Why I like my Pixel 2

[rochrunner46]

Being disappointed -- or more accurately p*ssed -- about issues with my 5x and turned off by the Pixel prices, I looked at all sorts of other phones: Huawei, LG, OnePlus, Motorola, etc. Basically anything other than Samsung (hate bloatware!). What it mainly came down to is that getting Android updates on a timely basis and general app compatibility were very important to me. For example, I'm getting a new car in a few months and shopped them with Android Auto high on my must-have list. So the last thing I wanted is a new phone where that might not work, and I read a number of posts in user forums about issues on some of the phones.

So I bit the bullet and paid up for a Pixel 2. At least I got a $50 trade-in for my 5x, which had already been replaced once for the bootloop problem. Here are my comments after about a month on the new phone:

• Screen same size as my old Nexus 5, but the phone's at least 1/4" longer.
• I like the new round icons and notification badges.
• Battery life is amazing. I can easily go two days with my typical usage where my 5x would be in battery-save mode at the end of a long day.
• Call quality is the best I've had on smartphones I've owned.
• I like the "daily wallpaper" feature.
• Don't like losing the old Google Now feed and the ability to swipe cards out of view.
• Overall high quality look and feel.
• Everythings seems easier and snappier, such as BT pairing.

I realize that a lot of these are general 8.0 features, but the Pixel was designed to take advantage of them. So in the end, the extra $$$ is worth it except that I'm going to have to be extra cautious in caring for it!