Google Pixel 2, Pixel 2 XL launched: Price, specifications and features

Google Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL smartphones have been announced.

Google Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL smartphones have been launched by the company at a special event in San Francisco. Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL come with a two-toned designed like the previous phones with half glass and half metal at the back. Pixel 2 XL has a 18:9 aspect ratio display and reduced bezels on the side, top and bottom. The Pixel 2 series is powered by the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processors and come with 4GB RAM and 64GB/128GB storage on board. Battery on the Pixel 2 is 2700 mAh, while Pixel 2 XL has a 3520 mAh on board.

Google Pixel 2 XL will be available at $849 and the Pixel 2 will start at $649. The smartphones will launch in India, Australia, Canada, US, UK and Germany first. The phones will be available for pre-order in the US from today.

Google Pixel 2 has a 5-inch display, while the Pixel 2 has a bigger 6-inch display. Google Pixel 2 comes in three colours: Kind of Blue, Just Black and a Clearly white colour option. Pixel 2 has a 1080p OLED display, while the Pixel 2 XL has a higher QHD+ display and full vision. Both phones are optimised for virtual reality. Pixel 2 XL will come in a black colour option and a black and white option. The smartphones also come with an Always-On Display like Samsung’s Galaxy Note series.

On the other hardware front, Google Pixel 2 series will ditch the headphone jack. Google will however, be providing Type-C to 3.5mm convertors for users who wish to use their old headphones.  The Pixel UI has some new features like the ability to detect which music is playing even in the Always On Display mode. Google Pixel 2 series also has the ‘Squeeze’ functions that were previously seen in the HTC U11 smartphone. The ‘Squeeze’ can trigger the Google Assistant and it even works when the phone is being with a case.

Google Lens will also be a part of the camera UI on the Pixel 2 smartphones. Google Lens will let users point their device to a work of art or a gmail address in a poster and show the exact information around this. Google Pixel 2 camera also comes with AR stickers, which are part of the app itself. Google says the Pixel 2 rear camera is geared and designed for Augmented Reality as well.

Google Pixel 2 XL and Pixel 2 will also launch for the Indian market.

On the camera front, Google Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL both have a 12MP rear camera with a 1/2.6-inch sensor and f/1.8 aperture. It has Dual-Pixel Autofocus, Optical Image Stabilization (which was not there in the original Pixel) and HDR+ technology. There’s also a new Portrait Mode software solution and Google is not relying on two lenses to achieve this kind of effect. Google Pixel camera also has Motion Photos mode, similar to Apple’s Live Photos feature.

Google also announced its new Home Mini speaker, which is priced at $49. There’s also a new Google Max speaker with Google Assistant built-in and this is a speaker focused on the sound. The price for this is $399 and this includes a free 12-month subscription to YouTube Red, which includes YouTube Music ad-free.

Google Pixel Buds, which are the company’s new premium wireless headphones were also announced, in addition to a new updated DayDream View VR headset. These wireless earphones are Google’s answer to the Apple AirPods. Google also has a new camera called Clips, which comes with 16GB of on board storage. This is a point-and-shoot camera, which is ultra light.

Google also announced a new feature called Smart Sound, where the Google Max speaker can adapt to the environment around the house. Google relies on machine learning models to automatically train the speaker to figure out the environment. It supports Google Play Music, YouTube Music, Spotify, etc. There’s also support for Cast, Aux, Bluetooth as well. The Google Pixelbook laptop was also announced and comes with upto 16GB RAM, Intel i5 and i7 processor along with Type-C USB charging. The laptop can also be used as a tablet. Google PixelBook also has a Pen as well.