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.