The Great Smartphone Showdown: A Comparison of the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 and Google Pixel 2 XL

In the world of smartphones, there are always two contenders vying for the top spot. In this case, we have the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 and the Google Pixel 2 XL, both of which have been touted as top-notch devices in their respective categories. But which one comes out on top? Let's dive into a comprehensive comparison of these two smartphones to find out.

The Battery Life: A Surprising Tie

One of the most important aspects of any smartphone is its battery life. Both the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 and the Google Pixel 2 XL were put through rigorous testing to see how long they could last on a single charge. The results were surprisingly close, with both phones being able to stream the same three-hour YouTube clip without issues. However, after eight hours and 30 minutes of continuous use, both phones died simultaneously, rendering their tests somewhat inconclusive.

Despite this, we had to give the edge to Samsung due to their phone's ability to do more with less milliamphours. The Note 8 was able to power through demanding tasks without overheating or running out of juice, earning it the slight victory in this category.

The Camera: A Tale of Two Devices

When it comes to camera capabilities, both phones have some notable strengths and weaknesses. The Samsung Galaxy Note 8 boasts an impressive dual-camera setup with a 12-megapixel primary sensor and a 12-megapixel front-facing camera. This allows for crisp and detailed photos, as well as advanced features like live focus and bokeh mode.

On the other hand, the Google Pixel 2 XL has a single 12.2-megapixel camera, but what it lacks in raw megapixels, it makes up for in software capabilities. The Pixel 2 XL's camera is highly optimized by Google, allowing for exceptional low-light performance and stunning image quality.

In the end, we had to declare the Galaxy Note 8 the winner in this category due to its superior camera capabilities. However, it's worth noting that both phones can take incredible photos, and it ultimately comes down to personal preference when it comes to camera technology.

The Display: A Showdown of Screens

When it comes to displays, both phones have some notable differences. The Samsung Galaxy Note 8 boasts a stunning 6.3-inch Quad HD+ display with a resolution of 1440 x 2960 pixels. This allows for vibrant colors and crisp text, making it perfect for watching videos or browsing the web.

On the other hand, the Google Pixel 2 XL has a 5.5-inch QHD+ display with a resolution of 1080 x 1920 pixels. While this is slightly smaller than the Note 8's screen, it still provides excellent viewing angles and a comfortable size for everyday use.

In the end, we declared the Galaxy Note 8 the winner in this category due to its superior display quality. However, the Pixel 2 XL's smaller screen may be appealing to those who prefer a more portable device.

The Software: A Tale of Two Operating Systems

When it comes to software, both phones have some notable differences. The Samsung Galaxy Note 8 runs on Android 7.1.1 Nougat, with a customized interface that includes features like Edge Panel and Always On Display.

On the other hand, the Google Pixel 2 XL runs on stock Android 8.0 Oreo, with all the latest updates and security patches directly from Google. This makes it perfect for those who want the latest software experience without any manufacturer tweaks or bloatware.

In the end, we declared the Pixel 2 XL the winner in this category due to its stock Android experience. However, the Note 8's customized interface may appeal to those who prefer a more streamlined and intuitive user experience.

The Intangibles: A Battle of Features

When it comes to intangible features, both phones have some notable differences. The Samsung Galaxy Note 8 includes features like wireless charging, IP68 water resistance, expandable storage, and a headphone jack. These may seem like minor things, but they can make a big difference in the overall user experience.

On the other hand, the Google Pixel 2 XL includes features like a fingerprint reader, excellent speakers, and timely software updates directly from Google. However, it lacks some of the more practical features that we've come to expect from Samsung's flagship devices.

In the end, we declared the Galaxy Note 8 the winner in this category due to its sheer number of intangible features. However, the Pixel 2 XL's lack of a headphone jack may be a deal-breaker for those who prefer wired audio.

The Verdict: A Close Call

After a comprehensive comparison of the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 and the Google Pixel 2 XL, it's clear that both phones are top-notch devices in their respective categories. The Note 8's superior camera capabilities, display quality, and intangible features make it a strong contender for the top spot.

However, the Pixel 2 XL's stock Android experience, fingerprint reader, and excellent speakers make it a close second. Ultimately, the decision comes down to personal preference and what matters most to you in a smartphone.

So, which phone should you choose? If camera capabilities are your top priority, the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 may be the better choice. However, if software updates and timely support are more important to you, the Google Pixel 2 XL is the way to go.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enit is versus time here at TechnoBuffaloand for this battle we've got the twokings of Android and I'm ready to pissoff 50% of you in one corner we've gotthe latest from Samsung this is the Note8 in the other the latest from Googlethis is the Pixel 2 XL on paper andobjective tests these two sit atop theAndroid throne I'm sorry for you LG V30 or Huawei P10 fans out there these are the twophones to beat it is 2018 so you changeup the categories a little bit we've gotsix categories to pick a winner and likeall of our verses it will not be acop-out whatever is best for you typeanswer we're gonna declare a winner soto round out our six categories thefirst is Hardware this is now includingthe build and specs of device we've gotcamera display software battery andintangibles so our first category isHardware this used to be build inprevious verses but now encompassingeverything inside and outside of thephone so on paper these phones areextremely similar the US version theGalaxy Note 8 which we're talking aboutthe Snapdragon 835 the RAM stories a bitdifferent the Note 8 got 6 asopposed to the 4 in the pixel 2 XL Ihave not had any sort of slow down atall with the note 8 in fact performancehas been incredibly fast and things thatare usually pretty intensive things likemultitasking no issue with thatwhatsoever really intense gaming noissues I have had no OS slowdown I'vehad no OS stutters and no OS issues soif you had issues with other Samsungphones in the past leave that aside theNote 8 is incredibly quick for the buildside of things aesthetically this mightbe one of the most beautiful phones evermade in my opinion I love the way thisphone looks I love the way this phonefeels the glass on the back certainlymakes it fragile but from a purelyaesthetic standpoint the Note 8 is awork of art so we'll talk later atlength I promise about the display butthe infinity display on the phone roundsout the way the phone looks and feels Ilove the curve and how it sits in thehand and on the negative side I'vetalked long and hardred in the face like the stupid locationthe fingerprint sensor I don't care ifyou use a case or it's fine for you I'm theone making this video and for me that'sa stupid location I wish they'd put itsomewhere else which we'll probably seein the upcoming Galaxy S9 so yeah sothe story for the note it's fast it'sbeautiful and it's really quick but it'snot to be necessarily outdone by withthe Pixel 2 XL brings to the tableand you think just cuz it's got to beserver and less it gonna be slower notthe case it's amazing what can happenwhen software and hardware at least forthe most part get vertically integratedthis phone is a beast on the designstandpoint the Pixel 2 is a nice phoneit's a goodish looking phone it's gottenbigger bezels than we've seen on late2017 I guess now 2018 standards but youdo have front facing speakers which arenice the screen is still pretty good sothe two-tone look of the pixel is notfor everybody's taste I like the metalfeel I like the way the metalcomplements the glass leastaesthetically on the device I've said itquite a bit in other videos I do notlike the ridge that comes around theside of the screen my finger hits it Iprefer the infinity edge that I've goton the note it's a functionally designedphone it is function over form herethat's what Google is known for it'sthis phones not gonna win any designawards and might win awards later on butit comes to design it's certainly notgoing to take the cake from the gorgeousthings that we've got from Samsung andon the positive side they put thefingerprint sensor we're fingerprintsensors belong not next to the camerasensor where you can reach it withouthaving to turn your phone around so hatsoff to you google for actually doingwhat you should do the fingerprintsensor I know a lot of this is probablythe hardest category that I've had topick a winner that was a theme that camethrough throughout all these categoriesbut I'm not gonna cop out and sayending in a tie for me when the bestfeatures about the Note 8 that I useall the time and that is the s-penhaving that option to use the s-penbeing able to plug in headphones listento music are things that I have usedthat give the Note 8 a slight but I'llbe it an edge over the pixel 2 XLSamsung takes this round so next let'sjump into camera and I want to say theseare two of the best smartphone camerason the market it's hard to take badpictures with either of these but therearemany factors to make one of them betterlet's start with what we've got fromSamsung and the Note 8 just in case youcan't recite phone specs from the top ofyour head here's what the Galaxy Note 8is packing so it's a 12 megapixel dualpixel sensor F 1.7 aperture and 2 timesoptical zoom and dual ois so portraitshots are all the rage on smartphonesit's no exception that it's in the note8 and it takes incredible portrait shotsI love they can do the focusingafterwards it's really easy to bokehand blur out the backgrounds incrediblejob on portrait things and low lightthings in highlight any picture that Itake with the cameras just tend to lookgood perhaps by some taste a little alittle bit saturated I like the poppycolors you can adjust it in settings ifI really like what Samsung has done outof the box with the cameras and thefront sensor is no slouch either it'sgot smart out-of-focus 8 megapixels ittakes really good selfies I made that Itake probably more selfies than I shouldand often times I find myself reachingfor the note 8 the moral with the notedays is it's hard to take bad picturesin fact you got to be a really crappyphotographer to take anything that's badin any sort of light and that's a themethat colds true with the pixel as welland just looking at the spec sheet you thinkthis would be a blowout because you knowone sensor versus two but damn Googledid a great job this time aroundanything I threw at the pixel 2 xljust took good pictures and that's truewith the note 8 as well where I becamereally impressed with what the pixel 2xl could do was with its portrait modesuses machine learning and neuralnetworking to get better it's recognizedwhat a person is recognized hair torecognize the area between fingersjunkit strange spider-man webbings and Ithink that's where the pixel 2 xlstarts to shine while the note 8 isawesome as is the pixel 2 xl isgoing to be getting better and alreadyseen it get better over the two ishmonths as I've been using it yeah it'snot perfect I wish to 4k wasn't cappedat 30 frames per second but I canoverlook all those things for anincredible rear facing camera andincredible front facing camera withportrait mode if I had to pick a devicejust based on camera in fact if I had topick any phone in the entire world basedjust on cameragoing to be hard-pressed to find one betterthan the pixels 2 xland that's saying something because theSamsung is really good but the 2 xl isdefinitely taking this round alright sonext let's go to display and I'm not I'mnot gonna belabor this point much longerthan it than it needs to we've told alot of stories I made a whole videoabout how this display on the pixel 2 is not asbad as everybody says and it's reallynot especially after the November updateit looks a lot better you look at thesaturated colors that people tend tolike and it's a fine display in its ownright when you compare it against thebest display that I think has ever been ona phone 6.3 inch display on the SamsungNote 8 is incredible pictures lookincredible the Black levels areincredibly black obviously the colorsare extremely vibrant I say this a lotit looks like there's a sticker on thisdisplay I've had this phone for now abetter part of three and a half almostfour months and I'm still impressed withhow good the screen looks even directsunlight you just cannot beat the screenon the note 8 I'm gonna short thiscategory a little bit because it's notnecessary you should have seen this onecoming for a mile away Samsung's clearlytaking a display category alright sonext let's jump it to software this is anew category for us one we reservewe're comparing two phones running thesame operating system and at least onpaper they're the same operating systemthey're both running Android albeitaesthetically very different takes onwhat Google's OS can offer so I'm notSamsung on the past for their take onAndroid TouchWiz modern UI or whateveryou want to call it it's gotten waybetter but they're still fighting thatstigma from the galaxy s5 and earlierwhen they threw everything at thekitchen sink at a samsung phoneif you haven't used a modern Samsung phone ifyou haven't used a device since the s7you are missing out it's gotten a lotbetter and maybe it's exactly just tosay this maybe I'm I'm gonna be screamedat by the Android purists but there's alot of things that Samsung does on theirversion of Android that I like betterthan what Google does on stock OS I likethe setting menu I like the dialer likehow gestures are integrated I like howhandles multitasking and app pairing there'sa lot of really good things inside ofthe note 8 there are some annoyancesthough of what Samsung's done havingduplicate apps versus Googlestock apps are super annoyingI don't wanted a separate Samsung onlyapp store super annoying but I guessthey can be hiddensuppose but I think one of the biggestcompliments I can give to the modernSamsung skin Fork of Android whatever youwant to call it so that when I use theSamsung device I'm not putting athird-party launcher on it it's notsomething I can say for many phonesthey've done a really nice job hereutilizing what their phone can do andtaking advantage of all the features andsensors that are built into it and themortal this section here is don't knockthe Samsung skin till you've tried iton the negative side though Samsung isnotoriously slow for software updates soassume the version of Android you getwhen you buy the Samsung phone is prettymuch what you're gonna have for a superlong time Oreos been out for a whilewe're still stuck on nougat I wishSamsung was faster with the OS updates Iget that it takes time but it'sfrustrating when devices like the pixelget updates much faster which brings meto the 2 XLso this is pure Android as Googleintended or I guess now it's pureAndroid as Google intended on the pixelsI know a lot of Android purists holds apixel and the previous Nexus line up tothis huge esteem for what Androidflagships phone should be and to sayanything negative about it is completelysacrilegious but there are some thingsthat I don't like about this and I'mjust gonna say it I don't like theweather widget at the top I wish I couldchange it resize and remove it alltogether I don't like the search bar atthe bottom for my eye and my aesthetic itbelongs at the top and maybe I'm justnot used to it I wish I could change itwhich I could tweak that's Googledoesn't let kind of strange they took abit of Apple-ish approach to telling youhow things should look on their phonesand obviously I know if their partylaunchers can fix app talk about theexperience just out of the box so havingsaid that really like a latest versionof Android the most up to date the mostsecure the latest that Google has tooffer I know I am always going to haveon my Pixel device and that's a peace ofminds that you don't get with somethinglike Samsung and quite honestly I justenjoyed the experience it's fasteverything about this phone just feelsscreamingly quick I like the way the thingswork together I like how Google'sservices are presented the way they weremeant to be this one's tougher to callthan I expected but a slight edge thisround is going to Google and the Pixel2 XL but credit to Samsung freakingincredible UI alright so next let's jump tobattery in previous verses videos I'vejust told you my use case and which onelasted longer but it's a new year wewanted new test to see which batteryis actually better and going to last youlonger so here's what we did we tookboth phones the note with it's 3300 mAhbattery and the pixel XLif it's slightly bigger 3520 mAhbattery and we drained them to 0which is harder than you think and weuse the in box accessories to chargethese phones up and see which onescharge faster so after one hour the note8 was at 59% and the pixel 2 was at 62%so we wanted to try and drain the phoneso we charged them up to 100% we turnedmax brightness on be close all apps wekicked on airplane mode but kept Wi-Fiworking and we streamed the same threehour YouTube clip and that's wherethings got interesting they were exactlythe sameafter 8 and a half hours both phonesdied so those tests were surprisinglyclose we gave this category a slightedge and I'll admit it I'm aware of theirony of giving a battery category tothe note this one goes to Samsung byvirtue of doing more with less milliamphours last but not least let's jump intointangibles all the little things thatcome together to make the phone andawesome package of both of these bring areally long list of intangibles on thenote side you've got things like thes-pen wireless charging Samsung paywhich is different than Android pay ip68expandable storage you've got aheadphone jack a lot of little thingsthat make this an incredible device touse and to hold the Pixel 2 XL brings a ton of awesome things to thetable and I can't overstate this enoughone of the things that brings is afingerprint reader and they're reallynice to use location but aside from thatyou're getting incredible speakersthe latest updates from Google you'regetting stock Android is important to alot of folks and of course Android payis built into this of course you'remissing some things you get with otherphones like expandable storage that'sbeen oddly a staple of the pixel lineand the Nexus line before that and that phonejack is gone we look at the laundrylists of extra features that phonesbring to the table the note 8just taking intangibles so now that I'vegot your foaming-at-the-mouth eitherwith happiness or because you are superpissed off let's recap and declare ourwinner of this versus Hardware went tothe Note camera went to the pixeldisplay went to the note software itwent to the pixel battery went to thenote intangibles went to the note inany great battle Ali Frazier there canonly be one winner no matter how hardboth people fight there's noparticipation trophies in vs. anddespite the pixel to being a badassballer phone only one winner and that isthe Galaxy Note 8 they did an incrediblejob with this device I think everythingabout it is borderline perfect but...it's pretty crazy that I just happened to betexting you on my Google Pixel 2 XLand you said that the Note 8 wasbetter so I just kind of had to comehere to argue that. Ladies and gentlemenit's a starting tackle from the LAChargers Mr. Joe Barksdale. Philip Riverswas only sacked 18 times this season sorry.He's the guy that'sprotecting mr. Philip Rivers so I'msaying I'm saying the Note is thewinner and as somebody who's used bothphones we've talked at length about bothphones. I actually have actually hadthe note and I was probably one of themost excited people for that phoneI had to know 7 andyou know we all know the battery thingsand all that butin that time also you know waiting forthe note I had a Google pixel XL andwhen I got the note I really missed thepixel XL and what I meant by that wasthe software features the user interfacethe ease of you know notificationdismissals I mean it's just an easyphone to use it just works you know it'snot the sexiest or most extravagant butat the end of the day you know this isthe phone that I would want to haveevery day. For the record before for anybodyyells at me about why I picked the noteor how much Samsung paid me I convincedJoe to get the pixel 2 Xl. Ilegitimately love both phones. The weekwe played the Patriots yep you convincedme to get it he was just sitting thereat hotel bored I was like going to makenow it just came out you loved it.I limped on over and got it. I justdidn't know that you were gonna abandonyour first love of the GalaxyNote 8 I didn't know you were gonna beso wrong with your assessment. Are we going tofight again I thought I taught you Ican't even say that laughing. Are youphysically intimidated by me. Very. Do welook the same height sitting yeah cuzstanding up is super funny. Joethanks for coming Joe has a newalbum coming out 25th. It'scalled butterflies rainbows andmoonbeams and I'm sure you know you guysare here music and hopefully you Jonwill have me back again. We'll link to where people can get the album.No pre-orders but when it's out it's outCheck out a pretty talented musician and a good friend Joe thanks forfinally coming on but I'll take it easyon you next timeyou\n"