Saturday, 8 October 2016

Google Pixel: The Review

So, this a pre-release review and I haven't used the phone, so, whatever I say is only based on research and tech specs on paper.


Pros:



Display 

Pixel is 5 inch Full HD AMOLED and Pixel XL is 5.5 inches Quad HD AMOLED. Both are awesome. 


Camera 

  • 12MP Rear, 8MP Front. f/2.0, 1.55µm pixel size, HDR+ = Better exposure to light and better low light pics
  • The Camera is supposed to be the best in the market right now according to the DXO Mark score of 89 which is 3 ahead of iPhone 7. 
  • Digital/Software Image Stabilization, not Optical. Now, the demo they showed regarding this in the keynote was great but in a real situation, hmm, we'll have to see about that. 
  • FYI, the higher score does not mean your pics are suddenly gonna turn out better than the ones taken with other phones like iPhone or Note 7. A good pic depends on a lot of factors. So, it just means you probably have a better chance at getting a good pic.


Unlimited Photo/Video Storage

- You can upload all your photos and videos into the Google Photos with absolutely no loss of quality.


Build

  • The build is premium. 
  • Its aluminum body on the back with a glass panel at the top along with the finger print sensor. 
  • No Camera bump
  • The G logo down below (that's awesome)
  • 2.5D Gorilla Glass 4 in the front. 


Snapdragon 821 Processor and 4GB RAM

  • This does not mean its the fastest phone. 
  • The new 821 processor, it will be as fast as the other Android flagships out there but more efficient and with less heat generation.
  • No, its still not as fast as the iPhone 7


Android 7.1 and Pixel Launcher

  • Clean, Vanilla Android look which is Simple and smooth.
  • No App drawer button. Which means an extra slot for app shortcuts. The app drawer is available with am upward swipe.
  • The google search bar is hidden inside a small button on the top left now. 
  • The icons are rounded and even.
  • The Google Assistant replaces Google now (We'll talk more about this below)
  • Advanced Doze i.e the phone is intelligent enough to shut down background processes when its idle or when it's moving and is in your pocket/bag. This means a much longer Standby time.


Battery & Fast Charging

  • Yup. With 15 mins of charging, you can get 7 hours of usage time extension.
  • Good Battery. With the Advanced Doze feature, it should easily give a whole day of standby time without charging, if not more.


Google Assistant

  • Now, this is probably the biggest thing on the Pixel phones. Now, I know that, to a person who is not tech savvy or into the tech, this may not mean anything. But it does.
  • Google along with it's search engine and knowledge base has access to so much information that this is an area where they can never be beaten. 
  • Google Assistant can have a two-way dialogue with you.
  • It can make your daily life much, much easier if you actually start using it (which lot of people don't)
  • The voice recognition and speech to text is scarily accurate
  • Check these below videos, you'll get a feel of what it can do.
  • Google Assistant Intro: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWiIWyCeZso
  • Google Home: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FPfQMVf4vwQ
  • Google Assistant Demo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVo_M63IYPM
  • Google assistant essentially learns your habits, your hobbies and everything it can about you to bring you the most relevant info/utility at your disposal
  • And with Google Allo app, you can have a conversation with friends and have Google Assistant help you out, to find restaurants, movies etc.


Headphone Jack

I can't believe I have to mention this explicitly