Google Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL Announced With an ‘AI’ Touch

After Samsung and Apple, now it is Google’s turn to show off its flagship. Known as the Pixel, Google shows its design innovation at its best. This year, we have seen some of the best-looking smartphones with unique design philosophies, like the Samsung Galaxy S8 and the Apple iPhone X. Pixel 2 is no different. It’s completely distinct from Apple and Samsung’s design and has its charm on its own.

The Pixel 2 smartphone will be available in two variants: Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL. The Pixel 2 looks almost identical to its predecessor Pixel, with its front-facing speakers. However, some minor substantial design changes are seen on the Pixel 2 XL. Its 5.5-inch display is upgraded to a 6-inch display, almost edge-to-edge-and, and has some trimmed bezels at the top and bottom. It claims a contrast ratio of 100,000:1.

The Pixel 2 will feature a % inch Cinematic 127-mm full HD (1080 x 1920) display while the Pixel 2 XL features a 6-inch QHD+ (2880 x 1440) P-OLED at 538ppi with an 18:9 ratio. Both are OLED and are protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 5.

Both phones feature the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor and 4GB RAM. There are two storage variants: 64GB and 128 GB. There is no headphone jack. Instead, we get support from many new codecs over Bluetooth 5. The device is also water resistant to IP67 standards.

Coming to the optics department, there is a lot. First, there is no camera bump. So instead of dual lens Pixel, 2 features a single lens with incredible innovation. It houses a dual-pixel sensor on the back of the 12.2-megapixel camera, meaning every pixel contains two smaller pixels. So, the pixels in the sensors will be slightly smaller than its predecessor (1.4μm instead of last year’s 1.55μm). Also, we get optical image stabilization for photos and videos, along with electronic image stabilization.

The aperture on the lens will also be opening more for more light: an f/1.8 improvement over last year’s f/2.0. The autofocus has also been improved. Google now offers “portrait mode” like the Apple iPhone, which blurs the background. All these miracles are done by the split pixel, which allows the camera to take a second picture slightly different from the first. Computing the data and making a depth map(which allows it to identify the background) blurs the picture, leaving the subject.

The 8-megapixel front-facing camera will have the same functions, but it doesn’t split pixels though. All with the help of an algorithm Google developed. Like Apple’s live photos, we can also record a short clip of every image. Even the new ARCore framework allows us to put Augmented Reality stickers in your real-time. Also, it’s the first phone to support Google Lens, the company’s new system for photo object recognition.

One innovative change is that the Google Assistant is launched when you squeeze the sides. It can also identify the songs by listening to them. The Ambient feature can pick up any songs playing at a coffee shop or airport without opening an app like Shazam. The Pixel 2 has a 2700mAh battery, while the Pixel 2 XL has a 3520mAh battery. When unveiled, the devices were running Android Oreo (8.0).

The Pixel 2 is priced at Rs 61,000, slightly less than the iPhone 8 (Rs 64,000). At the same time, the Pixel 2 XL is priced at Rs 73,000 for the 64 GB variant. The 128 GB variant of Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL is priced at Rs 70,000 and Rs 82,000, respectively.

The smartphones will be available online exclusively at Flipkart, and pre-orders will start on October 26. The phones will also be available across the offline retail stores later. The Pixel 2 will be available on November 1, while the  Pixel 2 XL will be available in retail stores from November 15, competing against the likes of iPhone 8, iPhone X, and Samsung Galaxy Note 8.