Google Pixel XL
PROS
·
Stunning, fast camera
·
The best version
of Android yet
·
Impressive stamina
·
Bright display
·
Google Assistant
is better than Siri
|
CONS
·
No water-resistance
·
Not very durable
·
Pretty pricey
|
KEY FEATURES
· 5.5-inch quad-HD display · USB Type-C and fast charging
· Snapdragon 821
· 3,450mAh battery
· 4GB RAM
·Daydream VR-ready
· Android 7.1
· Manufacturer: Google
· Google Assistant
· Review Price: £719.00
· 32 or 128GB storage
|
WHAT IS THE GOOGLE PIXEL XL?
Many have
questioned Google's reasoning for taking the direction it has with the Pixel
XL. Last year’s Nexus 6P was a great phone at a great price. The
Pixel line isn't about value, however; the focus here is on sheer quality. The
Nexus phones, as a result of their price point, were subject to trade-offs here
and there – but this isn't so with the Pixel handsets.
So, this isn’t a
cheap phone then – and in fact, it matches up closely to what you'd pay for an iPhone 7 or 7 Plus. That’s fine, though, because
the Pixel XL is better than an iPhone 7. And for many it’s better than the Samsung Galaxy S7 too.
Google has finally
managed to build its "iPhone" – and that should make other Android
phone makers very worried indeed.
GOOGLE PIXEL XL – DESIGN
Yes,
it’s true: the Google Pixel XL looks like an iPhone. Well, sort of. It’s a
black (or white or blue) slab of metal, with curved edges and a rear that
tapers ever so slightly to help it sit better in your hand; it has also enabled
Google to do away with the camera bump, which proves a cause of concern for so
many.
The sides chamfer slightly, and while the handset is
probably a little thicker than you’d expect – especially if you’ve held a Moto
Z – it’s comfortable to hold. Overall, it isn't actually that much smaller than
an iPhone 7 Plus, but it nestles perfectly in my hand and feels so much more manageable
than Apple’s hulking beast. A ridged lock switch sits on the side, above a
clicky volume rocker.
Although there are flashes of inspired design, overall
the focus clearly more about functionality than flashiness. While the front is
sparse, the back is a tad more interesting. A glass panel covers the camera and
stretches down over the circular fingerprint scanner. This gives the rear of
the phone a two-tone look that I actually really like. It’s a fingerprint
magnet, however: like the Jet Black iPhone 7, it's seemingly prone to picking
up smudges and abrasions from just looking at it.
I still love having the fingerprint sensor on the back
in all situations apart from when the phone is flat on a desk. It’s the natural
position where my finger rests when I pick up the phone – and, of course, the
lack of the physical home button means it’s really the only place for it to go.
Branding is kept to a minimum, which is rare for an
Android phone. There’s only a "G" logo stencilled onto the back; HTC
may have helped Google to build the phone, but there’s no mention of it
anywhere.
The Pixel XL does lack some of the stalwart features
we’ve come to expect from a flagship priced phone. There’s no IP68
water-resistance rating of the iPhone 7 and Samsung Galaxy S7, the powerful
speakers of the HTC 10, or a microSD slot for expanding the 32GB of basic
storage.
While I don't believe that water-resistance is a
necessary requirement, it’s a reassuring feature that I've come to appreciate.
This is true of stereo speakers, too – they’re not mandatory, but they're a
nice touch.
To be honest, though, the down-firing speaker included
here isn’t too bad, but it's position means it's easily blocked if playing a
game. A microSD card can be found on pretty much every Android phone in 2016,
and it's a shame there isn’t one here.
My main issue with the Pixel XL isn’t the design; it’s
the durability of the handset. I’ve been using the phone for a while now and
the exterior has already picked up a ding on the corner, even though I haven’t
dropped it, and a bevy of scratches to the aforementioned glass panel. I’ve had
an iPhone 6S in my pocket for nearly a year and that is yet to scratch at all.
Will this become a problem? I’ll have to wait and see.
But this isn’t a design that will rival the Note 7
(R.I.P), nor the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge. I think the Moto Z is far more attractive, the OnePlus 3 even more manageable, and the Nexus 6P more
eye-catching. It looks better than an iPhone 7, but that’s a tired
three-year-old design.
GOOGLE PIXEL XL – DISPLAY
Being the bigger of the two Google phones,
the Pixel XL features a larger 5.5-inch display with a 2,650 x 1,440 quad-HD
resolution. For those after something smaller, the Pixel boasts a 1080p panel
at 5 inches.
But as we already know, resolution doesn’t
always guarantee a quality screen. Take the iPhone 7 Plus, for example. It has
only a 1080p screen but support for a wide colour gamut and a top-drawer LCD
panel make for a fantastic-looking display.
Thankfully, I've been pretty impressed by
the display here; it matches the Samsung Galaxy S7 as the best on an Android
phone.
Like the Galaxy S7, Google has used an
AMOLED panel, so right off the bat you’re looking at much richer colours and
deeper blacks. The black levels on this phone are great; inky and rich, with no
grey discolouration.
Next to an iPhone, you’ll notice how much brighter
colours are on the Pixel XL. Apple’s flagships tend to render colour more
accurately, while Samsung’s are much brighter and vivid. I'd say that the Pixel
XL sits somewhere in-between. Reds are warm and greens can sometimes look a
little fluorescent – but for the most part, the Pixel XL reproduces colours as
they should be seen.
Viewing angles are great, too, and although this isn't
the brightest screen I've seen – that honour easily goes to the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 – it can be jacked up high enough to make it
viewable in all conditions.
Big phones have become the norm now and if you’ve ever
used an Android phablet then you’ll feel right at home with the Pixel XL.
GOOGLE PIXEL XL – PERFORMANCE
The
Pixel XL is a seriously fast phone, and this makes it a pleasure to use.
It
isn't going to trounce rivals in any of the benchmark tests, however. Even
though it’s using the new Snapdragon 821 CPU, it couldn't quite match the Samsung Galaxy S7 in Geekbench 4’s tests. The Pixel XL
scored 1,554 in the single-core test and 4,025 in the multi-core test; the S7
scored 1,848 and 5,841 respectively. But these scores don’t relate at all to
the how the phone performs in real life.
Whether
it’s opening apps, browsing the web, playing games or just jumping between
homescreens, the Pixel is the smoothest Android experience around.
Asphalt
8 ran without dropped frames, and loading times matched the iPhone 7 and beat
the Samsung Galaxy S7. I was even able to load up RAW photos in Lightroom
without any trouble. I've been trying to push the phone to the limit, but there
doesn't seem to be anything that causes it any problems.
There
are huge improvements to the touch-responsiveness of the display too, and it
now feels like it’s on the level of the iPhone. Press down and your movement is
translated into an action instantaneously; do the same thing on a Galaxy S7 or OnePlus 3, and there’s an ever-so-slight pause.
You probably wouldn’t notice the individual occurrences, but you’ll certainly
notice them after a few days.
The
Pixel XL includes 32GB of storage as standard, of which about 24GB is available
to use. Google is also offering a 128GB option, which I'd say is the better
option considering there's no expandable storage available.
Speaker
performance is average, but the down-facing grilles aren't too bad. They're
easily blocked, though, especially if you're watching a video. Call quality is
great, with the mics cutting out pesky background noise impressively.
GOOGLE PIXEL XL – SOFTWARE, GOOGLE ASSISTANT AND PIXEL
LAUNCHER
Like
the Nexus phones before it, the Pixel is all about showcasing what’s best about
Google’s software. The big new addition here is Google Assistant: A Siri and
Cortana rival that combines Google Now, Now on Tap and a natural
language-toting bot.
Long
press on the slightly refreshed middle soft key and the Google Assistant pops
up. Like Now on Tap, it will scan your screen for relevant contextual
information, bringing up times and cinema information if you’re talking about
seeing a film, for instance. But now you can talk directly to it: ask it the
weather, to set an alarm, show you directions to work and so on, and it will
spew out an answer much faster than Apple’s Siri.
It also does a much better job at understanding me
than Siri, allowing me to speak in my usual mumbled tones without throwing up a
blank screen.
Like Siri in iOS 10, the Google Assistant can perform tasks in specific
apps. Ask it to play a song in Spotify and it will oblige, not forcing you into
Google’s own Play Music app. It’s the conversational aspect that really stands
out, though. Say you’ve asked for the weather, you can follow it up with
"how about next week" and it will know that you’re still talking
about the weather. It isn't perfect, though. There's certainly a long way to
go, but for a first try it’s great.
On occasion it offers up too much information – a far
too detailed view of the weather, for example – and randomly it can take a
while to throw up the results. I’ve also come across certain instances where
the conversational aspect doesn’t work. These are all small issues that I’m
sure Google will iron out.
Whether or not you make the most of Google Assistant
will be down to getting past the initial awkward stages of talking to your
phone.
Google Assistant isn’t just coming to the Pixel,
though. It’s the software the powers the new Home speaker, rival to Amazon
Echo. I’m yet to see first hand how this works, but hopefully if it proves
popular then developers will build support into their apps.
Unlike Nexus phones, I wouldn’t actually call the
software running on the Pixel and Pixel XL "Stock Android". Google
has overlaid its own launcher on top of Android 7.1 and this is another way the
Pixel hopes to stand out from the crowd.
Pixel Launcher is actually a pretty big departure from
the Google Launcher on the Nexus 6P. It does away with the app drawer for a
transparent pane that you swipe up from the bottom, and replaces the iconic
Google search bar with a pill-shaped widget that pretty much does the same
thing, just in a smaller way.
Most of Google’s own apps now have circular icons,
which look a bit odd next to the ones that aren’t the same shape but at least
they’re all the same size. A few of these icons now come with 3D Touch
abilities; long press on the Maps icon, for example, and a shortcut will pop
up.
The majority of the changes in Pixel Launcher are
visual, but there a couple that provide extra functionality. A new Support tab
in the settings menu lets you contact Google directly if you’re having
problems, and there’s a fancy new wallpaper picker. You can also swipe down on
the fingerprint scanner to drag down the notifications panel.
Many will buy a Pixel because of the software, and
it’s certainly one of the biggest selling points here. Android direct from
Google is the simplest and best-looking of any of its forms, ditching the
needless extra apps and gimmicky features of Samsung’s TouchWiz or the poor UI
choices of Huawei’s EMUI. Everything is optimised as it should be, since Google
controls both the software and the hardware – and that translates into a smooth
and lag-free experience. You’ll receive updates and security patches far
quicker than other handsets, which is another bonus.
You also get all the benefits that arrived with Android
7.0. Split-screen apps are great on the 5.5-inch display, and the improvements
to Doze – Android’s way of limiting functions to conserve battery when you’re
not using the phone – are clearly one reason that battery life here is so good.
In addition, replying directly from notifications is
fantastic. Coming from an iPhone, it serves as a reminder to just how well
Google handles such tasks.
GOOGLE PIXEL XL – CAMERA
Camera
tech is a competitive area in the world of smartphones. This is the reason
Google has made a song and dance about the fact that the Pixel and Pixel XL's DxOMark scores beat both
the iPhone 7 and Samsung Galaxy S7, on unveiling its handsets.
Benchmarks never reveal the full story, but I've been
immensely impressed by the snapper on the back of the Pixel XL in use.
The 12.3-megapixel camera takes some of the most
detailed shots I've ever seen from a phone camera, especially in good light.
Take a look at the sample of the cityscape below – it’s shot through a window,
from a distance, but the intricacies are still easy to spot. The windows are
sharp, ripples in the lake are visible, and it has great depth of field.
On paper, the Pixel doesn’t seem quite as impressive
as the iPhone 7 and Samsung Galaxy S7. Its camera has a narrower aperture –
f/2.0 as opposed to f/1.8 and f/1.7 – and lacks optical image stabilisation.
However, it easily matches, and in some cases surpasses, its rivals. The
results aren't quite as natural as those from Apple’s flagship, but they offer
more vibrancy and detail that's far beyond what's on show from the competition.
Part of reason this camera is so great is because of
how speedy it is. Nexus phones used to struggle with slow camera apps, but the
Pixel doesn’t. Double-tapping the power button takes you straight into shooting
mode, and things don't slow down thereafter. Auto-focus is near-instantaneous
and it’s accurate too. The iPhone 7 can often make a mess of white balance and
exposure when you’re quickly changing subjects, by comparison.
The fact that the Auto-HDR+ mode's after-shot
processing is done in the background further aids the camera's nippy feel.
On the matter of Auto-HDR+, I've been using it pretty
much exclusively. It manages the balance between exposing everything correctly
and with speed as well, plus it gives a wonderful depth to the picture that
seems absent with it turned off.
The lack of OIS might appear to be a worrying sign for
low-light shooting – but impressively, the results are fantastic. The phone
does use the gyroscope to add a stabilisation effect, but it manages to keep
noisy and grainy pictures to a minimum.
There's support for 4K video and a good stabilisation
system manages to make even the most shaky of footage watchable. It does give a
sort of unnatural sheen to the finished product, but it’s better than nothing.
The 8-megapixel front-facing camera is great too.
You also get free full-resolution backups with Google
Photos for all your snaps and even 4K video. Match that, iCloud.
GOOGLE PIXEL XL – BATTERY LIFE
Battery
life on the Pixel XL is fantastic, and screen aside, it’s one of the few things
that sets it apart from the smaller model. Tucked inside is a non-removable
3,450mAh cell – 50mAh smaller than the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge – and it can easily make it through the
day and into the next without any issues.
I typically unplug at 7am, have multiple email
accounts constantly dragging in messages and multiple Slack, Twitter and
Facebook accounts all constantly on the lookout. An hour of Spotify streaming
on the way to work used only 5%, while an hour of HD streaming from Netflix
used up between 8-9%. Graphics-intensive games – I was using Modern Combat and
Real Racing – eat through about 13-15% per hour, with lesser demanding titles
(Dots, Alto’s Adventure, and so on) using about half of that.
Those numbers are hardly a revelation, but they aren't
the reason the battery impresses. It’s how it consumes power when you’re not
using it, or only conducting basic tasks. Standby times are fantastic; leave
the phone overnight and it will barely use any power.
It also charges exceptionally quickly, only lagging
behind the OnePlus 3 when it comes to charge times in relation to the
size. A full charge from 0% takes about 1hr 20mins; I managed to go from 20% to
90% in only 35 minutes.
It’s Quick Charge 3.0-compatible and, like the Nexus 6P, uses USB Type-C instead of micro-USB. Google has
also included two USB Type-C cables in the box: A USB Type-C to USB Type-C that
plugs into the wall adapter, plus a USB Type-C to full-size USB for plugging
into your computer.
SHOULD I BUY THE PIXEL XL?
Look past the
slightly mundane design, and you’ll find yourself a complete phone that more
than justifies its lofty price tag. Yes, it is possible to get a great Android
phone without spending £600+, but in the Pixel XL you have the very best of
what's on offer.
Google taking full
control of this phone is a revelation, and it should really make other Android
OEMs worried. The optimisation here is fantastic; it’s the fastest Android
phone in general use, and the battery lasts longer than similarly sized cells.
It isn't perfect,
though: a lack of water-resistance and a microSD stand out when you’re
comparing it to other similarly prices phones.
VERDICT
After a few doubts,
we have become quite smitten with the Pixel.
Google’s first phone is friendly enough
to make feel anyone at home with Android.
From its great camera, free back-up, and
helpful assistant – everything about the Pixel tries to make your life easier.
But for all its greatest the Pixel has
got some issues.
The design is slightly dull, it’s not
water resistant and there’s no expandable memory.
It’s also massively expensive,
especially if you go all out and buy the £819 Pixel XL with 128GB of memory.
Google has however made a fabulous first
phone and if you can stomach the price, the Pixel is almost perfect.
SCORES IN DETAIL
- Battery Life9
- Calls & Sound7
- Camera9
- Design7
- Performance10
- Screen Quality9
- Software10
- Value7
0 commentaires:
Post a Comment