Pixel 2 XL vs S9 hands on at Best buy

[Lepa79]

Is it? Redundant software accounts (Google and Samsung), two app stores, apps you cannot uninstall and a physical button to an assistant that is negatively panned the world over.

While I will admit most people like the camera, in my own experience it wasn't able to capture anything that was moving, even slightly. The software and image processing of the Pixel takes shots that are far superior to the Note 8 in many ways. It's subjective, sure and I'll admit that.

But add in a curved display, glass back and a lack of support for affordable screen protectors, typical slowdown after a few months and it's clear that the Note 8 is all flash and no bang.

Again, you can dislike the phone as much as you like, but any unbiased person will tell you Note 8 is not garbage. Come on now.

Again, I have both phones. Both are great. Enjoy your pixel.

 

[jtcannonball]

Tiresome bloat and rebranded TouchWiz might not be for everybody but I wouldn't say it's garbage. I liked my Note 8 but they messed around with the geometry a bit too much from the nearly perfect Note 7 (size not phone). I don't care for the cameras as much and the pen is something I never use after two weeks so it's more money for less features in my use.

 

[applejosh]

I have a Note 8 (unlocked), and the hardware is beautiful. However, right now the Note 8 is on January security patch. I'm less concerned about the OS version, but I would have hoped that a company as large as Samsung would be a little better about security updates. Got a baby Pixel 2 a couple weeks ago, and despite the copious amount of bezel, I'm very pleased with it. Security updates in a much more timely fashion, and it feels a little faster in transitions. (The Note is not bad mind you; Samsung has done much better in the past year as far as system impact of TouchWiz.) Also, after a few years of using "plus" sized phones almost exclusively, I'm enjoying the smaller form factor again. (I travel a lot, so I'm frequently trying to type and run across airports.) Either way you go, I think you'll have a solid device. If you fret over security updates, then the Pixel is your best bet until Samsung can prove otherwise that they can consistently keep their phones up to date. If the screen is more important, you'd be hard pressed to find a better display than on a Samsung device.

 

[Nubwy]

Again, you can dislike the phone as much as you like, but any unbiased person will tell you Note 8 is not garbage. Come on now.

Again, I have both phones. Both are great. Enjoy your pixel.

Never said the entire phone was garbage. I picked two areas (software and camera). Enjoy your phones.

 

[highinterest]

I have a Pixel 2, and I love it. Software is blazing fast, seems even smoother than the iPhone 8 Plus I had briefly. I don't take a lot of pictures, but took a couple in a dim bar Saturday night, and was very pleased with the result. I am sure you will be happy with the Pixel 2 if you go that way, unless there are Samsung features you really want.

 

[EMGSM]

I curious about how the S9 will do when the subjects back is against a window. The Note 8 almost always blew out the background for me. But the Pixel 2XL handles these types of photos well.

 

[Theot]

I curious about how the S9 will do when the subjects back is against a window. The Note 8 almost always blew out the background for me. But the Pixel 2XL handles these types of photos well.

Based on everything I've seen so far, the S9/S9+ seems to have the same issue, in a comparison against the pixel 2 the S9+ pics where very blown out when there was light especially in low light. In bright situations it tended to wash out more. Samsung's post processing also smooths a lot of details in selfies and other shots so they look soft. The one area I did like was the telephone on the S9+. It was capable of a lot cleaner pic over the pixel 2 when zoomed in but that's to be expected.

 

[Guyinbox]

It took me all of an hour to decide to give my wife the 9+ and keep the 2xl for myself. I wasn't impressed at the point and shoot photo quality at all. Indoor pics were very soft and looked lightened or something. Side by side the pixel photos were a good deal better. Also, portrait mode on the 9+ isn't in the same league as the pixel. I was pretty surprised the pixel got much better results vs the dual cam setup.

It was mostly the software that did it for me though. Too many Samsung apps when they should just stick with the standard Google apps. And that freaking bixby button lol.

Hardware was really nice on the 9+. Screen is awesome, loved the way it felt in a uag case, speakers are really really good (better than the 2xl,) and it is surprisingly fast. Couldn't tell much of a difference in speed vs the pixel. I can see why people still like Sammy phones, but it looks like I'm a pixel guy from now on.

 

[EMGSM]

Based on everything I've seen so far, the S9/S9+ seems to have the same issue, in a comparison against the pixel 2 the S9+ pics where very blown out when there was light especially in low light. In bright situations it tended to wash out more. Samsung's post processing also smooths a lot of details in selfies and other shots so they look soft. The one area I did like was the telephone on the S9+. It was capable of a lot cleaner pic over the pixel 2 when zoomed in but that's to be expected.

I think washed out may be the words I wash looking for instead of blown out

 

[Theot]

It took me all of an hour to decide to give my wife the 9+ and keep the 2xl for myself. I wasn't impressed at the point and shoot photo quality at all. Indoor pics were very soft and looked lightened or something. Side by side the pixel photos were a good deal better. Also, portrait mode on the 9+ isn't in the same league as the pixel. I was pretty surprised the pixel got much better results vs the dual cam setup.

It was mostly the software that did it for me though. Too many Samsung apps when they should just stick with the standard Google apps. And that freaking bixby button lol.

Hardware was really nice on the 9+. Screen is awesome, loved the way it felt in a uag case, speakers are really really good (better than the 2xl,) and it is surprisingly fast. Couldn't tell much of a difference in speed vs the pixel. I can see why people still like Sammy phones, but it looks like I'm a pixel guy from now on.

Yeah that bixby button was a big negative for me. It was one of the things I was really dreading dealing with. As for the rest of the software, it will be interesting to see how the speed holds up. Every Samsung phone I've ever had was always fast at first but then needed the quarterly or six month factory reset to get it back. In Andrew's comparison between the S9+ & P2XL he talked about the software/experience and that sealed the deal for me.

Here is the quote

"you can never get away from Samsung's duplicate apps and immense changes to Android that are regularly getting in your way. It's never a good feeling to have to fight with the phone to get it working cleanly and efficiently."

I don't need that, I've been doing that for years with just about every Android phone I've had save for a Moto G4 and I'm sick of it.

 

[Guyinbox]

Yeah that bixby button was a big negative for me. It was one of the things I was really dreading dealing with. As for the rest of the software, it will be interesting to see how the speed holds up. Every Samsung phone I've ever had was always fast at first but then needed the quarterly or six month factory reset to get it back. In Andrew's comparison between the S9+ & P2XL he talked about the software/experience and that sealed the deal for me.

Here is the quote

"you can never get away from Samsung's duplicate apps and immense changes to Android that are regularly getting in your way. It's never a good feeling to have to fight with the phone to get it working cleanly and efficiently."

I don't need that, I've been doing that for years with just about every Android phone I've had save for a Moto G4 and I'm sick of it.

That really sums up why I've moved away from Samsung phones. Their software is such a detriment to the user experience sometimes it drives me crazy.

I will say this though; my brother's note 8 seemed just about as fluid as the day he got it when i played around with it the other day, so maybe the Sammy lag really is a thing of the past.

 

[Theot]

That really sums up why I've moved away from Samsung phones. Their software is such a detriment to the user experience sometimes it drives me crazy.

I will say this though; my brother's note 8 seemed just about as fluid as the day he got it when i played around with it the other day, so maybe the Sammy lag really is a thing of the past.

Maybe, it's also possible that the quad core processor and high end GPU coupled with them tidying up their software made a big difference. Still, the unlocked S9+ I looked at just had pages of apps already on it. Pixel had 23.

I just don't trust it, not for $840. Fool me once....

 

[Lepa79]

That really sums up why I've moved away from Samsung phones. Their software is such a detriment to the user experience sometimes it drives me crazy.

I will say this though; my brother's note 8 seemed just about as fluid as the day he got it when i played around with it the other day, so maybe the Sammy lag really is a thing of the past.

Note 8 since day one here. Smooth like butter.

I have had nexus 6, 6p, 5x, pixel xl and 2 xl. 2 xl going on sale this weekend. I prefer the value Note 8 brings and that spen.

Both good phones, but I prefer Note 8.

 

[Milt K]

Note 8 since day one here. Smooth like butter.

I have had nexus 6, 6p, 5x, pixel xl and 2 xl. 2 xl going on sale this weekend. I prefer the value Note 8 brings and that spen.

Both good phones, but I prefer Note 8.

Having the 6GB of RAM in the Note 8 and now the S9+ should really help with any lag issue. Samsung really loads their OS with lots of services that startup in boot time that the extra RAM is needed to avoid cache swapping (yeah yeah i know Android has had memory management since Froyo but that was optimized for basic Android and not a heavily-skinned OS). I doubt people with Note 8s or S9+s will ever experience the infamous Samsung lag that everyone bitches about as a reason to go with stock Android on the Pixel vs. a Samsung Galaxy phone. My Note 8 hasn't had any lag since October. Am returning the Pixel 2xl i just got because of the blue shift that no other premium phone seems to have.

 

[Lepa79]

Having the 6GB of RAM in the Note 8 and now the S9+ should really help with any lag issue. Samsung really loads their OS with lots of services that startup in boot time that the extra RAM is needed to avoid cache swapping (yeah yeah i know Android has had memory management since Froyo but that was optimized for basic Android and not a heavily-skinned OS). I doubt people with Note 8s or S9+s will ever experience the infamous Samsung lag that everyone bitches about as a reason to go with stock Android on the Pixel vs. a Samsung Galaxy phone. My Note 8 hasn't had any lag since October. Am returning the Pixel 2xl i just got because of the blue shift that no other premium phone seems to have.

Spot on. Had my Note 8 for 6 months now. I reboot phone once every 2 weeks to recycle RAM. phone runs like a champ. Very satisfied and spen, external sd, water resistance, stunning screen, wireless charging and samsung pay makes Note 9 the only phone that will replace my Note 8

 

[Milt K]

Spot on. Had my Note 8 for 6 months now. I reboot phone once every 2 weeks to recycle RAM. phone runs like a champ. Very satisfied and spen, external sd, water resistance, stunning screen, wireless charging and samsung pay makes Note 9 the only phone that will replace my Note 8

Yeah i forgot to mention the SD card expansion (which i load tons of videos onto), wireless charging (it's nice putting it onto a wireless charger in an upright position at my office desk and have it continuously top off), and Samsung Pay as real benefits over the Pixel. Don't really use the S-Pen much so am willing to trade in my Note 8 for a S9+ once good deals pop up if only for the dual speakers (which to me is worth the Spen loss).

I did appreciate the Pixel 2xl's fluidity, simplicity, and camera (not that it was a huge improvement over the Note 8 that people make it out to be) over the last week though while testing it but the feeling of euphoric nostalgia over the stock experience died down eventually. That color shifting though....ugh. And yes I do use my phone at viewing angles other than 90 degrees.

 

[Theot]

Note 8 since day one here. Smooth like butter.

I have had nexus 6, 6p, 5x, pixel xl and 2 xl. 2 xl going on sale this weekend. I prefer the value Note 8 brings and that spen.

Both good phones, but I prefer Note 8.

What made you switch away? Did you get bored with stock Android?

How much is the pixel 2XL going for?

 

[Lepa79]

What made you switch away? Did you get bored with stock Android?

How much is the pixel 2XL going for?

Have the 128gb model, so going to list it on Craigslist for a start. Around $700.

I just think Note 8 is a better phone for the features it provides. The spen is a major win. Being able to "screen write" in a screen capture and share it instantly is priceless. Love wireless charging and took some amazing videos with me and my kids in the pool. Samsung Pay is cheery on top. It's amazing and works flawlessly everywhere.

I know folks here love pixel. They are good phones but I simply love Note 8 much more. No need to keep 2 phones.

 

[Theot]

Have the 128gb model, so going to list it on Craigslist for a start. Around $700.

I just think Note 8 is a better phone for the features it provides. The spen is a major win. Being able to "screen write" in a screen capture and share it instantly is priceless. Love wireless charging and took some amazing videos with me and my kids in the pool. Samsung Pay is cheery on top. It's amazing and works flawlessly everywhere.

I know folks here love pixel. They are good phones but I simply love Note 8 much more. No need to keep 2 phones.

Yeah I can see that. There's a part of me that thinks I should give Samsung another shot but I've also never had a pure Google device and right now they are better than they have ever been.

 

[LeoRex]

Small observation... I've thing that I've grown very tired of is frame drops. These are those little stutters and jumps that occur when the UI can't render the screen properly during things like transitions and scrolling and often has little to do with performance and all to do with software optimization.

Since the Nexus 5, Google's phones have been asking the best, if not the best, at reducing frame drops year after year.... And even with the massive power of the SD845, the S9 still appears to be pretty poor at reducing them.

I've become very sensitive to them and when the do occur and occur often, they get on my nerves. It's just a sign of sloppy or indifferent coding and should not be happening this day and age.