GOOGLE PIXEL 2 REVIEW: PLAINLY GREAT

ithout fail, every person who has picked up the Pixel 2 XL has said virtually the same thing: "It feels like it's made out of plastic." I said it myself when I first held it. Of course, neither the Pixel 2 nor the Pixel 2 XL are made out of plastic. They're made out of Gorilla Glass and aluminum, just like every other high-end phone these days.
But Google coated all that aluminum with a textured finish that hides most of the antenna lines and also makes the phones easier to grip. Google took what could have been a visually impressive design and covered it up in the name of ergonomics. It literally made a metal phone feel like a plastic one. It chose function over form.
At nearly every turn, with both the hardware and the software, Google made that design decision again and again. There have been a few times when I wish the company had risked a little more razzamatazz, but mostly I've been appreciating the focus on improving the basics.
"It's not just what it looks like and feels like," Steve Jobs once said, "design is how it works."
The Pixel 2 works really well.
Update, 10/31/17: After the original review was published on October 17th, we saw reports and directly experienced “image retention” on the Pixel 2 XL screen. Since then, Google has responded. It says that burn-in shouldn't be an issue, but software updates are coming. It also extended the warranty to a full two years. We have updated the review’s screen section and score in light of this new information 


HARDWARE

The Pixel 2 comes in two sizes: a very humdrum 5-inch phone with a squared-off screen and big, chunky bezels, and a slightly more impressive 6-inch version with curved corners and smaller bezels. You'll need to spend $649 for the smaller one or $849 for the larger one, with a $100 premium for expanded storage.
As it did last year, Google has done its level best to make these two phones identical except for their size. You'll get the same power, performance, and (most importantly) camera with either device. The only differences are supposed to be the screen and the battery. You could endlessly debate whether these are the "same phone" in two different sizes. If you replace the keel on a ship, does it make it a different boat? If you replace the screen, body, and battery on a phone, does it make it a different phone? To me, there's more that’s similar than different, so let's not go full Ship of Theseus on them. (Note: when I refer to "Pixel 2" below, I'm referring to both. I'll call out the "smaller" Pixel 2 or the 2 XL specifically where applicable.)
It is true that the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL are more divergent than they were last year — perhaps because they're manufactured by different companies. I prefer the XL because I prefer big screens, but obviously the smaller Pixel 2 is nicer and easier to hold. The XL is just a little too big, bigger even than last year's Pixel XL, but it does have a larger screen than last year’s, too.

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