After months of anticipation and a lot of leaks, Google has officially revealed both the Pixel 2 as well as the Pixel 2 XL to the world. Thanks to the leaks, we basically knew what to expect from Google with both of these devices but many were still holding onto hope for a handful of features. The wait is over and Google has said they’re accepting pre-orders today and that they will begin shipping devices on later this year with prices starting at $650 for the Pixel 2 and $850 for the Pixel 2 XL.
This marks the second year in the row that Google is releasing their own smartphones. A lot of work is still being done by the manufacturing partner, but the company says they have more control over the design and manufacturing process of the Pixel phones than they ever had with the Nexus smartphones and tablets. Along with these phones, the company has also revealed a new, smaller version of the Google Home as well as a new Chrome OS device called the Pixelbook.
Google Pixel 2 Specs
- 5″ 1080p AMOLED 16:9 Display
- 2.5D Corning® Gorilla® Glass 5
- 95% DCI-P3 coverage
- Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 SoC
- 4GB of RAM
- 64GB and 128GB internal storage options
- 8MP 1.4μm front-facing camera
- 12.2MP 1.4μm rear-facing camera
- 2,700 mAh capacity battery
- IP67 water and dust resistant
Google Pixel 2 XL Specs
- 6″ pOLED QHD+ (2880 x 1440) 18:9 display
- 3D Corning® Gorilla® Glass 5
- 100% DCI-P3 coverage
- Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 SoC
- 4GB of RAM
- 64GB and 128GB internal storage options
- 8MP 1.4μm front-facing camera
- 12.2MP 1.4μm rear-facing camera
- 3,520 mAh capacity battery
- IP67 water and dust resistant
So as we can see here, these specs are what we have been seen leaked over the last few months. With such a highly anticipated device, it’s incredibly hard for a company to keep it a secret these days (no Ultra Pixel here!). We were missing some details such as the front-facing camera, display tech for the Pixel 2 and the battery capacity, but overall we have known what these devices were going to be for a while. There has even been a number of renders released that gave us a close-up look at them.
Google Pixel 2 Software Features
At the launch event, Google also announced some new features that were coming to the company’s two new flagship smartphones. Just as we previously covered, the company has redesigned the Pixel Launcher to make the Google search bar more accessible and including a Google Assistant widget at the top. The camera application now features a “Portrait Mode” and uses software algorithms to keep the main subject in focus while blurring out the background.
Expanding on the camera application itself, Google is doubling down on the features that it currently has with a couple that we have seen used by other OEMs. Again, this is something we have covered in past leaks, and today the company confirmed that its camera application has both a Face Retouching feature as well as a Motion Photo mode. Face Retouching is self explanatory as it will attempt to cover up blemishes and other imperfections from your skin. The Motion Photo mode can be equated to Apple’s Live Photos where it will capture some video before and after taking a still photo.
Something that will instantly be controversial is a new Now Playing feature that enables the phones to listen for music and then display details about it on the lock screen. This feature isn’t forced on anyone though and you can disable it in the settings at any time. Google says this Now Playing feature works offline and never sends songs or conversations to Google. As reported, the company is even expanding their Ambient Display feature to include always-on display functionality that takes advantage of the OLED panels used in both the Google Pixel 2 as well as the Google Pixel 2 XL (you can try it out now).
Google Pixel 2 Pricing and Release Date
Just as expected, the Pixel 2 pricing will start at $650 for the 64GB option and go up to $750 for those who prefer the 128GB internal storage option. Alternatively, the Pixel 2 XL pricing will start at $850 and will go up to $950 for those who want the larger storage capacity variant. Google says both variants of the Pixel 2 will ship by October 17th but Pixel 2 XL and you can pre-order your device right now, with a free Google Home Mini with your Pixel 2 pre-order.
Excited for the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL? Let us know in the comments!
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