I got some hands on time this morning at Verizon. I walked away unimpressed.
Google has really failed in the design front.
The Pixel 2 XL's borders are even worse in person. Especially the side bezels. They're just so noticeably thick. If it's true the side bezels are that thick because of Active Edge, then I think Active Edge was a big mistake to include. And if they're not that thick because of the Active Edge then I really don't trust Google's design team. It's straight up ugly, like there's an odd case around it. It reminds me of those security cases that house and hide the design of an unreleased phone.
The top and bottom bezels surprisingly did not bother me. Speakers sounded clear and loud though the store was quiet because it was still pretty early in the day. The screen itself seemed fine and good. Really didn't notice anything too glaring, but I still think my S8 screen looked better when held up side by side. Maybe it's the bezels? The Pixel screen just didn't "pop" as much, and it was at full brightness.
Moving onto the regular Pixel 2, I found it poorly designed, too. The bezels cannot be understated -- they are astronomically large. When I say this looks like a phone from 2016, I mean it really looks like a phone from 2016. Even the side bezels here are a bit thick (you don't really see it in pictures, but they're rather big, too). The Pixel 2 looks and feels dated the moment you pick it up, almost as if it's a budget phone more than a $650 flagship. The screen feels tiny and not just because it's 5" but also because the bezels are rather distracting. Yes, the stereo speakers sound great -- clear and crisp like the bigger model -- but even then I don't think the bezels needed to be that big, did they? How did they achieve dual speakers on the XL model with significantly smaller top/bottom bezels?
Both phones also feel shockingly light, too, adding to the budget phone-feel on the Pixel 2 model. The backs do feel oddly plastic-y like some early reviews have mentioned.
I'm sorry to say both models just feel and look kind of cheap. In the front, you have unsightly bezels in various ways, and on the back, the uneven two-tone look doesn't quite capture the same quirky and lovable design as the first gen Pixel's more evenly divided two-tone look. That had character. This feels imbalanced.
I'll dive into it more when mine actually arrives at home. I'll be testing the cameras especially. But so far, it looks like I'm unlikely to switch. I really want to like this phone, but I think Google really stumbled on the design front. The pictures don't do them justice, in that they're even uglier in person. Sadly.
