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Follow UsAfter Samsung Galaxy Note 8 and Apple's iPhone trio, people had been eagerly awaiting Google's next iteration of Pixel smartphones. Pixel was an amazing device both in terms of hardware and software. And Google doesn't disappoint this time either. The second generation of Pixel smartphones- Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL are a refined version of its predecessors packing in the latest OS and the best phone camera you can have or as Google puts it- "the best of Google's hardware, software and AI".
It's here! Meet the new Google Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL. Highest rated smartphone camera. Again. pic.twitter.com/8w9s8Z1VGd
— Made by Google (@madebygoogle) October 4, 2017
Specifications
The Pixel 2 features a 5-inch Cinematic 127-mm full-HD (1080x1920) display, while the Pixel 2 XL features a 6-inch QHD+ (2880 x 1440) P-OLED at 538ppi with 18:9 ratio. There is no 3.5mm headphone jack and both the devices are powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 SoC and 4GB of RAM. The Pixel 2 has an aluminium case and comes in three colors- black, white and blue with a red power button. The Pixel 2 XL comes in two variants- Just Black and Black & White.
Both the smartphones are more refined and slimmer than last year's devices, with a small camera hump on the back and a slightly concave fingerprint reader. Another notable feature in the latest Pixel smartphones is the Active edge, also known as "squeezable sides", which will allow the phone to identify a squeeze for activating Google Assistant, a special button to add shortcuts to a number of tasks.
Coming to the Pixel's USP i.e. optics. Google's using a new 12-megapixel system for the Pixel 2, with an f/1.8 aperture and optical image stabilization. Google has trained its algorithms on faces of people, and says it can now take soft-background photos akin to the iPhone's Portrait Mode without needing a second camera to do so. It has also updated its HDR+ algorithms, introduced a new feature called Motion Photos that is absolutely identical to Apple's Live Photos, and combined optical and electrical image stabilization to make video smoother.
The Google Pixel 2 camera has a 98 DxO score (with the original Pixel getting 89), which is the highest score of any smartphone camera. Google also showcased its augmented reality platform on the Pixel 2.
Google claims that the Pixel 2 will give you an all-day battery life and fast charging. Both the devices run the stock version of Android 8.0 Oreo out the box.
The Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL smartphones have been launched in two variants each. The Pixel 2 64GB variant is priced at Rs 61,000, while the 128GB variant is priced at Rs 70,000. The Pixel 2 XL 64GB variant is priced at Rs 73,000, and the 128GB variant is priced at Rs 82,000. While Pixel 2 will go on sale in India from November 1, Pixel 2 XL sale starts two weeks later from November 15. Pre-orders will kick off from October 26.