The Pixel 2 XL: A Great Phone with Some Significant Issues

Don't get me wrong, the Pixel 2 XL can be a great phone for the right person. However, before you go spending your cash on it, let's talk about the issues that have been reported so far. At the top of the list is the somewhat dull display. Many reviewers, including her own Joshua Vagara, noted that the colors in the Pixel 2 XL's display don't pop out as much as we had expected from an OLED display.

In our review, we remarked that the saturation was dialed down, which gave colors a somewhat dull appearance. Google said that this was intentional, since the Pixel 2 XL's display was tuned for accuracy, not for vibrancy. To Google's credit, the November security patch includes a new saturated color mode in the display settings, which can be toggled to make the display's colors more vibrant. However, keep in mind that this mode might deliver less than true-life color representation, and some people may like it.

The second issue with the Pixel 2 XL is related to its display as well. People have noticed that viewing the display even slightly off-center results in the display exhibiting a blue tint, almost like a cooling effect. This blue shift is noticeable even at slight angles, which might be annoying for some users.

Issue number three is the possibility of burn-in screen burning, which is an issue that typically affects OLED screens as they age. However, screen burn-in depends on factors like screen brightness, what's being shown on the display, and the type of hardware. It could take years for the effect to be noticeable, but Android Central's Alex Dobie noticed it just after a week of normal usage.

Google is investigating reports of burn-in and has since released the November security patch, which includes measures that fade out the navigation buttons and reduce the maximum screen brightness. Google noted that these measures won't detract from the user experience, but it appears that the company is at least paying attention to users' concerns. This issue is definitely more serious than the others, so if you have a Pixel 2 XL and are experiencing burn-in, let us know in the comments below to see how common this problem is.

The fourth issue with the Pixel 2 XL is black smearing, which happens when the screen transitions from black pixels to colored pixels. This can occur, for example, when you're on a page with black objects. While this problem isn't unique to the Pixel 2 XL, Google has said that its engineers are investigating reports.

The fifth issue with the Pixel 2 XL is that it can make high-pitched noises and clicking sounds. The issue seems more prevalent on the smaller Pixel 2 than on the larger Pixel 2 XL, but some users have still reported issues of high-pitched noises and clicking sounds. Turning off NFC was initially found to solve the problem of clicking noise, although high-pitched sounds remained even after disabling NFC.

Finally, there's a sixth issue with the Pixel 2 XL: it can randomly reboot itself. One user discovered that reboots only occurred when entering low signal areas where LTE is patchy, and switching the phone's preferred network type to 3G solved the problem. However, this isn't an ideal solution, and Google is looking into the matter.

It's worth noting that not all Pixel 2 XL owners have these issues, so it's essential to weigh the pros and cons of purchasing a Pixel 2 XL before making a decision. If you're considering buying one and are concerned about these issues, we recommend checking out the article linked below in our show description for more information on each of these problems.

If you've had any experiences with the Pixel 2 XL or have suggestions for how to mitigate these issues, please let us know in the comments below.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: ennow don't get me wrong the pixel to excel can be a great phone for the right person but before you go spend your cash let's talk about the issues we know about it thus far and at the top of the list was the somewhat dull display many reviewers including her own Joshua vegara noted that the colors in the pixel to excels display don't pop out as much as we had expected from an OLED display in our review we remark that the saturation was dialed down which gave colors a somewhat dull appearance Google said that this was intentional since the pixel to excels display was tuned for accuracy not for vibrancy now to Google's credit the November security patch includes a new saturated color mode in the display settings which you can toggle to make the displays colors more vibrant keep in mind that the mode might deliver less than true life color representation which some people like now is this a really big deal mm I don't think so unless you're comparing it side by side to another flagship that really does have a fantastic display I don't think you're gonna notice that big of a difference now the second issue is also with regards to the display the display exhibits a blue shift even at slight angles people have noticed that viewing the display even slightly off-center results in the display exhibiting a cooling effect almost akin to a blue tint now issue number three is the more significant and more talked about issues surrounding the pixel two excels display it's the possibility of burn in screen burnin is an issue that typically affects OLED screens as they age even though screen burnin depends on factors like screen brightness what is being shown on the display and the type of hardware it could take years for the effect to be noticeable however Android Central's Alex Dobie noticed the effect just after a week of normal usage Dobie also mentioned that his pixel too did not exhibit any amount of screen burnin during the same time period google says it is investigating reports of burnin and has since released the November security patch which includes measures that fade out the navigation buttons and reduce the maximum screen brightness Google noted that these measures will not detract from the user experience but it appears that the company is at least paying attention to users concerns this is obviously a more serious issue so I was hoping that our audience could help out possible future pixel to excel owners if you have this phone and you've had this problem or not have the problem let us know in the comments below to see just how common this burn-in issue is and the fourth issue is black smearing black smearing happens when the screen transitions from black pixels to colored pixels such as when you're on a page with black objects now to be fair this problem is not unique to the pixel OLED displays have had this problem previously but google has said that it's engineers were investigating reports now the fifth issue is that the phone can make high-pitched noises and clicking sounds the issue seems more prevalent on the smaller pixel too than the pixel to excel but folks with the latter have still reported issues of high pitched noises and clicking sounds at the time that these issues initially came up turning off the NFC was the solution to the clicking noise the high-pitched sounds remained even if you turned off NFC though google has since released an update that looks to have eliminated both problems and the six issue I wanted to bring up is that the phone can randomly reboot itself after some clever testing one user deduced that the reboots only occurred when entering a low signal area where LTE is patchy the same user later found that the problem was stopped entirely by switching the pixel to excels preferred network type to 3G only that's hardly an ideal solution of course but Google said it was looking into the matter now I wanted to make really clear to everyone that these issues are not common to all pixel 2xl owners some have them some don't I for example have the pixel 2 and I don't have any of those issues no problem at all except for maybe some dull saturation but that's just comparing it to the note 8 which had an absolutely stunning screen so if you have some of those issues let us know in the comments below and then future potential buyers can know which issue is sort of common but there is the article linked below in the show description that goes into a lot more issues into a little bit more detail we didn't want to drag this on to a 15 20 minute show you know how it goes let me know what you think in the comments below and on Twitter bang-wonnow don't get me wrong the pixel to excel can be a great phone for the right person but before you go spend your cash let's talk about the issues we know about it thus far and at the top of the list was the somewhat dull display many reviewers including her own Joshua vegara noted that the colors in the pixel to excels display don't pop out as much as we had expected from an OLED display in our review we remark that the saturation was dialed down which gave colors a somewhat dull appearance Google said that this was intentional since the pixel to excels display was tuned for accuracy not for vibrancy now to Google's credit the November security patch includes a new saturated color mode in the display settings which you can toggle to make the displays colors more vibrant keep in mind that the mode might deliver less than true life color representation which some people like now is this a really big deal mm I don't think so unless you're comparing it side by side to another flagship that really does have a fantastic display I don't think you're gonna notice that big of a difference now the second issue is also with regards to the display the display exhibits a blue shift even at slight angles people have noticed that viewing the display even slightly off-center results in the display exhibiting a cooling effect almost akin to a blue tint now issue number three is the more significant and more talked about issues surrounding the pixel two excels display it's the possibility of burn in screen burnin is an issue that typically affects OLED screens as they age even though screen burnin depends on factors like screen brightness what is being shown on the display and the type of hardware it could take years for the effect to be noticeable however Android Central's Alex Dobie noticed the effect just after a week of normal usage Dobie also mentioned that his pixel too did not exhibit any amount of screen burnin during the same time period google says it is investigating reports of burnin and has since released the November security patch which includes measures that fade out the navigation buttons and reduce the maximum screen brightness Google noted that these measures will not detract from the user experience but it appears that the company is at least paying attention to users concerns this is obviously a more serious issue so I was hoping that our audience could help out possible future pixel to excel owners if you have this phone and you've had this problem or not have the problem let us know in the comments below to see just how common this burn-in issue is and the fourth issue is black smearing black smearing happens when the screen transitions from black pixels to colored pixels such as when you're on a page with black objects now to be fair this problem is not unique to the pixel OLED displays have had this problem previously but google has said that it's engineers were investigating reports now the fifth issue is that the phone can make high-pitched noises and clicking sounds the issue seems more prevalent on the smaller pixel too than the pixel to excel but folks with the latter have still reported issues of high pitched noises and clicking sounds at the time that these issues initially came up turning off the NFC was the solution to the clicking noise the high-pitched sounds remained even if you turned off NFC though google has since released an update that looks to have eliminated both problems and the six issue I wanted to bring up is that the phone can randomly reboot itself after some clever testing one user deduced that the reboots only occurred when entering a low signal area where LTE is patchy the same user later found that the problem was stopped entirely by switching the pixel to excels preferred network type to 3G only that's hardly an ideal solution of course but Google said it was looking into the matter now I wanted to make really clear to everyone that these issues are not common to all pixel 2xl owners some have them some don't I for example have the pixel 2 and I don't have any of those issues no problem at all except for maybe some dull saturation but that's just comparing it to the note 8 which had an absolutely stunning screen so if you have some of those issues let us know in the comments below and then future potential buyers can know which issue is sort of common but there is the article linked below in the show description that goes into a lot more issues into a little bit more detail we didn't want to drag this on to a 15 20 minute show you know how it goes let me know what you think in the comments below and on Twitter bang-won\n"