Exactly one year ago today, the Pixel and Pixel XL were unveiled by Google. Today, the Pixel 2 was unveiled – delivering everything we were expecting and more. Since the phone has been leaked to death already, you likely have all the specs memoried already. But let’s run through them for those who may not have been following all the Pixel 2 news over the past few months. The Pixel 2 is the successor to the standard Pixel, this means that it sports a fairly small (by today’s standards) 5-inch 1080p display and is powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 835 processor which is paired with 4GB of RAM. The base storage of the phone has been pumped up to 64GB, but users can choose a 128GB model as well. Even though you have more storage this time, Google is also throwing in unlimited Google Photos which will back up your full resolution photos and even 4K videos which are uploaded to the service from your Pixel 2.
The camera on the Pixel 2 has the same 12MP resolution as last year’s model, but the sensor itself has been tweaked to improve low light performance and snap pictures quicker. It has OIS and EIS (based on the phone’s gyro sensor), phase detection & laser autofocus and a dual-LED (dual tone) flash. And the front-facing camera has an 8MP sensor.
There’s no 3.5mm headphone jack, but the Pixel 2 has front-facing speakers, an included 3.5mm to USB-C audio dongle. THe body of the phone is IP67 dust and water resistant and is available in Kinda Blue Just Black and Clearly White color options.
It features an always-on display which shows your notifications and a new “Now Playing” features which detects music that might be playing in the room. The best part is that this featue works on the device, without needing to connect to Google.
The UI of the phone has been tweaked as well. The Google search bar has been moved to the bottom (below the dock of apps) so that it’s easier to access. There’s also a new widget which shows calendar details, traffic information and details from your upcoming flights or travel plans.
HTC’s Edge Sense has been added as well, allowing you to open the camera app or pull up Google Assistant with a quick squeeze of the phone’s frame without needing to say “OK Google.”
The Pixel 2 will also come with a preview of Google Lens. If you’re not familiar with Google Lens, the service allows you to instantly recognize phone numbers, addresses, email addresses and even a WiFi router’s default password that’s printed on the label and take specific actions based on the content that’s recognized.
With Google’s AR focus, the Pixel 2 will also have AR stickers built into the camera. The feature allows you to interact with various sticker characters which move around on the phone’s screen. The stickers can also interact with each over. At launch, AR stickers will include content from Star Wars, Stranger Things, SNL, NBA and more.
The camera on the Pixel 2 has been given a DXOMark score of 98 – the highest score ever given to a smartphone camera. HDr+ computational photography. The high dynamic range in the images has been increased with improved texture and sharpness. The camera also has a built-in portrait mode even though it only has one camera sensor on the back of the phone. Google is using a dual-pixel sensor which records a left and right view for each pixel, allowing for depth information to be measured. This means that portrait selfies can also be taken with the front-facing camera as well. The combination of OIS and EIS means that the photos and videos captured by the phone are more stable than ever.
The Pixel 2 will sell for $649 and can be pre-ordered starting today. The phone will be selling through Google’s online store and will be available exclusively through Verizon. Google is also throwing in the Google Home Mini for those who pre-order the phone.
