Phones Google Pixel 2 / Google Pixel 2 XL

[Cryates]

OMG! I just called my dad and tested both phones. The iPhone 8 Plus is going back to the Apple Store. My dad could hear me but he sounded atrocious on it to me. I'll have to see if they can give me an AT&T one. The iPhone X I had was an AT&T model and worked fine. Either the X is just a better phone or the Qualcomm modem is not playing nice on my carrier.

Snowball did great! My dad sounded crystal clear on it and he said I sounded good on Snowball.

I'm a bit dismayed at these developments with my 8 Plus because I really love the 8 Plus in general. I don't even mind the glass being wonky. Apparently a lot of them are like this. I just can't stand another iPhone that sounds like poop. But I'm not spending 1500 to get an X just to have that feature work again.

I'm just happy to see things are going well with snowball!
[doublepost=1515196921][/doublepost]By the way, I'd just like to say this thread is awesome. Even with people returning their phones, loving their phones, or whatever the case may be, this might be one of the more civil threads I've ever seen on the internet, and especially MR. I've yet to, in my short time as a constant here, see anyone argue or talk down to another person. It's refreshing. Anyways, carry on.

 

[LukinLedbetter]

Sadly, I’ve returned my P2XL today. I say sadly, but it’s only sad from the standpoint that I am only going to keep one phone in 2018. Call it a “resolution”. I opted to keep my X as my daily and return the P2XL. The camera will be my #1 missed feature. It’s THAT much better than the X. I’m gonna lay a little low on the boards for a while and mostly lurk. Jamezr, GrumpyMom, tig, and all: please continue buying copious amounts of phones and posting your thoughts. I’ll live vicariously through your experiences for a while.

 

[5105973]

Sadly, I’ve returned my P2XL today. I say sadly, but it’s only sad from the standpoint that I am only going to keep one phone in 2018. Call it a “resolution”. I opted to keep my X as my daily and return the P2XL. The camera will be my #1 missed feature. It’s THAT much better than the X. I’m gonna lay a little low on the boards for a while and mostly lurk. Jamezr, GrumpyMom, tig, and all: please continue buying copious amounts of phones and posting your thoughts. I’ll live vicariously through your experiences for a while.

Lol, no, I’m done for now. No more new phones until the next Pixel. Sorry to see another Pixel go back but the X is a very good phone.

I think my husband fixed the phone problem for me. I didn’t realize WiFi calling was on by default on the Pixel 2 but not on the iPhone. He put it on WiFi calling and we tested and it sounded better. Still not even as close to as clear as Snowball, but much better.

So, good enough I don’t have to deal with that Apple Store again. Like I said the wonky glass doesn’t bother me in the least.

Moving on to other subjects I paired Snowball up with my old Oontz Curve Bluetooth speaker and it sounded great. My iPhone X didn’t sound very good paired with that particular speaker and every Samsung I’ve owned sound like staticky crap on it for some reason. But Snowball did great! Yay, Snowball!

 

[Cryates]

Lol, no, I’m done for now. No more new phones until the next Pixel. Sorry to see another Pixel go back but the X is a very good phone.

I think my husband fixed the phone problem for me. I didn’t realize WiFi calling was on by default on the Pixel 2 but not on the iPhone. He put it on WiFi calling and we tested and it sounded better. Still not even as close to as clear as Snowball, but much better.

So, good enough I don’t have to deal with that Apple Store again. Like I said the wonky glass doesn’t bother me in the least.

Moving on to other subjects I paired Snowball up with my old Oontz Curve Bluetooth speaker and it sounded great. My iPhone X didn’t sound very good paired with that particular speaker and every Samsung I’ve owned sound like staticky crap on it for some reason. But Snowball did great! Yay, Snowball!

Wait, you're on AT&T right? Where do I turn wifi calling on with the Pixel?

 

[co.ag.2005]

I have not received jan security update anyone received it?

I sideloaded it. Easy peasy. But I've seen plenty of people get the OTA

 

[5105973]

Wait, you're on AT&T right? Where do I turn wifi calling on with the Pixel?

I think he was mistaken about it being on the Pixel. He forgot what he had on his 2 XL and returned. It is of course available on the iPhone 8 Plus.

 

[Cryates]

I think he was mistaken about it being on the Pixel. He forgot what he had on his 2 XL and returned. It is of course available on the iPhone 8 Plus.

Ah gotcha, thought I was missing an obvious setting somewhere haha. Wifi calling is no biggie to me though. HD Voice was the big one.

 

[co.ag.2005]

Wait, you're on AT&T right? Where do I turn wifi calling on with the Pixel?

On my P2XL (T-Mobile SIM), it's under settings -> network & internet -> mobile network -> expand menu @ "advanced"

 

[Cryates]

On my P2XL (T-Mobile SIM), it's under settings -> network & internet -> mobile network -> expand menu @ "advanced"

Yeah, my options look different, and lack wifi calling - I assume it's an AT&T thing.
[doublepost=1515209491][/doublepost]Just discovered the daily wallpaper feature on the 2XL. Ahhh that's amazing. Especially for a person who can get frequently bored with my wallpaper.

 

[5105973]

Yeah, my options look different, and lack wifi calling - I assume it's an AT&T thing.
[doublepost=1515209491][/doublepost]Just dicovered the daily wallpaper feature on the 2XL. Ahhh that's amazing. Especially for a person who can get frequently bored with my wallpaper.

There's all sorts of cool things to discover. I've been so preoccupied exploring the OS I haven't really tested the camera yet. I actually forgot about it.

 

[Cryates]

There's all sorts of cool things to discover. I've been so preoccupied exploring the OS I haven't really tested the camera yet. I actually forgot about it.

The software experience is just so fun, and this is the first Android device I've ever used (I did not use the first Pixel or prior stock Nexus phones) that feels like it can match iPhone in day-to-day performance. Just a treat. Now, it's got well documented hardware issues, but mine seem to be very minimal and the software experience I'm having more than makes up for any shortcomings. I'm willing to sacrifice the better hardware of the X for this software. Never been able to say that about Android until now.

Edit: annnnd I just discovered the gesture to swipe the fingerprint scanner for the notification drawer. Ahhhh. Love it.

 

[5105973]

Edit: annnnd I just discovered the gesture to swipe the fingerprint scanner for the notification drawer. Ahhhh. Love it.

lol, me, too!

I love how my Apple Watch works and how it works with my iPhone. But I think if Google can pull it together on the hardware so as to avoid the horrendous qc issues, they could have a real iPhone killer. The Android OS is getting better while iOS is growing messy in some ways and less intuitive to use.

Google needs to get it together on messaging and hardware quality control. Their customer service is good at returns but needs a bit more work.

I'm hoping that my phone is good quality and remains so because I am really enjoying it so far.

I am so excited to have it work so well as a phone. My 7 Plus was not good at that and my S8+ is prone to static noises for some reason. Except for my brief time with the iPhone X, Ihaven't had a good phone since I took the Sim out of my HTC 10.

And now I'm back on an HTC made phone with good quality phone connections again. HTC must have some secret recipe for that. I've never owned an LG but @Septembersrain has one that also does calls well.

 

[Radon87000]

Google treats their older devices much better than Apple does imo. I had nothing but problems with the 7 Plus on iOS 11 while the X runs it great.

 

[5105973]

Google treats their older devices much better than Apple does imo. I had nothing but problems with the 7 Plus on iOS 11 while the X runs it great.

That was my observation as well. I didn’t really want to part with my 7 Plus for sentimental reasons. But it was draining battery unreasonably fast. I didn’t have a lot of problems with it, but there were some things here and there, that didn’t happen on the X. I was past the warranty and didn’t have Apple Care Plus on that phone. I decided to just trade it in while I could still get a decent amount for it to put toward the new phone.

I’m testing my two phone cameras in a dark room lit only by a Christmas tree. The 8 Plus and the Pixel 2 are both putting in a good showing. My 7 Plus would have done well, too but not to this level. The X would have been fantastic, too—I took similar pictures in this room when I still had that phone. These 2017 phones have amazing cameras.

The Pixel 2 bests them by not blowing out highlights and showing better dynamics range. It does get more bits of detail the iPhones do not.

I do prefer the LCD display on the iPhone 8 Plus. From my perspective it has far more virtues than the OLED displays I saw on the X and the Pixel 2 (at night). In the daytime the Pixel 2’s display and the 8 Plus’s display look more similar. At night in a dark room my Snowball exhibits that dark blotchy thing it does to black or dark parts of a picture. I wonder if Google will be able to fix that in software.

 

[Cryates]

Wow, I just picked up my iPhone X (to reset it) for the first time since I started using the Pixel, and it felt heavy and cramped. Also had a cold and uninviting feeling to it. It's wild as how light the 2XL is.

It's also convenient how when I go to cancel my Apple Music subscription, the subscriptions page won't pull up.

Edit: Lol this phone will pull up literally any other account information except subscriptions. And conveinently, that page pulled up before I removed all of my old devices. Now it just stays blank white, even after a restart. Geez.

 

[5105973]

Wow, I just picked up my iPhone X (to reset it) for the first time since I started using the Pixel, and it felt heavy and cramped. Also had a cold and uninviting feeling to it. It's wild as how light the 2XL is.

It's also convenient how when I go to cancel my Apple Music subscription, the subscriptions page won't pull up.

Edit: Lol this phone will pull up literally any other account information except subscriptions. And conveinently, that page pulled up before I removed all of my old devices. Now it just stays blank white, even after a restart. Geez.

When my husband was helping me to try and reproduce the sound distortion I experienced on the 8 Plus on a call to my dad, at one point I had to use his iPhone X to call my 8 Plus so he could try to hear what I had described. I was also reminded how heavy it was. And I had used mine in a bulky Otterbox Defender for most of the time I owned it. Hubby has his in a light leather case, the same kind I am now using on my 8 Plus. Even though it is glass backed, the 8 Plus feels lighter than the smaller but thicker X.

Apple Music has always run slower on my Android phones. I’ve got family subscriptions to Google Play, Spotify and Apple Music. As a result of going to Amazon Echos, we had to pay for Spotify and we use it more and more.

 

[Cryates]

When my husband was helping me to try and reproduce the sound distortion I experienced on the 8 Plus on a call to my dad, at one point I had to use his iPhone X to call my 8 Plus so he could try to hear what I had described. I was also reminded how heavy it was. And I had used mine in a bulky Otterbox Defender for most of the time I owned it. Hubby has his in a light leather case, the same kind I am now using on my 8 Plus. Even though it is glass backed, the 8 Plus feels lighter than the smaller but thicker X.

Apple Music has always run slower on my Android phones. I’ve got family subscriptions to Google Play, Spotify and Apple Music. As a result of going to Amazon Echos, we had to pay for Spotify and we use it more and more.

I always used Apple Music on my iPhone, because of being inside the ecosystem. I've always preferred Spotify though.

 

[5105973]

I always used Apple Music on my iPhone, because of being inside the ecosystem. I've always preferred Spotify though.

When I first started using Apple Music I was blown away by the convenience of its integration with Siri. Then Siri actually started going backwards in capability and I had to stop using her. Now I don’t even know if Siri has improved with Apple Music because I tend to forget she once worked with it.

 

[5105973]

I always used Apple Music on my iPhone, because of being inside the ecosystem. I've always preferred Spotify though.

Have you gotten Google weather on your home screen yet?

Here's an old article that explains how to do it. Things look different now but the basic idea is the same. https://android.gadgethacks.com/how-to/get-googles-hidden-weather-app-your-home-screen-0170639/

Unfortunately I can't seem to get the "weather frog" everyone is talking about.

My display protector arrived and went on easily. I'm still evaluating it. Seems a bit reflective. And I haven't tried it with a case, yet. Snowball is naked. I don't really feel like this phone should even be in a case but too many people have reported shattering the glass on the back after short drops of the kind I am prone to having so I will get a case. I do not trust the cheap silicone case I bought from Amazon to not transfer its color onto the white finish.

It was always my intention to use my own artwork and have a Google case made from it. But I don't know if those cases have a microfiber lining like the fabric cases do.

There does seem to be a bit of a quality difference between Snowball and the first Pixel 2 I had. The camera on Snowball does handles low light so well. Either my hardware before was defective or Google issued a fix for the flaws I saw before.


Oh my God I just found out Mac Rumors has a night mode! I never knew that. I made the post I just did on Snowball and looked up and saw a “hamburger menu” interface on the upper right corner and clicked on it and discovered night mode. I am now posting from my 8 Plus and I can’t find that menu to save my life


Ok I'm back on Snowball and found there is a floating menu button that lets me make the forum text bigger to suit my older eyes better. Wow. I've usually posted from my iPad and never found these options. My Samsung had already set up the forum text to a pleasant size so I never explored the forum interface settings to discover the changes I could make. I wonder if folks on the X can see this forum in dark mode.

Edit:. Wait nope it's not a forum mode. It seems to be something built into either Android itself or the Samsung browser I am using. Lol, oh well I've clearly got a lot to learn!

 

[Tig Bitties]

Nightmode on MacRumors ? How and where?

 

[Cryates]

Have you gotten Google weather on your home screen yet?

Here's an old article that explains how to do it. Things look different now but the basic idea is the same. https://android.gadgethacks.com/how-to/get-googles-hidden-weather-app-your-home-screen-0170639/

Unfortunately I can't seem to get the "weather frog" everyone is talking about.

You mean on the 'At a Glance' widget? Yeah, it's been there since the initial setup. I'm allowing my location to Google, so I assume that how it's pulling it.

 

[5105973]

Nightmode on MacRumors ? How and where?

It's not in the forum interface after all. It's apparently built into the Samsung browser I am using on the Pixel 2. Perhaps it's also on regular Chrome too.

 

[Tig Bitties]

It's not in the forum interface after all. It's apparently built into the Samsung browser I am using on the Pixel 2. Perhaps it's also on refiale Chrome too.

I'm also using the Samsung browser. I have a dark theme running, so the settings and alddress bar is dark, but this site is still bright white

Found it in the browser spettings, turn on night mode. Looks a bit funky.

 

[Cryates]

Should also mention the weather frog seems to come and go for me in the Google Weather app.

 

[5105973]

I'm also using the Samsung browser. I have a dark theme running, so the settings and alddress bar is dark, but this site is still bright white

Found it in the browser spettings, turn on night mode. Looks a bit funky.

I’m glad you were able to find it. I just took a picture of my finger pointing to where it’s to be found on the page but the forum is rejecting all of my iPhone photos these days as being too large. I’ll have to go set up a picture sharing account again somewhere.