Google's Pixel Phones Earn Mostly Rave Reviews

Brian X. Chen has spent some time with the phone, called the Pixel.

The Pixel and Pixel XL aren't designed just for the hardcore Android enthusiast.

Google's new phones are powerful, pricey, and pretty darn intelligent and demonstrate Google's commitment to be a major player in the space. People are noticing the ads, and curiosity is beginning to grow. Apple's iPhone is a leader, but the company must worry that its heavy emphasis on consumer privacy and tight control of how the phone is used limit how much data it gets to improve A.I.

Photo taken with the Pixel XL on auto mode. Ltd. (OTCMKTS:SSNLF) has been unsuccessful in its attempts to fix the manufacturing defect in its Galaxy Note 7, forcing the South Korean smartphone manufacturer to discontinue its flagship phablet device.

Express.co.uk attended the Made By Google hardware event and our first impressions of the Google Pixel and Pixel XL are very, very good. It's crisp, clear, and truly does offer zero shutter lag.

Both have a fingerprint sensor, but Google's is mounted on the rear, with no physical buttons on the front, while Samsung chooses to place it within the main button on the front of the S7 edge. They pack new features not seen before on the platform (Google Assistant and a "best-in-class" camera in the Pixel's case), and you'll be first in line for an update when a new version of Android is launched - usually weeks, if not months ahead of the likes of Samsung, LG, Sony and co. According to him, the smartphone snapper does have zero shutter lag, but it is clearly not the best phone camera there is. Google Assistant, which previewed in the new app Allo, is baked into the new phones and Google Home. Then there are the manufacturers and carriers who also have to modify the new mobile operating systems to fit their devices and customer plan, respectively and that takes a while. You can switch accounts if you must, but you can't get results by saying something like "Show me new emails in my work Gmail account" while you're using a personal Google account.

Secondly, the changeover from our old handset to the Pixel wasn't quite as smooth as Google had promised.

The Pixel XL comes in two models, a 32GB version which costs £719 and a more capacious 128GB iteration that will set you back a whopping £819. You also can't expand its storage with a memory card, as you can with the S7 and Note 7 — though for $100 more, the Pixel's 32 gigabytes of storage quadruples to 128 gigabytes, and the free online storage should take care of your photos and videos. But, in person, for the Quite Black model at least, I rather like the look.

Where the Pixel XL DOES look different is from the back, where it can not be confused with any other device, thanks to the dual-substance back, with white glass on the upper portion and aluminum below. There is literally an Android phone available for everyone. Google Assistant found the correct song and played it. It may be part of a honeymoon phase, or it may be something that sticks. On the other hand, the Google Pixel is thicker and heavier as it measures 143.8×69.5×8.5mm and weights 143 grams. Its speech-to-text recognition is nearly flawless. Theme music starts playing, the Google Assistant introduces itself, the audience cheers, and the questions start.

Chen ran into some glitches with Google Assistant when trying to use natural language requests, and noted that the camera seemed to "exaggerate cyans and magentas", making images appear colder.