Back in September, the Google Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL received the Android 11 updates, and have received a security update earlier this week as well. But now, it seems its patch cycles are coming to an end with the last update arriving in December 2020.

The Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL have officially reached the end of its three years’ worth of Android version update and security update as of 5th October 2020. Although, the company has promised another update this December, which will be the final patch that will be received by the flagship launches from 2017. Similar to the original Pixel, the Pixel 2 series will also skip the update in November but will receive the December patch, which will include the November update as well.

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The most recent update on the device was the security patch, which brought in the October Security patch and also addressed other issues like boot locks, call notification being disabled, auto rotate icon in the wrong orientation, and swipe gestures not responding. The Pixel 2 series was launched back in 2017, with the smaller variant being made by HTC, while the larger version was made by LG.

Under the hood, both variants were powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 SoC along with 4GB of RAM and either 64 or 128GB of internal storage. The Google Pixel 2 devices were known for their photographic prowess, and “ushered in a new era for computational photography,” as per 9to5Google. These were flagship grade handsets and had lived up to their expectations.

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The Google Pixel 2 XL ships with an 18W Power Delivery 2.0 charger for its 3,520mAh battery. However, a charging test has revealed that the charging speed doesn’t exceed 10.5W.

The slow charging finding was discovered by Nathan K and posted on Google Plus. A charging graph of the phone provided by him can be seen below.

The phone begins charging at almost 16W but less than 5 minutes later, it drops to 10W. It keeps charging at that rate for up to about 50 minutes before steadily declining till it reaches 100%. The result is 150 minutes of charging time from a 15% battery level.

According to GSMArena, they also realized the Pixel 2 XL charges slow even when the battery is depleted. While other phones will quickly charge in the first 30 minutes, the Pixel 2 XL was able to get to 35% after 30 minutes of charging.

Other phones switch between multiple voltages while charging depending on the battery level, some charge at 9V but up to 2A when the battery level is below 40 or 50%. However, from the graph, we can see the Pixel 2 XL keeps it between 1.1A and 1.2A (~10W).

Nathan K says a plausible reason for the slow charging is to prevent the Pixel 2 XL from suffering the same degradation issue as the Nexus 6P. It may also be that the Power Management chip in the phone is wrongly programmed.

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Google already has so much on its plate with regards to its new phones. There is the blue tint issue and the screen burn-ins (differential aging) reported on the Pixel 2 XL and there is the clicking and high pitch frequency sounds of the Pixel 2.

(Source, via)

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Those conversant with the recent happenings in the tech industry would be aware of the display problems that have been encountered on the Pixel 2 XL, Google’s latest flagship model. A number of users have reported issues with viewing angles and display burn-in. For a phone with such high price tag, the snag experienced were not expected.

Samsung seems to have seen this as a perfect opportunity to project its own flagship models. The tech giant recently released a video which is basically a compendium of positive reviews the display of its latest phones had received from different reviewers. Samsung is a leader in OLED displays and apart from using its displays on its models, their displays are supplied to other OEMs including Apple who utilises Samsung OLED panels on the latest iPhone X. The video is a short 30 seconds clip but it features some of the top tech reviewers that you find on YouTube. The clips were taken from their reviews of the Galaxy S8, S8 Plus and the latest Galaxy Note 8.

https://youtu.be/eLz5gFzdU3E

Read More: Screen Burn-in Could be Pixel 2 XL’s New Issue, Google Release Official Statement on It

Samsung’s latest flagships all come with the company’s display technology. Most importantly, they use a full-screen design with an infinity display. This has placed the Galaxy S8 and Note 8 some steps ahead of the competition in terms of display. Despite that, Samsung isn’t lying low while the competition tries to gain ground especially with Google’s latest drive in hardware.

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Google announced the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL last week and one thing that stood out is the powerful camera the flagship models are said to pack. The Pixel 2 camera is presently DXOMark’s highest rated smartphone camera, a fact that was only revealed after the launch. But one question still unanswered is how the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL fare in benchmark tests.

That has now come out to the open because the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL have been spotted on the database of Geekbench. Obviously, both smartphones are powerful terminals with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor piloting the affairs in both models. The Pixel 2 Geekbench score shows it scored 1918 points on the single core test and expectedly, the Pixel 2 XL also recorded the same score.

Related: Google Pixel 2 Camera Now DXOMark’s Best Camera With A Score of 98

On the other hand, on the multi-core score, the Google Pixel 2 scores 6,282 points while the Pixel 2 XL polled a slightly higher 6,316 points. Comparing the scores to that of other Snapdragon 835 phones benchmarked already like the Galaxy S8 (single-core: 1929, multi-core: 6084), OnePlus 5 (single-core: 1963) (multi-core: 6687) and the Xperia XZ Premium (single-core: 1943, multi-core: 5824), the Pixel phones didn’t perform badly. Even the HTC U11 from the same manufacturer of the Pixel phones also scored points hovering around the same range on the single and multi-core tests.

(source)

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Samsung’s latest Galaxy Note 8 may probably have acquired a new title as the device to have stayed the shortest time on top of the DXOMark chart as having the best camera.  Just a few hours ago, we brought you the news that the Galaxy Note 8 garnered a lofty score of 94 on the DXOmark test. That score has been trumped by Google’s latest offering – Pixel 2 which has polled a higher score of 98, earning the title as the best smartphone camera around presently.

The Google Pixel 2 also trumps the iPhone 8 Plus which held the title for a few days until it was dethroned by the Galaxy Note8. The Pixel 2 features a 1/2.6-inch 12.2MP sensor with a f/1.8 aperture. Apart from the hardware, the Pixel 2 comes with Google’s electronic image stabilization (EIS) as well as an optical image stabilization technology (OIS) and both work together. What this means is that the Pixel 2 camera should be able to stabilize even the shakiest of video, as well as helping you get better static shots. With such features, the Pixel 2 camera will be hard to beat, at least for now.

Read More: iPhone 8 Plus Camera Clinches Record As DxOMark’s Highest Rated Phone Camera

According to the DXOMark team, the spectacular features which earned the Pixel 2 this lofty score include the wide dynamic range in all lighting conditions, a high level of detail preservation, strong flash performance, and pleasing foreground and background blur for portraits. DXO also rates the video shooting capabilities high, stating that the camera had very good stabilization, fast and accurate autofocus, good noise reduction and detail preservation, and decent white balance. On the whole, the Google Pixel 2 received a score of 99 for photos and 96 for videos, which is what gives the average score of 98. It must be noted that the Pixel scored 89 on DXOMark last year, showing the big upgrade the latest Pixel 2 and the higher Pixel 2 XL come with. Both Pixel 2 flagships utilize the same camera, by the way.

(source)

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Google has repeatedly teased the Pixel 22 and Pixel 2 XL which are expected to be released on October 4. Ahead of the launch, we may have got an idea of what the front design will look like from these latest leaked photos said to be images of the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL screen protectors and they are quite disappointing.

It is hard believing these are actually the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL screen protectors despite the leaker being somebody with a credible track record, due to the large bezels on the top and bottom edges, especially the one purported to be that of the Pixel 2. Both designs look nothing like the cutting-edge bezel-less screens with an edge-to-edge display which has been a regular on the latest full-screen phones we have seen this year alone. Instead, the models seem to have rather large front speakers which appear to be taking up space that could have been used to expand the display further, thereby making its bezels ultra-thin. Even the chin have bezels which some might consider too much. With this sort of design, the Google models may be doomed to fail in the face of rival models like the Galaxy Note 8, Galaxy S8, Mi Mix 2, iPhone X and others.

Read More: Google Pixel 2 XL Gets FCC Certified; October 4 Launch Seem Imminent

Google Pixel 2 XL is expected sport a 5.99-inch 1440p OLED display which will have a taller, bezel-less screen, while the Pixel 2 is expected to come in at 4.97-inch 1080p display with a lesser but equally good 1080p resolution and the display will have larger bezels. Both models are also expected to feature dual front speakers on both phones, squeezable displays similar to what we have on the HTC U11 as well as an always-on display mode. If rumours are anything to go by, then the second generation Pixel phones will not pack the 3.5mm audio jack. The launch is just a few days away, so we won’t have to wait long to find out more about them.

(source)

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Google will go official with the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL on October 4 and they have shared a teaser to that effect on its Made By Google page. The page usually contains all Google’s products and the upcoming models have got their own page. A clever fan was able to dig up some clues by checking up the page and it is an image in the new event site. The image shows two cookies, which are both half black and half white, both on napkins covered with dots. While we cannot say what the image depicts, it could be that the device will only be available in white and black. This suggestion doesn’t look like the right one, though.

The image’s EXIF data was looked up before it was removed and it is shown below. The EXIF data shows Google added some bit of mischief to the beat. The data shows the image was shot with a Google phone but the model is listed as “Not that easy” with a winking smiley. What readily comes to mind is that the photo was shot using either the Pixel 2 or Pixel 2 XL. Of course, both models will likely pack similar camera sensors. The image isn’t too spectacular but you never can tell, it could just be the first of many camera samples from the Pixel 2 that we’ll be seeing in due course. In addition, the image’s geotagging coordinates leads to Google’s Mountain View, California headquarters.

Related: Google Pixel 2 XL Gets FCC Certified; October 4 Launch Seem Imminent

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A new set of data has revealed the possibility that Google will release three models of the Pixel phone this year. The information is coming rather early because the new Pixel models are not expected until October or thereabout. The Google devices were revealed by a set of code on the Android Open Source Project (AOSP) gerrit. The most recent code update to AOSP on Google Source included the term “Taimen” and also included reference to Sailfish, Marlin, Walleye, and Muskie.

The source code only reveals the codenames of the suspected Google devices but from the codenames of previous Google devices, including the Nexus models, we can tell which is bigger. Google seems to have a thing with fishes because all their models have gotten codenames named after fishes and the size of the model usually corresponds with the size of the fish they are named after. The Google Pixel 2 is believed to be codenamed Walleye while the Pixel 2 XL goes by the codename Muskeye. There seems to be a third model, perhaps a Pixel 2 XXL and it is codenamed Taimen.

Fish Codenames for Google Smartphones:
• 2012: Nexus 4_____(Mako)
• 2013: Nexus 5_____(Hammerhead)
• 2014: Nexus 6_____(Shamu)
• 2015: Nexus 5X____(Bullhead)
••2015: Nexus 6P____(Angler)
• 2016: Pixel_______(Sailfish)
••2016: Pixel XL____(Marlin)
• 2017: Pixel 2_____(Walleye)
••2017: Pixel 2 XL__(Muskie)
••2017: Pixel XXL___(Taimen)

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We are not entirely sure the device codenamed Taimen (Pixel 2 XXL) would indeed be a third Pixel smartphone. It could turn out to be a notebook device or a whole new device category altogether. Google I/O 2017 comes up from May 17 – 19 and we could get a few clues from the event about the upcoming Pixel models.

(via)

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