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

whiskycycle said:
Oddly, mine was sent out with the phone from EE, even though I was told when I ordered it that I'd get an online code to use to buy one after 14 days (return period etc).

Mate got his from CPW and they've been trying to worm out of pre-ordered Mini for some Pixel 2 owners, and he had to resort to threatening to send the phone back, then outing them on Twitter to get them to honour the deal.

Other mate with a direct Google pre-order hasn't heard anything yet, but I believe that was supposed to be 2 weeks after delivery no?

Seems to be inconsistent as to how the fulfillment is being handled.
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Strange story about the friend who bought from CPW as my invoice specifically mentions first the Pixel 2 XL Panda and second the Google Home Mini. Hence, the first invoiced item was for £ 799 and the second invoiced item was for £ 0.00. Hence there is no wiggle room and nothing to negotiate or argue about. The CPW salesperson specifically confirmed it all when I ordered it last month and told me the Mini would be in the package I receive from them in a couple of weeks.

I presume your friend's pre-order invoice may have been different if he experienced this problem. Seems strange though if it were because his order falls within the "pre-order" period. If I recall correctly CPW's pre-order period runs until mid December.
 
MrRockliffe said:
Anyway, back on topic. Had a message from EE today to say my order was on track for delivery on the 15th. Except they've got the wrong address down.

I don't get how it's changed from the order confirmation to now :(
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Thanks for reminding me. I have not had the same confirm from CPW so will chase them. Meanwhile, my phone, the Pixel 2 XL Panda is sold out on the Google Store as demand must be really strong. They did say about 10 days ago that demand was twice what it was for the first Pixels.

Did anyone see the latest ad as a trailer at the films this past weekend? This is what I saw, and the Panda is the featured Pixel phone:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uPBzK3s11Hw
 
Mine from CPW says DPD expected to pick up 20 November to arrive next business day. I did order it a day after launch so perhaps that is why it is a little later than others.
 
bash25 said:
Hi Sesevans,

How are you able check your order status from CPW, as I have ordered the Panda 2XL 128gb from their.

Also we will get our Google Mini at the same time as our phone?

Bashy
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Hi

At the bottom of the page of my receipt from CPW is the "Customer Care Team" phone number. I called 08700870168, spoke to a team member who asked for my Customer Number listed on the receipt. They found my order from 5 October (one day after launch on 4 October) which included the Pixel 2 XL 64 GB White (Panda) and Google Home Mini as part of my "pre-order". They stated that the Panda and the Mini would arrive in store on 20 November and the delivery of my package (both items) would be via DPD on the next business day.

Hope that helps. Let us know how you get on.
 
V_R said:
Wait, you mean you didn't order it straight from Google the minute it was available? Mr Google, I am amazed. :p
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Ha! You missed the memo.....I explained this in an earlier post.

I did order the Panda Pixel 2 XL on 4 October (launch date) from the Google Play Store, but a few minutes after they were made available. Because the demand was so strong I was given a delivery date of mid December.

The next day I walked into a CPW store and told that I could receive the Panda and Mini one day after they receive stock on 20 November and assured that if there were any problems with the phone I would have the same warranty coverage as if I bought from the Play Store. I was given a DPD home delivery slot one day later on the 21st.

I ordered the combo from CPW and cancelled my Play Store order. I then asked others on this site about their experience with CPW and the comments seemed sufficiently ok for me to take CPW at their word.

Happy now?
 
whiskycycle said:
Ok Google, tell me are you excited to receiving your Panda soon then?

You'll have fun with the Home Mini redemption through CPW... mate's still arguing with them over redemption on his. They're now pointing fingers at Google for the drag on, and he's used this page on their site (particularly the last line of text) to keep them on their toes. Still no Mini Home.

Have to say the Home is pretty damn sweet though, overall.

Chuffed to bits with the Pixel 2 Kinda Blue as well.
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Glad you are enjoying the Pixel 2 Kinda Blue and the Mini Home. I am excited about receiving my Panda 2 XL and what Google will be able to do with this phone to infuse artificial intelligence and artificial reality and so much more. I have enjoyed the year with the Pixel XL and I know the wife will be happy to replace her Nexus 6 with my soon-to-be old Pixel XL.

You say "Have to say the Home is pretty damn sweet though, overall." I have 3 original Google Home units in various parts of the house that I use to control music, podcasts, casting, smart lights, Nest Thermostat control, etc and am looking always at ways to add features. Recently I added the smart kettle to boil water remotely and looking forward to integrating Home with Google Hello, their video doorbell due to be released early next year.

I know some here think I am overly-enthused about what Google can do, but still I am surprised that you seem surprised with your new Home Mini----specifically, at the AI and general smarts built into Home. I truly understand the delight of a first time user. I still to this day remember the "aha" moment I had when some 4 or 5 years ago, I strapped on Google Glass when biking around London and having the directions to my destination appear in real time on my Glass screen and a voice in my ear telling me to anticipate turning right in 20 metres. Very little surprises me about what Google is able to accomplish.

After all, we are talking about the company that has launched the first truly self-driving-vehicle (SDV) to operate on public roads without a driver in the front seat ready to take over if a problem develops. After 8 years of testing, its self driving car unit, Waymo, is sufficiently confident that it has mastered the SDV in the somewhat controlled environment of Chandler, Arizona, a suburb of Phoenix, on public roads at normal driving speeds. The amount of money, time and expertise in software, hardware, deep learning applied to a neural network that Google has mastered here is truly historic. Today their SDV operates in a 100 square mile radius of Chandler but soon will operate in the Greater Phoenix Metropolitan area, which incidentally is the same size as Greater London (of course without the density of population and complexity of road networks).

So as not to downplay your excitement about the AI built into Home, their accomplishment with the SDV in Chandler rather puts that Google Home unit achievement in some perspective. Check out the video if you have not already seen it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aaOB-ErYq6Y
 
I will be very interested in reading the comments of the many of us who will be receiving our pre-ordered Pixel 2 XL's this week in the UK, as my pre-ordered Panda via CPW is not due to arrive before 21 November---9 days away.

Will we have a positive reaction after all the negative blogs and YouTube videos that make some of us fear that we have made a terrible decision to pre-order?

Will we share the reaction of this blogger on Motherboard who came to dread the arrival date only to be pleasantly surprised and concluding that the Pixel 2 XL screen is actually great?

https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/ne3977/actually-the-pixel-2-xls-screen-is-great
 
Rimsy said:
Hah... I for one like reading your posts and the enthusiasm that goes into them. Yes sometimes it does read like a Google advert but like you say... They are quite a remarkable company that do rather interesting things!
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Thanks.

I was interested in learning how Google uses its AI smarts and machine learning skills to create a stable video recording on Pixel 2s. Pixel 2s use both EIS and OIS.

From Engadget: "Google uses a "lookahead" filtering algorithm that pushes image frames into a deferred queue and uses machine learning to predict where you're likely to move the phone next. This corrects for a wider range of movement than OIS alone, and can counteract common video quirks like wobbling, rolling shutter (the distortion effect where parts of the frame appear to lag behind) or focus hunting. The algorithmic method even introduces virtual motion to mask wild variations in sharpness when you move the phone quickly."

Not flawless but extremely impressive:

https://www.engadget.com/2017/11/12/google-explains-the-pixel-2s-super-stable-video-recording/
 
whiskycycle said:
Mate with a white P2 has ordered one of the Live cases direct from Google, ETA later this week... it's the dual skinned version, so will be interesting to see what the bulk's like on that one, as I definitely fancy one of the custom photo ones!
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I really enjoyed using my Google Live Case with my original Pixel XL with my choice of a personal photo designed into the Case. It made the phone feel so personal.

So when the Pixel 2 XL Panda was ordered, I immediately ordered the Single skinned Live Case with a new personal photo. It arrived in October and awaits my Panda delivery soon.

Every case is a personal choice, but to me, making the phone feel personal makes the Live Case choice an easy one.
 
FishLicker said:
Looking forward to hearing some more impressions on the rather maligned 2XL on here...
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Me too.

But I think it is important to remember that the Pixel 2 XL launch is really a starting point for the user in a way that might not be so obvious. Why? Machine learning. The advantage that Google has over any other phone manufacturer, except Apple, is only getting greater. If Google really figured out how to keep a very popular phone (Pixel) in constant supply at both its website and its partners' stores, Pixels would be far more popular than they are today. Machine learning will make it impossible for others to "reverse engineer" their innovation.

As this article today from the Verge discusses, it is really a two horse race between Google and Apple in machine learning because they both have the "computing power and user data" second to none. They believe machine learning will become so important to users that it will become impossible for competitors to copy them in future.

Think of this statement from the article which in effect says, because of machine learning, Google's Pixel camera will get better on the original Pixel XL just from an increase in the data we feed it. That is a big competitive advantage.

https://www.theverge.com/circuitbre...-google-tech-innovation-invention-competition
 
GMac11 said:
Out of curiosity did anyone pre-order from CPW, and if so are they on schedule? I've not ordered one myself, just being nosey :p
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I did and I checked with them on Thurs or Fri last week to get update. Original launch date for the Tottenham Ct Rd store where I bought it is apparently 20 November. They said if that is met, which they expect, my Panda 2 XL would be despatched on DPD same day for next business day delivery.

I figured with the earlier dates mentioned here from EE and since CPW is also an authorised seller, they would launch about the same date but I have had no further update. They said my next contact would be an email from DPD. Hence, I am still assuming receiving Panda on 21 November.

They did say the free Google Home Mini would be in the same package.
 
Get ready for a huge push from both Apple and Google on Artificial Reality

Bloomberg notes that Apple and Google working on big changes and improvements in AR with the ARKit and ARCore platforms, respectively.

They understand Apple to move away from relying exclusively on Face ID technology (known as True Depth) used on the iPhone X to a 3-D rear facing sensor system or a combo of both for the 2019 iPhone.

Apple CEO Cook said that "AR will change the way we use technology forever". Google first introduced AR in 2014 with Project Tango and I used it as a feature in Google Glass.

Big changes ahead:

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...target-rear-facing-3-d-sensor-for-2019-iphone
 
Sp00n said:
Thanks Googlebot™
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:p

Remember, it is good to skate to where the puck will be rather than where it is.

Right now most are fixated on delivery details of their Pixel 2 XLs which is totally understandable. But soon we will be asking, "What's next?"

Trying to be helpful in answering that question.
 
Dangerous said:
Mine is now out for delivery and I've ordered a live case too! Felt like ordering something different over the standard Spigen case.
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Great choice on the Live Case. I have enjoyed mine on the Pixel XL for the past year and have a new Live Case set to protect my Panda XL when it arrives next week (or so CPW says).

Really makes the phone personal.
 
CPW people in store told me they received a few Pixel 2 XLs today on their official launch but were quickly allocated/sold out. All deliveries were for the colour Black.

Said the Panda's are like gold-dust at the moment.

Has anyone received a Panda from the Google Store yet and what do they think about the colours?
 
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