- Hey guys, this is Austin. This is the Google Pixel 2 and this is the Pixel 2 XL, but the question is are they worth it?There's a lot new this year, but one of the biggest differences is in price. So the Pixel 2 is going to cost you $650, but bump up to the Pixel 2 XL and it is $850. Want 128 gigs of storage?Then this guy's going to cost you $950. Jump inside the box and there's actually a fair but that comes with the Pixel 2. So the first thing we'll find is the actual smartphone itself, but beyond that, get a little bit deeper, we get a "Yay welcome to#TeamPixel" bit, which I'm sure has all our paperwork, SIM tool, that kind of thing. There's also a USB-C to USB-A adapter, we get what looks to be a whole bunch of extra cables!Oh boy. When Google announced the original Pixel last year, something they were really big on is the idea that it still has the headphone jack. Now fast forward to the Pixel 2 and it's nowhere to be seen. Now I get the idea that by dropping the headphone jack,you're going to free up more space inside the phone for sensors or batteries, or whatever, but the problem is unless you're fully on the Bluetooth headphone train, USB-C is a bit of a mess right now. Say what you will about Apple dropping the headphone back last year, but at the very least there are some decent Lightning headphone options available. On the Pixel, you're pretty much limited to either using the adapter that comes in the box, or a very limited selection of USB-C headphones. It's not all bad with the Pixel 2 hardware, so while yes, it does look fairly similar to the last generation, including the pretty large bezels, but in return, we're now getting IP67 water resistance, as well as some pretty solid front-firing stereo speakers. Move over to the Pixel 2 XL, and it is a surprisingly large change. So up front, it's rocking a six inch AMOLED display, and while I wouldn't call it bezel-less, the bezels are a lot thinner than on the standard Pixel 2. Even though the Pixel 2 is made by HTCand the XL is made by LG, the hardware is very similar. So they're both still rocking a two-tone design and while it looks nice, I actually do definitely prefer the way that the original Pixel looked with the very blue color, because you know, yeah, I want all my smartphones to look like this. Even though this is a glass and metal phone, the metal part actually has this sort of coating on it, which kind of feels like plastic. Now if you check out JerryRigEverything's durability test of the Pixel 2, you'll see that this coating is not particularly durable. I actually kind of like the way that the Pixel 2 feels, but multiple people who've tried it immediately thought that it was made out of plastic, so take that for what it's worth. Take a look at it in Geekbench, and while it's fast, it is absolutely no match for theApple A10X in the iPhone 8, however, thankfully benchmarks aren't everything. What stuff like Geekbench doesn't get across that this is an incredibly snappy phone. Animations are smooth, the responsiveness is quick, and it always feels like it's one step ahead of what you actually wanna do. Honestly, this is one of the fastest Android phonesI've tested and it is right up there with the iPhone 8. Part of that is thanks to an incredibly clean build of Android 8. 0 Oreo. So there are some custom features, including Google Lens, and this is actually built inside Google Photos, it would be nice to see it in the camera app, but what it's allowing you to do is scan a photo and try to figure out what it is. For some things, it's not that accurate, but for others, it is surprisingly good. Although just not that useful to me. What's a little cooler is Now Playing, now once you enable this, essentially the phone will always be listening for music and if it detects it, it will actually give you a notification. This is kind of creepy, but it works surprisingly well, especially if you're in something like a restaurant, you might be able to actually pick up the song that's being played over the stereo. The Pixel 2 also has a squeezable frame, so if you actually squeeze it on the bottom half, it will trigger Google Assistant. So, what does the fox say?- [Assistant] Ring ding ding ding ding a ding wop pop pop pop pop pa-pow, or so I've heard. (laughs)Roll a 20 sided die. - [Assistant] You got it. (die hits table)It's a 19. - Flip a coin. - [Assistant] Okay. (coin lands on a table)You got tails. - However, not everything is perfect. Some of my biggest issues with the Pixel 2 is the display. So on the standard size Pixel 2, it's fine. It's a five-inch AMOLED panel with a 1080p resolution. Yes it could be a little bit sharper, and the bezels could be a lot smaller, but it's totally usable. However, when it comes to the Pixel 2 XL, that display is garbage town. I mean it. Garbage town. Garbage town. This reminds me of really early AMOLED panels from years ago. When you're looking at it straight on, it's okay, although honestly a lot of the colors, like especially the reds look awfully brown, as soon as you move it even a little bit off axis, it goes super, super cool. This is okay on a cheap smartphone, but when you're charging $850, it's basically a deal breaker. It really is a shame, because the Pixel XL 2should be able to compete with stuff like the iPhone and the Galaxy Note 8, but right now, the screen holds it back, which to me actually makes the normal Pixel 2 a much easier sell. Yes, it has the much larger bezels, but to my eye, is a way better screen, and it's the phone that I've been using the last few days. Thankfully the giant bezels of the Pixel 2dodon't go to waste. It does have some very nice sounding front-firing speakers, those pretty much blows away any other flagship that's out today, with really the only exception being the iPhone 8. And to my ears, they sound very similar, way better than pretty much anything else you can get right now. One of the biggest upgrades on the Pixel 2is that 12-megapixel camera. Now that might not sound impressive, but these are some of the best smartphone imagesI've ever gotten period. Some of the stuff is really crazy. There is a ton of detail on these images, and they've actually done a really good job of getting even more dynamic range than most of the the already great flagships that you can buy in 2017. Color is also good, maybe not quite as saturated as some Samsung phones, but the low-light performance has seen a huge bump up on the Pixel. Now a part of that is because they finally added optical image stabilization, and that paired with their awesome image processing means that you can get some surprisingly usable shots in very low light. The portrait mode is also really good on the Pixel, so while it doesn't have any kind of dual camera setup, using software, they're actually able to get a very similar sort of result, and the upside is this also works with the selfies. Now the Pixel 2 does shoot 4K video, and you guys can actually look to see and hear what that sounds like right now, but as far as I'm concerned, this is one of the best smartphone cameras that you can buy right now. Although if you're using a Pixel 2 XL, taking a look at these pictures on screen might not give you too much confidence, but believe me, the colors and the image quality is absolutely there. Last year's Pixel was a very, very good phone with a couple of major compromises. This year, Google basically nailed it, almost. You might not mind the screen on the Pixel 2 XL, but it is just simply not in the same league as other flagships, and when you're paying $850, you should expect the best in everything. I really like the standard Pixel 2. Yes, the screen is a little bit small, and the bezels are big, but the rest of the phone is so good that it's kind of worth it. It is absolutely one of the best smartphones that you can buy. So what do you guys think about the Pixel 2and the Pixel 2 XL?Let me know in the comments below, and I will catch you on the next one.