Keeper or Not

[1901Madison]

Definitely keeping my baby Pixel 2, primarily because it is incredibly smooth and fast and has the best smartphone camera available. Also, to use an iPhone phrase, "it just works." Always. I never have any issues with it. The battery life is also surprisingly really good for 2700 mAh.

 

[aggie]

Wow...3! I'm looking a the XL but trying to hold off till Stormtrooper is available.

Stormtrooper shows available on the Google Store. It has been for a couple days now.

 

[raqball]

Keeper! Keeper! Keeper!

I have the non XL and dig it!

 

[scorpiori]

By far the smoothest phone I ever had. This device is just pure fun to deal with.

 

[Armeniandave]

I'm sending mine back. It was definitely the best phone I've ever had no doubt about it. The problem is I picked up an Essential phone to play with and IMO it's 94% as good at what I use it for. I bought it on the Sprint deal for $225 total and it works great on T-Mobile as does the Pixel 2 XL. The problem is I don't think the Pixel is $700 better than the Essential phone. If the Pixel 2 Xl was a few hundred cheaper then maybe the value would be there but for $914 I don't think it is. Just my opinion.

 

[raqball]

I'm sending mine back. It was definitely the best phone I've ever had no doubt about it. The problem is I picked up an Essential phone to play with and IMO it's 94% as good at what I use it for. I bought it on the Sprint deal for $225 total and it works great on T-Mobile as does the Pixel 2 XL. The problem is I don't think the Pixel is $700 better than the Essential phone. If the Pixel 2 Xl was a few hundred cheaper then maybe the value would be there but for $914 I don't think it is. Just my opinion.

I had the Essential phone and while it's nice, it does not hold a candle to the Pixel 2 in the following areas:

1. Camera
2. Smoothness
3. Warranty
4. Other items (YMMV) AR, Battery life, OS Updates

Enjoy the Essential as it's a fantastic phone but in my opinion it's not even close to the Pixel 2..

 

[anon(1002654)]

Stormtrooper shows available on the Google Store. It has been for a couple days now.

My husband got us two from there last week.

 

[RustyFJ]

I have the panda XL. Moved from Samsung S8+. I got fed up of the 'bit rot' and having to do a factory reset every so often.

The user interface on the pixel is non-fussy. But it could be 'blinged up' a bit. The menu looks a bit basic.

Camera is awesome. Can't beat it. The motion pictures and AR are awesome.

It's so fast! No jitter or lag. Everything opens quickly. Such a contrast to the S8.

I do miss the screen on the S8. But I don't see the Pixel screen to be too much of a come down. Don't notice the blue tint. But I miss the 'clarity' and edge-to-edge screen.

In the UK the XL is currently on a £100 discount at Carphone Warehouse. So it cost £699 which was £150 less than I paid for the S8. To me that's a good deal.

Only things that really annoy me - it's randomly rebooted 4 times since I bought it 3 weeks ago. It doesn't work as seamlessly with my Gear S3 watch. I miss one-handed mode on the S8 - I have to use two hands more often with the Pixel.

 

[1901Madison]

I had the Essential phone and while it's nice, it does not hold a candle to the Pixel 2 in the following areas:

1. Camera
2. Smoothness
3. Warranty
4. Other items (YMMV) AR, Battery life, OS Updates

Enjoy the Essential as it's a fantastic phone but in my opinion it's not even close to the Pixel 2..

Agree with all of this except battery life (at least for the smaller Pixel 2). While my baby Pixel 2 gets very good battery life, the Essential is outstanding in that department.

 

[Armeniandave]

I agree the camera is not as good but it definitely is good enough and way better than when it first came out. Software updates have done a great job at making it work just fine.
I took a bunch of shots side by side and I was just fine with the essentials pictures. I do not take a bunch of low light pictures so I'm not worried about low light performance.

I'm running the Oreo beta and it is really smooth. Maybe not quite as smooth as the Pixel but still way better than my S8+ was.

Really don't care about warranty as I upgrade every 4-6 months!

The point I was making is the Pixel is better than the essential but not $700 better. Essential is doing a great job keeping the phone updated and honestly the design and build quality are top notch.

 

[idiotekniques]

I agree the camera is not as good but it definitely is good enough and way better than when it first came out. Software updates have done a great job at making it work just fine.
I took a bunch of shots side by side and I was just fine with the essentials pictures. I do not take a bunch of low light pictures so I'm not worried about low light performance.

I'm running the Oreo beta and it is really smooth. Maybe not quite as smooth as the Pixel but still way better than my S8+ was.

Really don't care about warranty as I upgrade every 4-6 months!

The point I was making is the Pixel is better than the essential but not $700 better. Essential is doing a great job keeping the phone updated and honestly the design and build quality are top notch.

I am rooting for Essential to make it, even though they've probably sold about 500 phones so far. But I like the way they are headed.

 

[modifier]

Returned the XL2, Screen was the dealbreaker for me. No matter how much I tried to avoid the blue shift tint, it kept staring me in the face.

Staring you in the face wasn't the issue. It was when it stared at you out of the corner of its eye that was the problem.

 

[modifier]

I am rooting for Essential to make it, even though they've probably sold about 500 phones so far. But I like the way they are headed.

They recently broke the 50,000 sales mark per their app statistics on Google Play.

 

[anon(5630457)]

I exchanged my Stormtrooper version for the Darth Vader (black) version instead. The back is grippier on the black one and I didn't like the white Pixel imprint sensor on the Stormtrooper.

 

[anon(10092459)]

The point I was making is the Pixel is better than the essential but not $700 better. Essential is doing a great job keeping the phone updated and honestly the design and build quality are top notch.

Not sure where you are getting the price differential, but wasn't the Essential phone at $699 USD at launch? The price has been slash more than once to get to the level it is now.

 

[Armeniandave]

Not sure where you are getting the price differential, but wasn't the Essential phone at $699 USD at launch? The price has been slash more than once to get to the level it is now.

I got it on the Sprint deal. Came out to $225 total and I'm using it on TMobile
now.

 

[EMGSM]

After all the Awesome pix and positive comments, I broke down and joined the Pixel community. Sorry Storm Trooper, I couldn't wait anymore. So far it's looking like a keeper. Camera is VERY nice! Not enough time with it yet so I can't comment on battery life.

 

[JimBen73]

she's a keeper

 

[Eggmundo]

I agree the camera is not as good but it definitely is good enough and way better than when it first came out. Software updates have done a great job at making it work just fine.
I took a bunch of shots side by side and I was just fine with the essentials pictures. I do not take a bunch of low light pictures so I'm not worried about low light performance.

I'm running the Oreo beta and it is really smooth. Maybe not quite as smooth as the Pixel but still way better than my S8+ was.

Really don't care about warranty as I upgrade every 4-6 months!

The point I was making is the Pixel is better than the essential but not $700 better. Essential is doing a great job keeping the phone updated and honestly the design and build quality are top notch.

It is pathetic I still can't get one in the UK.

 

[bxrider117]

I have a Verizon 128gb Panda 2Xl. I just ordered a regular white Pixel from Google. I really like the Pixel brand. I want to try the smaller phone for pocketability. I normally go from Google to Samsung when the new phones come out. The Pixel doesn't make me want to get the S9 when it's released.