Google Pixel 2 and 2 XL announced with IP67 builds, Snapdragon 835 processors and no headphone jack!

Google has announced the second-generation of its Pixel smartphones, the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL.

Design and key features

Both phones look pretty similar to last year's models, but with some slight design tweaks. Like last year, both devices feature a mostly-aluminum chassis with a glass panel towards the top of the device. This time, the glass is shorter and doesn’t cover the fingerprint sensor like it did with last year’s phones. Speaking of the fingerprint sensor, Google says it “unlocks faster than any other smartphone”. The Pixel’s single camera lens is larger this year too, and there's now a prominent camera bump on the rear.

The front of the Pixel 2 XL has the biggest change, thanks to a new 6-inch display that nearly covers the entire face of the phone. The display is a P-OLED screen with a 2,880 x 1,440 pixels resolution and a 18:9 aspect ratio, which makes it nearly as tall as the Samsung Galaxy Note8 and S8. 

The smaller Pixel 2 sports a 5-inch 1,920 x 1,080 pixels resolution OLED display with a more traditional 16:9 aspect ratio and rather thick bezels above and below the display.

Both displays are now Always-On displays and include some interesting features we haven't seen before on other always-on displays. For example, the Pixel 2 will now continually listen to audio playing around you (coined Now Playing, if you choose to enable it), which allows it to show you song information without the need to unlock and ask it manually. Just tap on the song title from the Always-On Display, and Google Assistant will bring up relevant information relating to that song.

A big omission to last year's Pixel smartphones was a dust and water resistant build, but fortunately that's been corrected this year as both the Pixel 2 and 2 XL have been rated for IP67, which means they can survive in up to 1 meter of water immersion for up to 30 minutes at a time.

As previously rumored, neither the Pixel 2 or Pixel 2 XL feature a 3.5mm headphone jack, which means you’ll need to rely on your USB Type-C port for wired headphones. You will get an included USB-C to 3.5mm jack adaptor with the phone. Like the iPhone 7 and 8, this also means you won't be able to charge your phone and listen with wired headphones at the same time. If you want to use the phone's own speakers to listen to music, both the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL feature front-facing stereo speakers. Hopefully this is a feature Google has worked closely with HTC on, who manufacturer the Pixel 2 for Google, because HTC's smartphones have the best smartphone stereo speakers out there.

Speaking of HTC features, both phones feature "Active Edge" a feature very similar to Edge Sense, which we saw on the HTC U11 earlier this year that lets you squeeze the sides of the phone to trigger certain actions. By default, it’ll launch the Google Assistant and silence phone calls.

 

A camera reimagined for truly smart photography

The highlight feature for the Pixel 2 and 2 Xl is the single rear camera. Google’s Mario Queiroz, VP product management, says his team has “re-imagined smartphone photography.” There seems to be some truth to that statement because DXO has given the Pixel 2's camera a record-setting score of 98. For context, the iPhone 8 Plus comes in second with a 94.

This year, the camera uses something Google is calling a “dual-pixel sensor,” which is supposed to literally divide every pixel in two. There are supposed to be all kinds of benefits to this setup, most notably letting the Pixel 2 offer a “portrait mode,” with a blurred bokeh-like background just like a dual camera smartphone, but without actually requiring a second camera. This works because the dual-pixels act like a second lens, letting the camera capture a second image ever-so-slightly offset from the first. Using that data (and by taking multiple shots, like it does for HDR), Google can create a depth map and use that to help it identify the foreground and background of a photo and blur out everything but the subject. Google says the portrait effect will work on objects, in addition to people, and that it’ll also be enabled on the 8-megapixel front-facing camera, even though it doesn’t have dual-pixels.

Google is also adding its own version of the iPhone’s Live Photos, called Motion Photos. They work pretty much exactly the same: Google will record a three-second clip around each photo and bundle it into the file. The phone is supposed to automatically cut out unwanted parts of the clip.

The Pixel 2 camera is also getting support for new augmented reality features — including AR stickers. You’ll be able to add 3D characters and emoji into photos and videos and see them move around as you’re capturing the scene. Google will also be partnering with third parties to add some recognizable AR stickers including the cast of Stranger Things and Star Wars.

The Pixel 2 phones will also be the first to get Google Lens, which was first announced earlier this year at Google I/O. It works similar to Samsung's Bixby Vision, letting you point the camera at various objects, like books and landmarks, and have Google automatically pull up information on them. It’ll also be able to scan email addresses and Wi-Fi passwords and automatically put that information to use.

Specs, Price and Availability

Specs-wise, both phones are powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor with 4GB RAM, and naturally, will release with Android 8.0 Oreo. There's no expandable storage on either phone, but you'll have an option of either 64GB or 128GB storage. The Pixel 2 has a 2,700mAh battery while the 2 XL has a 3,520mAh battery.

The Pixel 2 will start at US$649 and will be available in Just Black, Clearly White, and a muted blue variant called Kinda Blue. The Pixel 2 XL will start at US$849 and is available in Just Black and Black & White (black front, white back, and an orange power button). 

Singapore pricing and availability will be updated as soon as we know it, but what we do know is that Singtel will be the first to exclusively launch the device locally with a telco contract.

Our articles may contain affiliate links. If you buy through these links, we may earn a small commission.