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Android Oreo Helps Google's Pixel 2 Smartphones Outperform Other Android Flagships (hothardware.com)

Posted by BeauHD on from the better-than-ever dept.

MojoKid highlights Hot Hardware's review of Google's new Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL smartphones: Google officially launched it's Pixel 2 phones today, taking the wraps off third-party reviews. Designed by Google but manufactured by HTC (Pixel 2) and LG (Pixel 2 XL), the two new handsets also boast Google's latest Android 8.0 operating system, aka Oreo, an exclusive to Google Pixel and certain Nexus devices currently. And in some ways, this is also a big advantage. Though they are based on the same Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor as many other Android devices, Google's new Pixel 2s manage to outpace similarly configured smartphones in certain benchmarks by significant margins (Basemark, PCMark and 3DMark). They also boot dramatically faster than any other Android handset on the market, in as little as 10 seconds. Camera performance is also excellent, with both the 5-inch Pixel 2 and 6-inch Pixel 2 XL sporting identical electronics, save for their displays and chassis sizes. Another notable feature built into Android Oreo is Google Now Playing, an always-listening, Shazam-like service (if you enable it) that displays song titles on the lock screen if it picks up on music playing in the room you're in. Processing is done right on the Pixel 2 and it doesn't need network connectivity. Another Pixel 2 Oreo-based trick is Google Lens, a machine vision system that Google notes "can recognize places like landmarks and buildings, artwork that you'd find in a museum, media covers such as books, movies, music albums, and video games..." The Google Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL are available now on Verizon or unlocked via the Google Store starting at $649 and $849 respectively for 64GB storage versions, with a $100 up-charge for 128GB variants.

3 of 91 comments (clear)

  1. Re: Is this slasdot, or is this googlevertisement by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

    You're an idiot. Nerds might be interested in new tech products and their benchmarks versus other similar products. By your standard, any post that discusses new products in a favorable way is an advertisement, regardless of how much the product might be of interest to nerds. I actually like to know when new products are released, and there have always been stories like this posted on Slashdot. Of you don't like the article, don't read it.

  2. Wow, great. by nightfire-unique · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I mean it's great that it can monitor your audio 24/7 and can make some nice numbers flash up in a benchmark and all...

    But, uh.

    Replaceable battery? Rugged/IP68? SD card slot? Headphone jack? You know.. things that actually matter?

    --
    A government is a body of people notably ungoverned - AC
  3. Lack by markdavis · · Score: 4, Insightful

    >"with both the 5-inch Pixel 2 and 6-inch Pixel 2 XL sporting identical electronics, save for their displays and chassis sizes"

    And they also share the:

    * Lack of headphone jack
    * Lack of wireless charging
    * Lack of swappable batteries
    * Lack of SD card support
    * Lack of serviceable battery?

    But not the lack of price... so, go ahead and cough up $650 or $850, anyway, because we are giving the public what they want. And to think I am STILL using a Nexus 5 which has at more than half of the above lacking features, and was around HALF the price.