By now you will take heard almost the bug with the Google Pixel ii 40. Its display sucks. Google made a mistake using an LG p-OLED panel on its new flagship over the superior OLED offered past Samsung. The viewing angles are bad, the color performance is mediocre, and owners may face burn in problems mere weeks after buying 1.

But the issues with the Pixel 2 Forty accept completely overshadowed an awesome alternative on the market place correct at present: the Pixel 2. Yep, information technology'southward smaller, and yes, it doesn't have the expansive display of its larger blood brother. But the Pixel 2 takes all the proficient parts of the Pixel ii XL and packages them into an ergonomic frame, while leaving the terrible screen backside. Information technology's this phone you lot should be buying, not the Pixel 2 XL.

The Display Is Actually Expert

The cardinal concern with the Pixel two Twoscore is its crappy LG p-OLED display. Just there are no such concerns with the Google Pixel 2, which instead opts for a 5.0-inch Samsung 1920 10 1080 AMOLED. It's smaller in size and lower in resolution, but in that location'southward no doubt about information technology: this panel looks a lot better.

The main issue with the Pixel 2 Xl'south display is terrible viewing angles, manifesting every bit a noticeable blue tint or shift whenever you view it off-center. Samsung'due south AMOLED panel for the Pixel 2 is manufactured differently, and so there is no blue tint whatever, leading to significantly better viewing angles. In fact, the viewing angles on the Pixel ii are swell.

The different pattern and construction of the Pixel 2's AMOLED alleviates several other bug seen in the Pixel 2 Xl'southward p-OLED. There's no grain at depression brightness levels, and the brandish appears far more uniform, especially when viewing whites. Samsung'due south OLED technology appears to be significantly less susceptible to fire-in as well; neat news for those who want to use this telephone for years.

Saturation (left) and color temperature (correct) performance of the Pixel ii in its default mode

You shouldn't worry about colour operation either. Google attempted to target sRGB accuracy with the Pixel 2 XL, and didn't quite blast it for any reason. Blues at low luminances were a big problem, as was color temperature and the overall gamut. But with the Pixel 2, Google came much closer to hitting their target, which leaves the display looking great.

The key difference to color performance is the temperature of the Pixel 2's brandish. Rather than falling well below the platonic 6500K marking for mid-level greys, which gives the screen a noticeable yellow tint, the Pixel two hovers but in a higher place 6500K for most all the grey range. The issue is a whiter, more authentic tone that merely looks better.

On top of this, there'due south no issue with dejection at low luminance, and the screen hits its gamut targets every bit advertised. With the natural way enabled you go very close to sRGB accuracy, while with boosted mode enabled you become Google's advertised 10% saturation boost which makes colors pop that little bit more. The Pixel 2 XL doesn't even hit total sRGB coverage with boosted mode enabled, so there'due south no doubt the Pixel 2 delivers a much meliorate viewing experience.

Aforementioned Camera, Performance, Features & Software as the Pixel 2 Forty

All the best parts of the Pixel 2 Forty are still found in the Pixel 2. Information technology may be a smaller handset, but there are no compromises to the camera, performance, features or software. Every awesome aspect is shared between both phones, and the Pixel ii has that superior display to boot.

If you read our review of the Pixel 2 Xl, you'd know the camera is downright crawly. Google's processing and automatic HDR is on another level, helping to evangelize some of the best photos we've always captured with a smartphone. Thank you to the inclusion of optical image stabilization, the Pixel 2 is astonishing in low light situations, and the new portrait mode is capable of impressive simulated depth of field effects without an boosted sensor. The Pixel 2 takes the best selfies of whatever telephone as a result.

The Pixel 2 doesn't skimp on high-terminate hardware either: the phone is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 835, the go-to standard for flagship Android phones in 2022, forth with 4GB of RAM and either 64 or 128GB of storage. Yep, the very same configuration as the Pixel 2 Forty. Y'all won't be surprised to learn either that the Pixel ii supports up to Category fifteen LTE, Bluetooth five.0, Wi-Fi ac with 2x2 MIMO and NFC.

And if you lot're looking for any differences in software… well there are none. Both run Android eight.0 Oreo with a few custom Google enhancements. Both phones are supported for the next iii years with fast updates to new versions of Android, a developer program for early access to said updates, and monthly security patches. Information technology'southward the best software experience on any Android handset right now.

Battery Life is Keen

Aside from the display, the other significant hardware alter is the battery size. The Pixel 2 is a smaller phone, so it has a smaller battery: ii,700 mAh compared to 3,520 mAh in the Pixel two XL. While displays are smaller and less power hungry in smaller phones, across most handsets we test, nosotros tend to find larger devices have better battery life. So what's the situation with the Pixel 2?

Well, in our testing, the Pixel two's battery life is comparable to the Pixel 2 XL on average. Breaking that downwards, the Pixel 2 fared slightly ameliorate in PCMark, and slightly worse in web browsing and video playback. And the proficient news here is that the Pixel 2 XL has fantastic bombardment life, which makes the Pixel ii's battery life excellent likewise.

Upwardly against some of its biggest competitors, the Pixel 2 lasts significantly longer than the HTC U11, LG G6 and Huawei P10, about ix percentage longer than the OnePlus 5, and around the same marking as the Galaxy S8+ and Xiaomi Mi six.

No matter which fashion you wait at it, the Pixel ii delivers great bombardment life for its size and it takes an hour less to charge fully.

Information technology's Cheaper

The all-time attribute to the Pixel two for some people will be its cost. The Pixel ii is $649 for the 64GB model, or $749 for the 128GB model. That's a full $200 cheaper than the Pixel 2 XL, which starts at an expensive $849. The Pixel ii's pricing is much more than in line with other peak-end flagship phones, and we call up $649 is a off-white cost to pay. $849 for the Pixel ii XL? That feels like a bit as well much for just a larger, worse display.

At present the Pixel ii isn't a perfect handset. The bezels around the brandish are enormous for a phone in 2022, and the build quality, while nonetheless quite nice in full general, doesn't match the aforementioned quality of the Pixel 2 XL. But in all honesty, while we'd all prefer a sexier telephone with smaller bezels, after a week of using the Pixel 2, yous just forget it's an issue birthday.

So if you're in the market for an awesome Android phone, you should ignore the more than expensive Pixel ii Forty with its mediocre display. Instead, salve yourself $200 and catch a Pixel ii instead. It has all the smashing photographic camera, performance and software features of the Pixel two Twoscore, plus an excellent display and comparable battery life. Don't forget about the Pixel 2 amid all the Pixel ii XL controversy: it'due south the better buy. It's the "Pure Android" phone you should purchase.

Shopping shortcuts

  • Google Pixel 2 on the Google Store, Best Buy, Verizon

Editors note: Verizon is currently offering a 50% disbelieve on the Pixel 2 with a qualified trade-in.