Pixel 2 XL...45 day review, what i don't like

[Mooncatt]

I believe this was documented somewhere. If I find it, I will let you know. I'm referring to Google throttling the charge rate the last 15 or 20 percent.

That's normal for most any battery technology, but definitely lithium based ones. It's like filling a bucket with a high pressure water hose. As it starts getting full, water will splash out. If you turn down the pressure, you can fill it right to the edge without spilling any. It's a similar thing on a chemical level with batteries.

Or are you suggesting they throttle the charge abnormally slow for that final "soak" charging stage, slower than other phones and even others made by LG?

 

[Mike Dee]

That's normal for most any battery technology, but definitely lithium based ones. It's like filling a bucket with a high pressure water hose. As it starts getting full, water will splash out. If you turn down the pressure, you can fill it right to the edge without spilling any. It's a similar thing on a chemical level with batteries.

Or are you suggesting they throttle the charge abnormally slow for that final "soak" charging stage, slower than other phones and even others made by LG?

Yes...I believe the current Pixels are slower than past Google phones... It might slow down even sooner than I stated. I'll ask someone on our voluteer team who's more familiar with the topic.

 

[Pixelfan56]

Pixel 2 made by htc
Pixel 2 XL made by LG

 

[johnnnnnymtl]

1. Agree the volume from the speakers should be equal. Mine are pretty close, but the top you can tell is softer than the bottom. Not sure if this can be fixed down the track or if the top speaker is just weaker.

2. I think it's to increase overall longevity of the battery. Google got burned with the Nexus 6P batteries degrading very quickly requiring a lot of repairs/replacements. The hotter batteries get while charging, the faster they degrade, so looks like Google is being conservative here.

3. My battery life seems to be the same. Though I think I read that the battery percentage indicator will no longer stay at 100% for an unusually long time now and will lower appropriately.

4. After the 8.1 sound update, I think video is superb. The stabilisation is insane and haven't seen a phone with better video stabilising.

5. Yeah the volume can get decently loud, but not extremely loud like the iPhone can. Agree I'd like to see this get improved.

I love Gmail and love the conversation style. Always have. You can change it on the desktop, but for mobile, maybe a different email client will change it for you.

My minor gripes with the phone:

1. I don't think the phone looks or feels as nice as it's competitors - the Galaxy S8+, Note 8, LG V30, iPhone X etc. I think Google really need to improve the look and feel of their device - it's a high end, expensive product, it should look like one. Hopefully getting all those HTC employees means the Pixel 3 will be something that looks spectacular.

2. I think a 6" screen is just too big for me. I'd like a 5.5" screen option, maybe the smaller phone move up to 5.5" and the larger one stay at 6".

Other than that really, I think the phone is superb. I like the screen, despite all the discussion around it. Never really had a problem with it.

Concerning your gripe #1 : I thought the same when the phone was released and it is true that it doesn't look like the competitors, but I get a lot of compliments on my phone from people all the time. People have even told me the screen is amazing, that they find the location of the finger sensor is smart and they love the overall look of the phone. (I got the panda version) I often get told I have a nice phone and get asked what brand it is

 

[D13H4RD2L1V3]

I think the charging rate was capped to promote battery longevity.

I know my Note stops fast charging when I use it.

 

[Mike Dee]

I think the charging rate was capped to promote battery longevity.

I know my Note stops fast charging when I use it.

If you mean while you are using it all phones I have had since the G5 have done that

 

[Jeremy8000]

I think the charging rate was capped to promote battery longevity.

I know my Note stops fast charging when I use it.

Slowing down the rate of charge as the battery approaches capacity or when it begins to heat up makes sense. But the Pixel 2 XL is throttled much more aggressively than the Pixel XL was, and I, at least, never had any noticeable degradation in battery life over the 1 year I used it.

 

[briareos4]

I think the charging rate was capped to promote battery longevity.

I know my Note stops fast charging when I use it.

Although that's true... it still is highly annoying. On all previous phones I could typically wake up in the morning around 6:30am, plug in, and top off to 100% by the time I have to leave for work 7:45'ish - and that's starting with around 60% percent when I wake up (I'm not a heavy user).

But to get from 60% to 100% on my 2XL takes close to 2 hours because the last 5% takes around 30-35 minutes to complete. The claim of 'fast-charging' might be fine for when you're going from 0% to 50%.... but that's certainly not my usage pattern, and I'm sure it's not the pattern for most folks.

In the morning when I'm getting dressed I have to chuckle when I peek at the charging 2XL and see that it's at 92% and how it blatantly lies to me by saying '11 minutes to full charge'. :-X

 

[Mike Dee]

the last 5 percent only takes about 10 minutes. on my phone

 

[Ziich47]

1. Agree the volume from the speakers should be equal. Mine are pretty close, but the top you can tell is softer than the bottom. Not sure if this can be fixed down the track or if the top speaker is just weaker.

2. I think it's to increase overall longevity of the battery. Google got burned with the Nexus 6P batteries degrading very quickly requiring a lot of repairs/replacements. The hotter batteries get while charging, the faster they degrade, so looks like Google is being conservative here.

3. My battery life seems to be the same. Though I think I read that the battery percentage indicator will no longer stay at 100% for an unusually long time now and will lower appropriately.

4. After the 8.1 sound update, I think video is superb. The stabilisation is insane and haven't seen a phone with better video stabilising.

5. Yeah the volume can get decently loud, but not extremely loud like the iPhone can. Agree I'd like to see this get improved.

I love Gmail and love the conversation style. Always have. You can change it on the desktop, but for mobile, maybe a different email client will change it for you.

My minor gripes with the phone:

1. I don't think the phone looks or feels as nice as it's competitors - the Galaxy S8+, Note 8, LG V30, iPhone X etc. I think Google really need to improve the look and feel of their device - it's a high end, expensive product, it should look like one. Hopefully getting all those HTC employees means the Pixel 3 will be something that looks spectacular.

2. I think a 6" screen is just too big for me. I'd like a 5.5" screen option, maybe the smaller phone move up to 5.5" and the larger one stay at 6".

Other than that really, I think the phone is superb. I like the screen, despite all the discussion around it. Never really had a problem with it.

When you say that the phone is too big is it the overall phone size or specifically the display? There are smaller 6 inch screens out there with the same aspect ratio. Look at the v30 or the p10. Even the smaller s8 is 5.8 inchss.

 

[Ziich47]

No. Just no. The smaller one is almost...ALMOST...perfectly sized, IMO. I wish it were a touch smaller. Either a slightly smaller screen or slightly smaller bezels would be what I'd like to see.

Please leave the way cooler Pixel 2 guys out of your "big & tall" discussions.

Ideally og like to see it return to OG nexus 5 proportions

+1 and Indeed!

 

[PowrDroid]

the last 5 percent only takes about 10 minutes. on my phone

The last couple of times I measured it, while on the supplied Google charger, mine took 35 and 30 minutes.

 

[D13H4RD2L1V3]

If you mean while you are using it all phones I have had since the G5 have done that

AFAIK, phones which utilize more amps to fast charge maintain peak rates even under usage.

 

[Mooncatt]

AFAIK, phones which utilize more amps to fast charge maintain peak rates even under usage.

Not LG. With the screen off and cool, my V20 can get about 3A from my QC2.0/3.0 chargers. With the screen on but sitting idle, it's about 1A max. If it gets the slightest bit warm, I'm down to 600mA. If it gets warmer still, then down into the 300mA range. Key note, the phone is not getting hot. It'll start throttling back at about 90°F. That's nothing for a battery to handle. My G4 was the same way.