tbh?

I guess you're kinda there. £1318 is two phones though. If the first was £819 then the second one was just £499.

or each are £650.

i agree buying a new phone each year is expensive. if it wasn't for the fact that the XL i'll be selling is brand new as it was a replacement google sent me for free for my 6P replacment, i'd not be buying this XL2.
 
It still means you out of pocket £1318, I think people try and justify the cost by saying the new phone only cost them £200 £300 but in reality it's obviously a lot more than that, psychological tricks we play on ourselves to justify spending money.

If you did this every year for four years and the price on new phones never went up, you will have spent £2600 on phones. I know phones are pretty amazing things but with installment plans and contracts I think a lot people don't realise how much money they spending on these things over three four years if they upgrade every year.
 
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