Google Pixel and Pixel XL Hands On

# A Comprehensive Look at the Google Pixel and Pixel XL: Hands-On Review

## Introduction

The Google Pixel and Pixel XL are两款全新的智能手机，它们的发布引起了广泛关注。Josh Varar from Android Authority带来了这款手机的第一手体验，让我们一起来看看这两款手机到底有哪些亮点。

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## Design and Features

### The Design of the Pixel and Pixel XL

The Google Pixel comes in a white version, while the Pixel XL is black. There's also a blue variant, but it wasn't available for this hands-on session. Josh mentions that there are a couple of photos of the blue model on Android Authority's website.

Both phones have a sleek, minimalist design. The Pixel features a 5.0-inch Full HD screen, while the Pixel XL boasts a larger 5.5-inch Quad HD display. The phones have a unibody metal construction with a glass back panel, giving them a shiny, modern look. Josh compares their appearance to a mix of an iPhone and the Moto Z Force.

The fingerprint reader is located on the rear, and the camera is positioned on top due to the chamfered sides. Overall, the design is clean and understated, which Josh appreciates. He prefers phones that look simple but have powerful capabilities underneath.

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## Software: Google Assistant and Pixel Launcher

### Google Assistant

One of the standout features of these phones is Google Assistant, which replaces Google Now on Tap in the Android iteration of NID (not explicitly defined in the transcription). This is the first time Google Assistant is being used as the primary software on any phone.

Google Assistant is highly accurate and can pick up voice commands even in noisy environments. During Josh's demonstration, it converted speech to text flawlessly and executed searches effectively. For example, when he asked for "TJ Perkins' entrance video," Google Assistant opened YouTube and played the desired clip.

The assistant can be accessed by pressing the home button or using the "Okay Google" hotword. It is incredibly robust and capable of opening the right applications based on voice commands.

### Pixel Launcher

The phones run on a customized version of Android Nougat, which is exclusive to the Pixel and Pixel XL. The launcher is designed to be intuitive, allowing users to swipe left to access a Google Now page. There's also a dedicated Google button at the top for quick searches.

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## Hardware: Powering the Pixel Line

### Processor and RAM

The Google Pixel is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 processor, which is the latest and most powerful Snapdragon chip available. It comes with 4 GB of RAM, ensuring smooth performance.

### Battery Life

The Pixel has a 2770 mAh battery, while the Pixel XL boasts a larger 3450 mAh battery. Both support fast charging, offering up to 7 hours of battery life in just 15 minutes of charging. Josh mentions that this is impressive and will be tested further once he gets his review units.

### Connectivity

Josh notes that there was some concern about the USB-C port on the bottom, but rest assured, the headphone jack is included on the top. He jokes that everyone gasped when they saw the USB-C slide, but it's a good thing they kept the headphone jack!

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## Camera: Capabilities and Comparisons

### Specifications

The camera on both phones is 12.3 megapixels with 1.55-micron pixels and an f/2.0 aperture. While these specs are similar to those of last year's Nexus phones, Google claims that the camera has been optimized for better performance.

Josh mentions that video stabilization is available, but it's software-based (EIS) rather than optical image stabilization (OIS). Despite this, he notes that the video stabilization is supposed to be very good, and he looks forward to testing it once his review units arrive.

The camera has a simple interface, allowing users to swipe in and out to access different modes. Josh compares the camera app to those found on Nexus phones, which are known for their simplicity and effectiveness.

### DxOMark Rating

Google was quick to highlight that DxOMark gave this camera one of its highest ratings ever. While Josh hasn't had a chance to take any photos yet, he's excited to see how it performs in real-world scenarios.

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## Google Photos: Unlimited Storage

Josh mentions that Google Photos will play a significant role with these phones. Users can store an unlimited amount of high-resolution photos and videos in the cloud for free. This feature is particularly useful given that there's no SD card slot on the phone, so users won't have to worry about running out of storage space.

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## Price Tag: Is It Worth It?

The Google Pixel starts at $649, while the Pixel XL has a higher price point for its 32 GB model. Josh admits that he needs to think carefully about whether these phones are worth their high price tags. He acknowledges that there's a lot to be excited about with both the phones themselves and the broader ecosystem Google is building around them, particularly with Google Assistant. However, he looks forward to testing the phones further once his review units arrive.

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## Conclusion

Josh wraps up by encouraging viewers to stick around for more in-depth reviews and comparisons between the Pixel XL and other high-end phones like the Note 7 and Nexus 6P. He promises that Android Authority will bring you all the latest updates on these phones, making them your go-to source for everything Android.

This concludes Josh Varar's hands-on first look at the Google Pixel and Pixel XL. Stay tuned for more exciting content from Android Authority!

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enthis brand new line of phones is kind of a big deal for a lot of different reasons and one of them is because of that big old G on the back it's Josh varar from Android authority what's going on everybody and this is a Hands-On and first look at the Google pixel and pixel XL now for the purposes of this Hands-On the Google pixel will be the white phone that I'm using and the Google pixel XL will be the Black version that I'm using there is a blue version of the phone but we did not get any time with that device there are a couple of photos you can see of it over at Android authority.com and for the sake of argument the Google pixel XL does have a larger 5.5 in screen at Quad HD resolution over the full HD screen of the Google pixel and of course it has a larger battery now you may have seen the Google assistant already on Google aloe if you happen to be using that messaging service but now Google assistant is essentially what replaces Google Now on tap in the Android iteration of nid that is found in the pixel phones these will be the first place and currently one of the only places that you can use Google Assistant as the overarching software in these phones that said the software looks essentially what we expected it to with the launcher being the pixel launcher you can slide to the left in order to go to a Google Now page and there's a Google button on top that is always on the ready if you want to do a search but of course you still have the usage of the hotw Okay Google in order to turn on the phone and essentially turn on Google Assistant you can also hold the home button and it will open up Google Assistant the thing about Google assistance is that it's actually kind of scarily accurate it's really good at picking up the voice and in the very loud area that I was in the phone was able to pick up my voice and accurately convert my speech to text with no problems at all and the search is actually really robust you're seeing in this clip right now that I'm saying a lot of different Search terms and Google is able to take the text that it converts from my speech and do the search properly in a lot of cases actually opening the appropriate application that I wanted for example saying that I wanted to play a specific very specific thing like TJ Perkins entrance meant that it opened up YouTube and showed me lo and behold the actual video of that entrance this version of Android nugat is only found on the pixel and it is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 that is the latest Snapdragon that is available and the most powerful currently and it's backed by 4 GB of RAM and for the pixel you have the 2770 mAh battery while the pixel XL has a much larger 3450 mAh battery that can be quick charged or rather fast charged for up to 7 hours of battery life in only 15 minutes also if you were a little bit worried when the slide came up showing the USBC port on the bottom rest assured there is a headphone jack on here it was a bit of a s step that they did everyone gasped in the audience when they saw that portion but the headphone jack is on the top of the phone obviously we're going to put Google Assistant through its pce as once we get our review units and the same will be said for the Android iteration that's found in these phones it seems pretty Snappy so far and it's actually quite clean and if these pixel phones are supposed to go up against the Standalone ecosystem of iOS for example well then this is going to be one way of consolidating what is supposed to be what Android is all about with that all said the phones themselves are kind of barebones which I actually person Al like I prefer to have barebone looking phones that then have a lot of capabilities underneath that surface that glass panel on the back that combines with the metal unibody is a kind of unique look but overall it's basically just a shiny slab that is available where the fingerprint reader is and then of course there's the camera up top because of that chamfer on the sides I got to the point where I thought this phone looked like an iPhone mashed together with a Moto Z force and finally we will talk about the camera a little bit of course we don't have any samples to show you but we did play around with a few of the settings on there the camera application looks a lot like what you would expect from a Nexus phone it's pretty simple and you can swipe in and out in order to go to different modes now there is video stabilization on here but there's no ois on these cameras it's all Eis which is software based stabilization and that might sway a few people but apparently video stabilization is supposed to be very good we will do that testing once we get our review units on paper it might seem like these cameras are exactly the same as the ones we got in the Nexus line from last year 12.3 megapixels at 1.55 Micron sizes which make for better low light shots and f2.0 aperture but there should be some optimizations in here and Google was very keen on telling us that dxomark gave this camera one of its highest if not the highest rating of a smartphone ever it does help though that Google photos is a big part of the pixel phones where you will be able to use unlimited storage at full resolution for both videos and photos so when it comes to the lack of an SD card slot you probably won't have any problems keeping space on your phone because everything will be uploaded to the cloud anyway with a price tag on the pixel of $649 we will have to think a little harder on whether or not these phones are actually that exciting enough to Warrant such a high price point with an even higher price point there for 128 GB models or even just the pixel XL at 32 GB but with that said there's a lot to be excited about not just with the pixel phones but with the rest of the ecosystem that Google is hoping to create based upon what is actually a pretty mind-blowing thing in Google Assistant but of course we will give you our final thoughts on this once we get our hands on review units and our full review comes out here at Android authority so keep it tuned to Android Authority for more about the Google pixel phones and you can also see a couple of quick look comparisons with a couple of the bigger phones including the Note 7 and the Nexus 6p uh both of which will be compared to the Google pixel XL from there you can stick around for our full reviews and even more from the Google pixel phones because we are your source for all things Androidthis brand new line of phones is kind of a big deal for a lot of different reasons and one of them is because of that big old G on the back it's Josh varar from Android authority what's going on everybody and this is a Hands-On and first look at the Google pixel and pixel XL now for the purposes of this Hands-On the Google pixel will be the white phone that I'm using and the Google pixel XL will be the Black version that I'm using there is a blue version of the phone but we did not get any time with that device there are a couple of photos you can see of it over at Android authority.com and for the sake of argument the Google pixel XL does have a larger 5.5 in screen at Quad HD resolution over the full HD screen of the Google pixel and of course it has a larger battery now you may have seen the Google assistant already on Google aloe if you happen to be using that messaging service but now Google assistant is essentially what replaces Google Now on tap in the Android iteration of nid that is found in the pixel phones these will be the first place and currently one of the only places that you can use Google Assistant as the overarching software in these phones that said the software looks essentially what we expected it to with the launcher being the pixel launcher you can slide to the left in order to go to a Google Now page and there's a Google button on top that is always on the ready if you want to do a search but of course you still have the usage of the hotw Okay Google in order to turn on the phone and essentially turn on Google Assistant you can also hold the home button and it will open up Google Assistant the thing about Google assistance is that it's actually kind of scarily accurate it's really good at picking up the voice and in the very loud area that I was in the phone was able to pick up my voice and accurately convert my speech to text with no problems at all and the search is actually really robust you're seeing in this clip right now that I'm saying a lot of different Search terms and Google is able to take the text that it converts from my speech and do the search properly in a lot of cases actually opening the appropriate application that I wanted for example saying that I wanted to play a specific very specific thing like TJ Perkins entrance meant that it opened up YouTube and showed me lo and behold the actual video of that entrance this version of Android nugat is only found on the pixel and it is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 that is the latest Snapdragon that is available and the most powerful currently and it's backed by 4 GB of RAM and for the pixel you have the 2770 mAh battery while the pixel XL has a much larger 3450 mAh battery that can be quick charged or rather fast charged for up to 7 hours of battery life in only 15 minutes also if you were a little bit worried when the slide came up showing the USBC port on the bottom rest assured there is a headphone jack on here it was a bit of a s step that they did everyone gasped in the audience when they saw that portion but the headphone jack is on the top of the phone obviously we're going to put Google Assistant through its pce as once we get our review units and the same will be said for the Android iteration that's found in these phones it seems pretty Snappy so far and it's actually quite clean and if these pixel phones are supposed to go up against the Standalone ecosystem of iOS for example well then this is going to be one way of consolidating what is supposed to be what Android is all about with that all said the phones themselves are kind of barebones which I actually person Al like I prefer to have barebone looking phones that then have a lot of capabilities underneath that surface that glass panel on the back that combines with the metal unibody is a kind of unique look but overall it's basically just a shiny slab that is available where the fingerprint reader is and then of course there's the camera up top because of that chamfer on the sides I got to the point where I thought this phone looked like an iPhone mashed together with a Moto Z force and finally we will talk about the camera a little bit of course we don't have any samples to show you but we did play around with a few of the settings on there the camera application looks a lot like what you would expect from a Nexus phone it's pretty simple and you can swipe in and out in order to go to different modes now there is video stabilization on here but there's no ois on these cameras it's all Eis which is software based stabilization and that might sway a few people but apparently video stabilization is supposed to be very good we will do that testing once we get our review units on paper it might seem like these cameras are exactly the same as the ones we got in the Nexus line from last year 12.3 megapixels at 1.55 Micron sizes which make for better low light shots and f2.0 aperture but there should be some optimizations in here and Google was very keen on telling us that dxomark gave this camera one of its highest if not the highest rating of a smartphone ever it does help though that Google photos is a big part of the pixel phones where you will be able to use unlimited storage at full resolution for both videos and photos so when it comes to the lack of an SD card slot you probably won't have any problems keeping space on your phone because everything will be uploaded to the cloud anyway with a price tag on the pixel of $649 we will have to think a little harder on whether or not these phones are actually that exciting enough to Warrant such a high price point with an even higher price point there for 128 GB models or even just the pixel XL at 32 GB but with that said there's a lot to be excited about not just with the pixel phones but with the rest of the ecosystem that Google is hoping to create based upon what is actually a pretty mind-blowing thing in Google Assistant but of course we will give you our final thoughts on this once we get our hands on review units and our full review comes out here at Android authority so keep it tuned to Android Authority for more about the Google pixel phones and you can also see a couple of quick look comparisons with a couple of the bigger phones including the Note 7 and the Nexus 6p uh both of which will be compared to the Google pixel XL from there you can stick around for our full reviews and even more from the Google pixel phones because we are your source for all things Android\n"