Google Pixel 2, Pixel 2 XL smartphones launched

Google finally took the lid off from a range of its devices, which includes smartphones, headsets and laptops. Besides unveiling the Google Home Mini and Max, the search giant launched its Pixel 2 and the Pixel 2 smartphones along with the PixelBook. The Google Pixel 2 starts at $649 (64GB) while the Pixel 2 XL starts at $849 (64GB). Both will be available in India in the first wave of countries. The PixelBook hybrid laptop costs $1200. 

Google Pixel 2

The Pixel 2 and the Pixel 2 XL take clues from the last year's Pixel smartphones in terms of design. They feature the part glass part metal back panel but with slight tweaks. Both run Android 8.0 Oreo out of the box and ditch the 3.5mm headphone jack. They are IP67 rated which makes it dust and water resistant as well.

 Pixel 2 comes in three colours - Kinda Blue, Just Black and Clearly White. It has an Always On display and an auto sound recognition tech. The home screen has been tweaked as the search bar is now placed at the bottom. At the top users get 'At a glance' feature, which lets them know about their upcoming meetings and other engagements. 

It also has an 'Active Edge' tech which lets users squeeze the sides of the handset to trigger Google Assistant. The HTC-made Google Pixel 2 features a 5-inch full-HD (1080x1920 pixels) AMOLED 2.5D display with Corning Gorilla Glass 5. Running the octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor, the Pixel 2 supports 4GB LPDDR4X RAM and comes in two variants based on inbuilt storage versions - 64GB and 128GB.

The Pixel 2 sports 12.2MP rear camera with f/1.8 aperture along with an 8MP front-facing camera with f/2.4 aperture. The camera comes with the ability to record videos in 4K resolution at 30fps. It is backed by a 2700mAh battery, which is rated to deliver up to 7 hours of juice in 15 minutes of charging. 

 Google Pixel 2 XL

The LG-made Google Pixel 2 XL shares similar set of specifications as the Pixel 2 but with a slight change. It has a 6-inch QHD+ (2880x1440 pixels) P-OLED display along with 18:9 aspect ratio and a pixel density of 538ppi and Corning Gorilla Glass 5 coating. The device is backed by a 3520mAh battery, which is said to run for up to 7 hours in 15 minutes of charging. The smartphone will be made available in Just Black and Black and White colour variants.
Also mentioned at the event was that the duo is AR ready and will be the first ones to come with Google Lens functionality.