Went from the Pixel 2 XL to the Pixel XL

usedtolovephones

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I take a lot of photos with my Pixel. I mostly use the timer along with adjusting or balancing the phone on some flat surface. I've survived really nasty falls for a year but on Friday, it finally happened. My Pixel 2 XL dropped screen first and got totalled.

Although I had the money to get any phone on the market, I didn't think any of them are worth the asking price. The only thing I need in a phone is camera. Best in class, camera. So my options were iPhone Xs, Xr, Pixel 1, 2 and 3, One plus 6 and 6T. Samsungs are really good but lately they've fallen off the camera grid.

So, iPhone: Reeeeeally expensive. Not worth it.
OnePlus 6T: with the GCAM apk, really amazing phone and probably would've gotten it if the Pixel 1 didn't exist. It came down to the price.

I went and surfed the shops here in London and found a beautiful very silver Pixel XL for £200. Picked it up right away.

Coming from the 2 XL, the only real difference I feel is in the vibration motor. That's pretty much it. The vibration motor on the 2 was so much better and from what I've heard it's even better on the 3.

The rest of the experience is almost exactly the same. I have had the Pixel before. But it wasn't the XL it was the smaller one.

Also, I don't know what it is but the Pixel XL seems a bit smoother in performance when compared to my Pixel 2 XL. The animations were a bit choppy on the 2 especially when tapping on the notifications to go into the respective app. With this, it's smooth like butter. Having said that, the transitions are a littttttle bit slower. Only a tiny amount.

Some other things which I think are plus points: head phone jack, better screen than the 2 XL, louder speaker and again, price.

Lastly, with the P3 camera app installed, the camera experience is exactly the same. Yes, 2xl processing speed for photos was a bit faster, but the rest is exactly the same.

The point of this post is that I think even after 2 years the original Pixel is a great phone for the money. Sure, it lacks a lot of features and the design is outdated, but the over all experience of using the phone is just as amazing. Plus, for £200, it is the best phone camera ever!

I ordered the official silicone case from Google to go with it. I wish they made a silicone one for the 2 and 3 as well.

Google Pixel XL in December of 2018: Highly recommended!
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B. Diddy

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Sorry to hear about your 2 XL's demise, but glad to hear your experience with the XL has been good! My wife has a refurb XL, and it continues to work very smoothly. Camera is still great, although no Portrait Mode -- however, Lens Blur does a pretty good imitation of it. I think Night Sight is available, and Call Screen is supposed to be rolling out right now.
 

usedtolovephones

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Hey! Install the p3 camera apk. It has the portrait mode and everything.

https://www.xda-developers.com/google-camera-night-sight-google-pixel-3-google-pixel-2-google-pixel/
Sorry to hear about your 2 XL's demise, but glad to hear your experience with the XL has been good! My wife has a refurb XL, and it continues to work very smoothly. Camera is still great, although no Portrait Mode -- however, Lens Blur does a pretty good imitation of it. I think Night Sight is available, and Call Screen is supposed to be rolling out right now.
 

J Dubbs

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I recently picked up a brand new sealed original pixel for a little over $300..... what an amazing phone for the price. It gets crystal clear reception, without getting hot or draining the battery, in places that literally killed my other phones. That alone was worth the money, not to mention everything else a pixel comes with :-D

Any pixel's a good choice I think, especially when you can get them cheap ;-)
 

usedtolovephones

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That's so true. Congratulations!

How did you manage to find a brand new sealed Pixel at this point in time? I tried finding one too but couldn't.

Also, what color is it and what cover options are you looking into?
I recently picked up a brand new sealed original pixel for a little over $300..... what an amazing phone for the price. It gets crystal clear reception, without getting hot or draining the battery, in places that literally killed my other phones. That alone was worth the money, not to mention everything else a pixel comes with :-D

Any pixel's a good choice I think, especially when you can get them cheap ;-)
 

J Dubbs

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That's so true. Congratulations!

How did you manage to find a brand new sealed Pixel at this point in time? I tried finding one too but couldn't.

Also, what color is it and what cover options are you looking into?

I picked mine up from B&H photo video, I got the quite black.... they had brand new inventory in the regular and XL pixels in quite black and very silver in both 32gig and 128gig. I posted about the sale to let folks here know, I'm sorry you missed it :-(
The sale was going on for months... I waited till the price dropped on the regular pixel because I was coming off a big phone and wanted something a little smaller. They just sold out of the XL's about a month ago. The 128gig XL'S silver and black were going for $320.

I picked up some cases on sale for a variety, I got a Spigen ultra hybrid clear (VERY nice case... very protective, not to bulky, best button feel of any case ever), a Ringke fusion smoke, a blue and gold Caseology Parallax (extremely eye catching lol), an OtterBox Defender because it was 8 bucks (yes I'm cheap lol), and a Incipio black case for 3 bucks.

I'm an extreme bargain hunter :-D I also picked up a second generation daydream view for half price as well..... haven't used it yet though :-( I'm keeping my eye on B&H because they now have the pixel 2XL's on sale and the price is dropping by the week. When they get down to the mid $300 range I'll start seriously looking to buy. But I'm sure that won't be till this time next year or so. But I can wait lol ;-)

If the pixel 3's get cheap enough for some crazy reason (like not selling well enough lol) I may pick one up :-D
 

usedtolovephones

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I picked mine up from B&H photo video, I got the quite black.... they had brand new inventory in the regular and XL pixels in quite black and very silver in both 32gig and 128gig. I posted about the sale to let folks here know, I'm sorry you missed it :-(
The sale was going on for months... I waited till the price dropped on the regular pixel because I was coming off a big phone and wanted something a little smaller. They just sold out of the XL's about a month ago. The 128gig XL'S silver and black were going for $320.

I picked up some cases on sale for a variety, I got a Spigen ultra hybrid clear (VERY nice case... very protective, not to bulky, best button feel of any case ever), a Ringke fusion smoke, a blue and gold Caseology Parallax (extremely eye catching lol), an OtterBox Defender because it was 8 bucks (yes I'm cheap lol), and a Incipio black case for 3 bucks.

I'm an extreme bargain hunter :-D I also picked up a second generation daydream view for half price as well..... haven't used it yet though :-( I'm keeping my eye on B&H because they now have the pixel 2XL's on sale and the price is dropping by the week. When they get down to the mid $300 range I'll start seriously looking to buy. But I'm sure that won't be till this time next year or so. But I can wait lol ;-)

If the pixel 3's get cheap enough for some crazy reason (like not selling well enough lol) I may pick one up :-D
Nice choice with the phone and cases!

I picked up four cases as well. Tech Evo, Spigen Neo Hybrid in blue, ringke fusion clear and the official Google silicone case.

The silicone case is a joke. It's nothing as compared to those which apple make. Out of all of them I like the tech Evo best. It's the best for protection but in terms of design Spigen and ringke are better.

I live in the UK. I don't think we have B&H photo here. Do we? I don't know.

Honestly, using the Pixel XL after the 2 XL, I don't see much of a difference. If it was me, I'd be looking at the Pixel 3 or maybe the 4 now. The 2 isn't any different from the 1 really. Plus with all the updates 1 has received, it's probably the best deal out there.
 

J Dubbs

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Nice choice with the phone and cases!

I picked up four cases as well. Tech Evo, Spigen Neo Hybrid in blue, ringke fusion clear and the official Google silicone case.

The silicone case is a joke. It's nothing as compared to those which apple make. Out of all of them I like the tech Evo best. It's the best for protection but in terms of design Spigen and ringke are better.

I live in the UK. I don't think we have B&H photo here. Do we? I don't know.

Honestly, using the Pixel XL after the 2 XL, I don't see much of a difference. If it was me, I'd be looking at the Pixel 3 or maybe the 4 now. The 2 isn't any different from the 1 really. Plus with all the updates 1 has received, it's probably the best deal out there.

I didn't know you were in the UK, B&H is based in New York. I don't believe they do international shipping, you could always email them and find out more though. They have some amazing prices on brand new phones, and not just pixels ;-)

It's nice to meet another case collector :) I have heard the Google cases aren't always that good for the money unfortunately. I passed on them after doing some research.
Thanks for the feedback on the pixel 2..... I'm probably going to heed your advice and skip the 2. I agree, with all the features the original pixel is getting it's the best deal of the bunch. I'm very glad I made the purchase :-D
 

ylap

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We still have 1st Gen Pixel XL at one mobile phone stores network in Lithuania for 289 €. Brand new, 32 GB, grey. Using mine third month.
 

usedtolovephones

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Yes, unfortunately they don't ship here.

Also, the Google pixel cover is okayyyy. If you have the black pixel I think the blue or the grey Google case will look really nice. But you can definitely find cheaper options elsewhere.

I've ordered Spigen Neo Hybrid crystal in Black too, just to get that storm trooper vibe. Also, I've ordered the speck presidio clear case. I've heard it's slippery but it provides a ton of protection and doesn't turn yellow. Let's see.

Funny story: before I broke my 2 XL, I had ordered a really expensive leather case from Noreve.com. After breaking the phone I immediately emailed them to switch it for the original Pixel XL. I ordered one with brown leather. It's really expensive, but I love leather cases and I couldn't find anything like that anywhere else.

Lastly, I've been missing the always on display from the 2 XL alot lately. I really wish there was a way to get it on this one.
I didn't know you were in the UK, B&H is based in New York. I don't believe they do international shipping, you could always email them and find out more though. They have some amazing prices on brand new phones, and not just pixels ;-)

It's nice to meet another case collector :) I have heard the Google cases aren't always that good for the money unfortunately. I passed on them after doing some research.
Thanks for the feedback on the pixel 2..... I'm probably going to heed your advice and skip the 2. I agree, with all the features the original pixel is getting it's the best deal of the bunch. I'm very glad I made the purchase :-D
 

sulla1965

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Still using my XL, does everything the later pixels do just as well. Still gets updates, and still a very good camera.
 

usedtolovephones

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Still using my XL, does everything the later pixels do just as well. Still gets updates, and still a very good camera.
My pixel XL is acting up lately. I don't know why but it is slowing down. Been seeing stuttering a lot. Is the case with yours? I've been waiting for the January update eagerly.
 

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