It’s been a little over eight months that Google Pixel has been out and during that time a handful of other flagships have been released, so how well has the Pixel aged and is it low-key still the best Android phone out right now? Since October we’ve gotten OnePlus 3T, the LG G6 and the Galaxy S8, just to name a few others. The 3T has the speed, the quickness and the bang for your buck factor, the G6 and the S8 have flashy designs with little to no bezels and loaded spreadsheets. Pixel doesn’t have the fancy looks, there’s really no wow factor here, but this is something we were talking about when the phone came out. And you think it’s gotten worse with more futuristic phones now on the loose, it does have thick side bezels and that large empty chin, but as time went on, the boring design just began to fade and you don’t really mind it as much. The phone is quite slippery and the back glass panel is easy to scratch. So of course you should apply brand skin to line. Pixel also lacks things like stereo speakers, expendable storage, wireless charging and most importantly, water resistance.
So why should you come consider this phone? Well firstly, it’s the software, google did a fantastic job optimizing Android to work as smoothly as possible with this hardware, not to mention it will get the latest versions of Android before any other phone. As of now the Pixel still has the most fluid and the most consistent user experience seen on an Android phone. You don’t have to purposely reboot the phone even though its been through well over 350 app installs. Yet it keeps chugging along no sweat. Battery life has also been very solid and while it may not be as reliable as the iPhone 7 plus or Galaxy S8 Plus it still performs admirably and it’s better than the G6 and it’s right on par with 3T thanks to certain software updates and you know exactly what you can get out of it during daily usage. Speaking of daily usage overall performance has remained very good while the Pixel isn’t as quick and it may not load apps as fast as many of the other top phones out there it still holds its own. Playing games and jumping between applications is as smooth as ever. This where the S8 lets you down a bit, it stutters, and hiccups are already present. Just because the S8 is the newer phone and it has the latest Snapdragon 835, that doesn’t mean a whole lot when the much older Pixel is still straight butter.
The biggest reason for still using the Pixel is because of its set of cameras. Camera isn’t the fastest, it takes couple of seconds to process when shooting with HDR plus it also doesnt have OIS and occasionally you’ll get those weird light layers. But regardless if I’m going somewhere you know pictures will need to be taken, the pixel is the phone to use. Pixel isn’t here to wow you with the design, it isn’t looking to grab you with stacked spec sheet it still delivers the best android experience out there. With its software sharp and colorful screen it’s comfortably placed fingerprint reader, excellent cameras, solid performance and good battery life, it really shows what’s the most important when using a smartphone. The Pixel XL is still one of the best smartphones out there, even though it is quite pricey. Google only had a short amount of time to put this phone together, which means if they can make this great of a phone in a short amount of time that makes the second generation look very intriguing.