Google Introduces Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL Smartphones running Android 8.0 on Snapdragon 835 SoC

When Google introduced Nexus brand, it aimed to provide affordable yet decently spec’d Android smartphone. The Nexus has now been deprecated, Google left the low/mid range market, leaving other fills the void, and instead launch the Pixel brand for premium devices.

The company announced several new hardware devices yesterday, including two new Pixel smartphones: Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL, both powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor, and running the latest Android 8.0 Oreo.

Both phones share most of the same specifications:

SoC – Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 with 4x Kryo 280 “performance” cores @ 2.35GHz, 4x Kryo 280 “efficiency” cores @ 1.90GHz, Adreno 540 GPU, security module
System Memory – 4GB LPDDR4x
Storage – 64GB or 128GB flash
Display
- Pixel 2 – 5.0″ always-on AMOLED display with 1920×1080 resolution (16:9 aspect ratio); 2.5D Corning Gorilla Glass 5
- Pixel 2 XL – 6.0″ always-on pOLED display with 2880×1440 resolution (18:9 aspect ratio) ; 3D Corning Gorilla Glass 5
Cellular Connectivity
- Built-in eSIM chip+ single Nano SIM slot
- GSM/EDGE: Quad-band (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz)
- UMTS/HSPA+/HSDPA: Bands 1/2/4/5/8
- CDMA EVDO Rev A: BC0/BC1/BC10
- FDD-LTE : Bands 1*/2*/3*/4*/5/7*/8/12/13/17/20/25/26/28/29/30/32/66*; TD-LTE: Bands 38*/40/41; * = bands that support 4×4 MIMO
- Supports up to CAT 15 (800Mbps DL / 75Mbps UL), 3x DL CA, 4×4 MIMO, 256-QAM DL and 64-QAM UL depending on carrier support
Other Wireless Connectivity – Dual band 802.11 b/g/n/ac 2×2 MIMO WiFi, Bluetooth 5 + LE, NFC, GPS + GLONASS
Camera – 12.2 MP rear camera with auto-focus, OIS and EIS, up to 4K @ 30fps / 720p @ 240 fps video recording; 8MP front-facing camera up to 1080p30 video recording
USB – 1x USB 3.1 Gen 1 type C port (Google did not bother mentioning about data or DisplayPort support)
Sensors – Active Edge, Proximity / Ambient light sensor, Accelerometer / Gyrometer, Magnetometer, Pixel Imprint(Back-mounted fingerprint sensor), Barometer, Hall effect sensor, Android Sensor Hub, advanced x-axis haptics for sharper/defined response
Battery
- Pixel 2 – 2,700 mAh battery with up to 7 hours of go with a 15-minute charge
- Pixel 2 XL – 3,520 mAh battery with up to 7 hours of go with a 15-minute charge

Dimensions / Weight
- Pixel 2 – 145.7 x 69.7 x 7.8 mm / 143 grams
- Pixel 2 XL – 157.9 x 76.7 x 7.9 mm / 175 grams
Case – Aluminum unibody with hybrid coating, IP67 ingress protection rating

The phone come with a USB-C charger, a USB-C to 3.5mm headphone adapter (since no 3.5mm audio jack), a quick start guide, and a quick switch adapter. Not too many new things here, except for the embedded SIM (eSIM) that was never used in a phone previously and to initially work with Project Fi, Active Edge (squeeze your phone to start Google Assistant, similar to HTC Edge Sense), and the not-so-common pOLED (Plastic OLED) display found in the XL version. The camera must be really good through, as DxOMark rated the Pixel 2 camera with a score of 98, making it the best mobile camera so far. Google further explains that the camera leverages computational photography and machine learning (ML) capabilities.

Software and support is probably what make the phones stand part, with the latest Android 8.0 OS from Google, including “an exclusive preview of Google Lens”, which will automatically be able to recognize objects, landmarks, books, movies, etc… scan business cards to adds them to contact list, etc… The company also boasts improvement with Google Assistant, which can now start by squeezing the edges of your phone, and has become smarter with more features such as routines like “good night” to turn off light, set alarms. and put your phone to sleep.

Google Pixel 2 will sell for $649 or $749 with respectively 64 GB or 128GB storage, and Pixel 2 XL for $849 or $949. Visit Google Phones page for further details.

Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft)

Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor, before quitting his job as a software engineering manager, and starting to write daily news, and reviews full time later in 2011.