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Mobile Phones

Google Pixel XL Review

The Pixel XL has top-notch hardware, the latest Android software, and guaranteed support from Google, making it one of the best big-screen Android phones you can buy.

4.5 Excellent
Google Pixel XL Review - Mobile Phones
4.5 Excellent

Bottom Line

The Pixel XL has top-notch hardware, the latest Android software, and guaranteed support from Google, making it one of the best big-screen Android phones you can buy.
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  • Pros

    • Fast Snapdragon 821 processor.
    • Sharp display.
    • Latest Android 7.1 software and guaranteed updates.
    • Excellent camera.
    • Promising Google Assistant functionality.
    • 24/7 live help.
  • Cons

    • No waterproofing, expandable storage, or wireless charging

Google Pixel XL Specs

Battery Life (As Tested) 6 hours, 43 (LTE video streaming) minutes
CPU Qualcomm Snapdragon 821
Dimensions 6.1 by 3.0 by 0.3 inches
Screen Resolution 2,560 by 1,440 pixels
Screen Size 5.5

The Google Pixel XL is a phone with promise. It promises the latest version of Android with guaranteed updates. It promises 24/7 customer support. It promises support for Daydream VR. And it promises a voice assistant to rival Apple's Siri with built-in Google Assistant functionality. Add top-tier hardware to the mix, and you get a winner. Google still needs to deliver on some promises in order to have a five-star product on its hands, but in its current state, the Pixel XL is still one of the best phablets you can buy. It's stands right up there with the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge and the LG V20 as an Editors' Choice.

Design, Features, and Display

You'd be forgiven for mistaking the Pixel XL for an Apple iPhone 7 Plus at first glance, but a number of differences become apparent close up. It has an attractive metal body, distinct antenna lines, and a camera that sits flush on the back. The back has a panel of glass covering the top half, which adds visual interest. We received the Very Silver version of the XL for review, but it's also available in Really Blue and Quite Black.

The XL is about the same size as most other new phablets. It measures 6.1 by 3.0 by 0.3 inches (HWD) and weighs 5.9 ounces, slightly slimmer and lighter than the iPhone 7 Plus (6.2 by 3.1 by 0.3 inches, 6.6 ounces). You can't use either phone one-handed, so if you want a big screen combined with a (relatively) compact build, your only option is the Galaxy S7 Edge (5.9 by 2.8 by 0.3 inches, 5.5 ounces). Or you might want to check out the smaller Pixel, which is essentially the same exact device as the Pixel XL, but with a smaller 5-inch 1080p display.

The Power button is on the right side of the phone, and a volume rocker is right below it. The Power button also launches the camera with a double press. The left side has a SIM card slot. Unlike the S7 Edge and many other Android phones, the Pixel XL lacks a microSD card slot, so you can't expand storage beyond what you get out of the box. The bottom has a USB-C charging port with a speaker and mic on either side. The speaker gets loud, but it's not match for the thunderous front-facing pair on the ZTE Axon 7. On the top you get a 3.5mm audio jack, something you won't find on the latest iPhone. But the Pixel XL lacks waterproofing and wireless charging, two features you'll find in the S7 Edge.

Pixel XL back

A circular fingerprint scanner sits on the back, and lets you register five fingerprints with Pixel Imprint. The scanner is fast and responsive, though both the 7 Plus and S7 Edge are a bit quicker in waking and unlocking the screen. On the other hand, the Pixel XL's sensor has some extra functionality thanks to motion gestures, letting you do things like swipe down on the scanner itself to show the notification shade.

The front of the Pixel XL is dominated by a bright and well-calibrated 5.5-inch 2,560-by-1,440 AMOLED display that offers terrific viewing angles. The screen works out to a crisp 534 pixels per inch (ppi), making it markedly sharper than the Retina display on the iPhone 7 Plus (401ppi) and on par with the screen on the S7 Edge (534ppi). Visibility outdoors is not problem, and while the Pixel's AMOLED panel isn't quite a match for Samsung's in terms of color saturation, it still benefits from true black reproduction by lighting pixels only as necessary. A built-in Night Light feature can automatically change the color temperature of the screen at night to make it easier on your eyes.

Pixel XL vs iPhone 7 Plus
Left to right: Google Pixel XL, iPhone 7 Plus

Network Performance and Connectivity
Our Pixel XL review unit is the one sold through Verizon, but it's technically unlocked and has no branding on its body. It supports GSM (850/900/1800/1900), CDMA (800/1900), HSDPA (850/1700(AWS)/1900/2100), and LTE bands (1/2/3/4/5/7/8/12/13/17/20/25/26/28/29/30/41). That means you can use it on every major carrier in the US.

We tested it on Verizon, the winner of our most recent Fastest Mobile Network tests, and saw strong network connectivity. We recorded a top download speed of 40Mbps, very good for a highly congested area. In the less-crowded Jersey City, it registered an even more impressive 64Mbps down. The XL also supports Bluetooth 4.2, dual-band Wi-Fi, and NFC.

Call quality is a good. Transmissions are clear, with a mild robotic tone that doesn't impact overall clarity. Noise cancellation is strong, but earpiece volume is on the low side.

Pixel XL Google Now

Processor and Battery
The Pixel XL is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 processor clocked at 2.15GHz. It's a more powerful chipset than the Snapdragon 820 you'll find in most high-end Android phones, though most current benchmarks aren't yet optimized to illustrate the difference. In Geekbench, the Pixel XL scored 1,661 single-core and 4,156 multicore, which isn't much different than the Galaxy S7 (1,695/3,955). Both phones were bested by Apple's blazing A10 Fusion processor in the iPhone 7 Plus (3,463/5,612). JetStream benchmarks, which show how the phone handles advanced Web applications, provide a clearer picture. The Pixel XL scored 53.719, higher than the S7 (41.201).

The XL has 4GB of RAM, which is on par with most other flagship Android phones. Multitasking is fast and smooth and games like GTA: San Andreas and Asphalt 8 are playable without any dropped frames or latency. The phone does seem to run warmer than others we've tested (including the 5-inch Pixel), with noticeable heat radiating from the glass panel on the back, but it has no impact on performance.

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Battery life on the XL is good, but not spectacular. In our battery rundown test, in which we stream full-screen video over LTE with screen brightness at maximum, the Pixel XL clocked 6 hours and 43 minutes. That's longer than the iPhone 7 Plus (6 hours), but shorter than the stellar 10 hours the S7 Edge managed in the same test. Standby time, however, is fantastic. We charged the phone to full capacity on a Friday night, used it over the weekend without plugging it in, and when Monday rolled around it still had 37 percent left.

Fast charging is supported with the included adapter, which lets you charge the phone to 35 percent in 30 minutes, and fully in 1 hour and 30 minutes. There's also a battery saver mode that tamps down screen brightness and restricts background apps to save power.

Camera

The Pixel's XL's 12.3-megapixel rear-facing camera compares surprisingly favorably with two of the best phone cameras on the market, those on the Samsung Galaxy S7 and the iPhone 7 Plus, despite a lack of optical image stabilization (OIS). Outdoors the XL is a stellar shooter that captures clear, detailed pictures with very little noise or blur. Colors are actually a bit brighter than on the S7, as you can see below. Low-light shooting is also very good, minimizing grain and surpassing the S7 in dimmer settings. The iPhone 7 Plus, on the other hand, does a bit better in low light, favoring denser greens.

Pixel XL: Flatiron

Pixel XL: Statue

The set of shots of the Flatiron Building above shows similar performance between the three phones. They all produce clear and detailed pictures, but the XL edges out the S7 in shadow detail, and the iPhone 7 Plus looks just a hair better than the XL. As for zoom, there's no real comparison. With its 2x telephoto zoom lens, the iPhone 7 Plus takes significantly better close-up pictures than the XL and the S7 do with digital zoom.

Video can be recorded in 4K at up to 30 frames per second. While the XL may not have OIS, which reduces jittering through the physical adjustment of the camera lens, it does have some of the best electronic image stabilization (EIS) we've tested, which uses software. Walking down a lengthy hallway in the PCMag office while recording, the stabilization on the XL came close to matching that of the Galaxy S7 and the iPhone 7 Plus. Video recording is smooth when taking a single long shot, but when panning the camera around or turning, there are some artifacts and jerkiness.

The front is home to an 8-megapixel camera. It takes clear, reliable selfies, and works well for video chatting in Duo.

Software, Google Assistant, and 24/7 Help
Along with the Pixel, the Pixel XL is the first phone to ship running Android 7.1 Nougat. The differences become clear as soon as you boot up the phone and look at the home screen, which is markedly different from that of any other Android phone on the market.

In some ways it feels like iOS, including the lack of an app drawer. Instead, you swipe up from the bottom to access all your apps. App icons are redesigned to be circular. And the Pixel is first phone with Google Assistant (the company's answer to Siri) built in. It can be accessed a long press of the home button or simply by saying "OK Google."

Google Assistant allows for a wide range of tasks including making subscriptions to news or weather updates, adding events to your calendar, playing music, launching apps, sending texts, answering general questions, making phone calls, and navigating with Google Maps. It's not perfect, though. More specific queries will often simply return a generic search result. But since the service is based on machine learning, there's plenty of potential for results to get better over time and future integration with Google Home to look forward to.

Pixel XL Allo

While you can use Google Assistant on other Android phones through Allo, 24/7 live support is a feature exclusive to the Pixel. We tested this service twice, once right before launch and again a week after. Live chat support via text is accessible and easy to use. The moment we clicked on the Chat button under the Support panel we were told our place in line and connected to a representative within a few minutes. As with most support services, the knowledge and helpfulness of individual representatives can vary. One representative wasn't familiar with a well-known camera lens flare issue, and advised us to factory reset the phone; he also offered a return merchandise authorization and followed up a day later by email.

Support via voice is available 24/7, but you're likely to experience a much longer wait time before you get in touch with a representative. In our case, two attempts at contacting phone support over the weekend initially went unanswered, though we did get a follow-up by email a few days later asking if we still wanted a phone call.

Still, the live support Google provides for the Pixel XL is far better than you'll get from just about any other phone manufacturer. It's rivaled only by Apple's Genius Bar, but then again, you can't access the Genius Bar from the comfort of your home.

In terms of preinstalled apps, the Pixel XL is a pure Google experience. You get Google Launcher, Google Assistant, Google Now, and a full suite of Google apps including Allo, Duo, Google Photos, and many others. For those who buy their phones through Verizon, you'll find three apps preloaded: My Verizon, Message+ , and go90. All three can be uninstalled. Overall, on the 32GB model, you're left with 24.43GB. You get unlimited Google Photo cloud storage photos and videos, but considering the lack of a microSD card slot, most users will want to opt for the 128GB model, which brings your price up to $869.

The Pixel's XL bootloader is unlocked, except for the Verizon retail model. That means rooting and installing ROMs is possible; that should allay some fears about Google turning the Pixel into a closed realm.

Pixel XL help

Conclusions
At $769 (or $869 if you go with the 128GB model, which you should), the Google Pixel XL is priced to compete with the highest-end phones on the market. And in most regards, it's a success. The Pixel XL represents a combination of powerful hardware, excellent software with the promise of updates, and extensive customer service support. In theory, it's exactly the phone Google needs to compete with Apple.

But until Google Assistant or Daydream VR becomes a must-have feature, we can't quite give the Pixel XL a full five stars. Some people will prefer the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge for its waterproof design, expandable storage, wireless charging, and longer battery life. Others will want the LG V20 for its removable battery, "secondary" display, and unrivaled audio performance. But we highly recommend the Pixel XL to any Android user who wants the guarantee of updates and the peace of mind that comes with Google's promised support. That makes it an Editors' Choice.

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