Can You Change The Message Background On Pixel 3 Xl

At the terminate of this Summer, I started looking for a new smartphone. I bought an Essential PH-i correct after the release, and that was quite a weird buying experience. I ended upward returning information technology and described my thoughts in this article. I waited for the release of the new generation of Pixel phones from Google and bought a Pixel two XL at the beginning of Nov. I've used it for almost a month at present, and y'all will larn my honest user feel if you read the article below.

The design.

Google has never been smashing at design, and on my personal scale of companies , that are able to evangelize something user-friendly and proficient looking, information technology'due south closer to losers than leaders. So, when I offset saw Pixel 2 XL in Best Buy, my reaction was similar: Come on Google, why? How could y'all accept LG V30 and make it so much uglier? These thick bezels on a bezel-less phone (is it what everyone is selling in 2017?) simply made me sick. At present, after a month of usage, I've got used to them and don't feel any dissonance anymore, but yes, they are ugly, particularly subsequently almost visually perfect Essential phone.The body is made of aluminum, merely somehow Google have decided to cover it with an actress layer of plastic. And then, the back side feels well… plasticky. I put my phones in cases to protect them from scratches and hibernate the metal plate, used for a magnet phone holder in my machine, so the look and feel of the dorsum side doesn't matter that much to me.Later some "getting used to it" process, I would describe the visual appearance of the telephone as OK, but far from perfect.

Stereo speakers.

In that location is quite a lot of excitement effectually the speakers that I honestly don't empathize. Yes, they probably audio better than any mono speaker, but they are notwithstanding a pair of crappy telephone tweeters. Compared to headphones or an external speaker, they sound like trash, and I would never consider listening music on them. In fact, the only mobile device I had with an outstanding built-in sound, was my 3d generation Amazon Kindle and I honestly don't know how did they do that. It was a existent stereo with low end, and I call back information technology was mode better than many of cheap headphones.So, I would hands trade stereo speakers on Pixel ii XL for actress infinite in my pocket or a headphone jack or annihilation else worthy.

Headphone jack.

Complaining almost the lack of the headphone jack is kind of a affair right at present. Everyone is blaming Apple tree, Google, and others for ditching this important little hole. I have a pair of nice Bluetooth headphones, so information technology's not a big deal for me. Nevertheless, just yesterday I ran into the example where the headphone jack was actually missing:

My cheap, ten-bucks selfie-stick is useless now :|

Display.

A lot of racket was made in the press about the inferior Pixel ii Xl brandish. Ii main complains are: blue tint effect when tilting the phone and a screen burn-in issue. For the kickoff one, I would say information technology is real, and it is very visible, but you lot accept to know what to look for. It doesn't carp me at all during the normal usage. However, because I know it exists, I sometimes do detect the tint and feel that my phone is not perfect.As for the burn down-in — I remember that'southward an entirely made up trouble for nerds. Yes, xOLED screens do have this outcome, and I just ran a white-screen app on my one-time Nexus 6P and immediately noticed remainings of the navigation bar on the screen. I assume the same will somewhen happen to my Pixel but come on, you lot accept to be in the lab settings to observe it. It'due south not visible anywhere, outside the white-screen app.

The good parts.

After reading the start half of this article, it may seem like I didn't like this phone but that'due south not true at all. In fact, all the things from above are pretty small-scale bug. They do not affect main use-cases of a modernistic smartphone, and for me these are:

Browsing web
Taking pictures
Using social media and messengers
Navigating on the roads
Making calls
Playing games and using other apps

And to serve these, the phone should satisfy four unproblematic requirements:

Be fast
Last long
Have an outstanding photographic camera
And a skillful big display

All these Pixel two XL does on A+, and that'southward why I think information technology's the real telephone, that should accept been called "The Essential."

Bone and hardware.

Spec wise it'south a solid telephone for 2017. Snapdragon 835, 4Gb of RAM and 3520 mAh bombardment, merely all you need to know is that it works fast in all the apps you can imagine.I had a bad experience with vendor-customized Android (especially from Samsung) before and at present pure Bone is one of the deciding factors for me. I love how stock Android performs on the Pixel, and honestly, I don't even have annihilation to complain almost, it's simply perfect. Having the ability to receive updates (I mean to actually receive them, non to wait for a year, until Samsung or HTC stop their testing) is also swell. Google works hard on developing the Android and these updates really improve performance or bring new features, especially major releases.

Camera.

Sales of standalone cameras vs smartphones

Smartphones have well-nigh replaced betoken-and-shoot cameras on the market place, and the power to produce attractive pictures is a hard requirement for whatever smartphone to be sellable in 2017. I love taking pictures, I love Instagram, and I loved the camera on my Nexus 6P. I wasn't ready to get a lower-quality camera in 2017, so it was the chief reason why I've returned my PH-1. Pixel 2 did not disappoint me. It's nada simply an improvement since Nexus and kickoff-generation Pixel. Pixel 2 photographic camera is fantastic. Information technology is fast, it has deep colors and broad dynamic range, it is very good in low light, and the software-based portrait mode is mind-blowing.

Daylight

Pretty low light

Another depression light

Panorama

Portrait mode, selfie camera

Google is a software visitor, and all the magic is washed computationally. Every photo you shoot is post-processed by the Google Camera app and sometimes sent to Google servers for HDR+. Before the post-processing information technology looks pretty average, and I would presume that hardware-wise, Pixel'southward camera shouldn't be that much unlike from any other smartphone. Third-party apps too can't currently do good from the power of Google Camera. They get the moving-picture show just do not go the mail service-processing. This volition be fixed in Android viii.1 (think that ability to receive updates?), with the enablement of new APIs and a custom-built paradigm processing bit from Google, which was not active in 8.0.

Squeezable edges.

At first, I thought about it every bit another weird experimental feature that has to exist immediately disabled. However, later on a month of use, I find myself squeezing my phone at least several times a day, and it'southward user-friendly! I use Google Assistant for a simple search, starting a navigation, unit conversion, weather forecast, etc. Squeezing the phone seems like really the most effortless way to launch it. I was never a fan of the thought of shouting "OK, GOOGLE!" at your phone in public and long pressing a home push is just longer than pressing a search bar directly. Squeezing is just easier than any of these.

IP67.

Pixel ii is finally h2o-proof. While I've never dropped my telephone into the toilet, neither I plan to take puddle photos, I've definitely killed a few other devices with water before. So, I appreciate the fact that I don't have to worry about my telephone while skiing, shooting in the rain or standing near big h2o reservoirs.

Built-in Project Fi SIM-card.

I like Google's Project Fi, and this is a piffling bonus for Fi customers: Pixel 2 has a built-in e-SIM. So, if you lot're on Project Fi, you don't take to use any SIM carte du jour at all. I'm wondering if I can insert a card from my home-country operator and stay connected during the whole trip abode. Will check the adjacent time I wing.

Battery life.

My Nexus 6P was dying afterwards less than one-half a day of usage. I've replaced the battery, simply it didn't assist much. Pixel survives the whole 24 hours (including the sleep time), even given my recent habit to a stupid online game. So, I presume in two years it will exist the same as Nexus, simply and then far I'chiliad happy with the battery life.

One thing I would add together…

A long time ago I had two Galaxy Note phones. I'll probably keep complaining most TouchWiz software for the rest of my life, but I loved the stylus on those phones. I'one thousand working on my own projection right now, I run into with a lot of new people, and I have to take notes regularly. So, I really, really miss the stylus…

Price.

64Gb version costs $850 + tax in Google Store, which is a typical flagship price these days. I plant mine on Craigslist, unopened for $750. I don't know where these people go them, I hope they don't steal, only I remember it was a pretty sweet deal. You can save a chip more if you take one of operator's offers with the plan, but I didn't want to go abroad from Projection Fi.

Conclusion.

Google Pixel two XL has its drawbacks, just it is an excellent telephone overall. After a month of usage, I tin say I love it. LG V30 and Milky way S/Note 8 have their own selling points, such as meliorate pattern, more power or a few extra features (the stylus!), but a superb photographic camera, stock Android experience and the ability to employ Project Fi outweigh them for me.

I hope my review was helpful, permit me know, what practise you guys retrieve in the comments.

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