Exactly one year after launching the first Pixel smartphone, Google unveiled the Pixel 2 on October 4, 2017.
It features a 5-inch full HD OLED display, Snapdragon 835 chipset, 4GB of RAM and of course, the latest version of Google’s mobile operating system, Android 8.0 Oreo.
Because the first Pixel has one of the best cameras on a smartphone, expectations for the Google Pixel 2 in terms of photography is high.
Google didn’t go the dual camera route. Instead, the Pixel 2 still has a single 12.2 Megapixel rear camera but with an f/1.8 aperture and portrait mode made possible by machine learning. It even has optical image stabilization as well as electronic stabilization that can be used simultaneously.
An 8 Megapixel front camera takes care of selfies.
The Google Assistant is baked into the Google Pixel 2 but with more features and capabilities.
There’s Google Lens which searches information based on a selected portion of the screen. It can give information based on what the phone’s camera can see too.
It can also identify songs in the surroundings and display the title in the always on display mode.
The Google Pixel 2 is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 chipset, 4GB of RAM and a 2700mAh battery.
It promises great performance by having the purest Android 8.0 Oreo software as well as super-fast charging for the battery. It’s said to last 7 hours after 15 minutes of charging.
The Google Pixel 2 comes in an all metal unibody design except for the glass ‘window’ at the back which is necessary to capture wireless signals.
It has an IP67 certification for water and dust resistant – something that has been lacking in the previous Pixel.
Google’s deal with HTC also bear fruit with the inclusion of Active Edge in the Pixel 2. This means that a squeeze on the sides of the device will trigger the Google Assistant.
The Google Pixel 2 has an official price of $649 for the 64GB version and $749 for the 128GB one. It’s officially available in six countries – US, Australia, France, Canada, UK and Germany. It will also launch in Japan and Singapore later this year.
No official availability in the Philippines has been announced.
