Google Pixel Review: Google’s Android is not Mr. Perfect but it is one of the best smartphones on
- Fariha Khan
- October 19, 2016
- 1,402
What makes the Pixel so special?
The latest smartphone by Google is special as the company has made some clear enhancements to its software and its association with the hardware. Its great camera, its being the first Android phone to ship with the Google Assistant and its being the first Daydream-ready smartphone all make the Pixel an extraordinary phone that is worth buying.
The Pixel – Google’s Baby
The Pixel is a new smartphone by Google. While the device has been manufactured by HTC, the company claims it as a “Made by Google” device. So be sure that it is the Google’s baby as that’s how the company is marketing the phone.
The Google Pixel smartphone features a 5-inch FHD AMOLED display while the Pixel XL has a little larger 5.5-inch QHD AMOLED display. Other specifications are somewhat the same. The device has a quad-core 64-bit Snapdragon 821 SoC, 4GB of RAM, 12.3MP and 8MP cameras, 32GB of storage, and Bluetooth, NFC in addition to a 2,770 mAh battery.The Pixel XL, on the other hand, has a 3,450mAh battery.
No copycat
While the Google Pixel smartphone is not the most amazing smartphone in the world, it is not one the best smartphone that can be ignored. The device will without doubt be compared to the iPhone due to its antenna lines and big front bezels. It can also be compared to the finest HTC phones. The Pixel does look like the HTC 10 because of its side bezels and sharp edges.So we can safely say that the phone is a great look alike of the iPhone 6S and the HTC 10.The Google Pixel is definitely not a copycat and its glass back is one feature that makes it really unique. Its back is one third glass, joined with the aluminum body.
Overall feel
The Pixel XL feels great in the hand. You will particularly like the curved edges on the backside, which makes it feel like an iPhone. The Pixel has a decent headphone jack at the top-left side. The display is good enough though like many phones it’s not the best in direct sunlight. But the overall displays are fine enough to get help you do things in bright light.
Pixel Imprint
“Pixel Imprint” is another name for the Pixel’s fingerprint scanner. Though it may not look too amazing but the smooth glass rear fingerprint sensors have a great fell and you may find them a bit faster than others.
Fast charging
When it comes to charging, we must appreciate the Pixel for its superfast charging. According to Google, it can get up to 7 hours of use from only 15 minutes of charging.
Speaker & microphones
The main earpiece speaker is nice and crisp on the Pixel. The sound of the speaker is fine too. It means that music buffs can have a good time and can depend on the device.
The Pixel is no swimmer!
You must know that the Pixel is not waterproof and this is one of the downsides of the device. It is rated IP53 for dust and water resistance. It implies that the phone is well dust resistant, but it’s does not have much capacity to bear with over a splash or two of water.
Google Assistant
The Google Assistant is one of the big software selling point for the Pixel for now. Switching the hollow home, multitasking, and back navigation images of earlier versions, the phone has a solid white and the middle one is even better. Compared to Google Now, the Assistant has much deeper control over your device which can serve you better. It can play your news, you can get a summary of your approaching day, can find out things about you and more.
Allo and Duo
Google is using the Pixel to push its Allo and Duo, its messaging apps. The phone also ships with both pre-installed, and disables Hangouts by default.
Pixel Launcher
The Pixel Launcher on the device is making its way officially for the first time on both the Pixel and Pixel XL. It’s a development of the Google Now Launcher and adds some beneficial features. A permanent weather and time widget on the home screen include some notable features.
Rounded icons
The circular icons are one of the most prominent visual tweaks in Pixel launcher. It’s a rather a misapprehension that this is part of the Pixel Launcher itself, but using a third-party launcher will enable you to put onsign packs to make them look as you wish.
“Moves”
Movies is a new category in Settings app. It has few quick gestures for accessing functions of your phone. It has 3 three options at the moment, “Jump to camera” for double tapping the power button to start the camera, and “Flip camera” for swapping between front-facing and rear-facing camera with the glance of a wrist. The “Swipe for notifications” option more notable that enables you to swipe down on the fingerprint sensor to pull down the notification shade.
Google Photos
The Pixel phone ships with some extra Google Photos wow beyond how great the app is itself. Instead of taking up Google Drive space, your photos and videos will be added to your Google Photos app for free in the full resolution. As it is unlimited full-resolution storage and backup for all of your data, it alone serves as an extraordinary feature for the Pixel phones.
Daydream-ready!
The Google Pixel smartphone is the first Daydream-ready Android phone. While it may not have a huge impact for now, but it is definitely a big plus point which will prove to be highly useful in the times to come.
Camera performance
The camera performance of Pixel and Pixel XL is certainly worth noting. While the Nexus devices suffered from low-quality cameras and bad camera performance for long, this best smartphone is free from all such issues. In fact, the camera is one of the hottest features of the phone. It is extremely fast and the viewfinder unswervingly pops up in 1 or 2 seconds flat.
Source: Tech4 Fantastic
Google Support
There is a new Support tab in the Pixel and Pixel XL, in the Settings app. If you face any problem with the device, the companyoffers the ability to contact its support via a phone call or a chat - fast and easy.
Pricing
While the standard Pixel starts at $650, the Pixel XL starts at $769. Verizon or the Google Store can help you in financing. These devices are unlocked and will function with most key carriers.
The final word
Considering all the features of the phone, it is not a bad idea to consider this one of the best smartphone and all users should switch to the Google Pixel smartphone. The phone has an OTG dongle that you might not be familiar with. It is nothing but a small adapter for plugging in your other phone straight to the device. The previous iPhone users can simply plug it straight into their new device and Google will help them through moving over all their data when they set up the Pixel for the first time.
