Gadgetory

okay Google after six years of partnering up with phone makers to create its Nexus phones Google is taking the rain the company released its first pair of pixel phones and while HTC may have put it together Google engineered it designed it and branded it so what are they like well there are two of them the pixel and the pixel XL they're nearly identical except that Excel has a bigger sharper display and a larger battery both are beautifully made they do look a little like the iPhone but they have angled edges flush cameras and this funky two-tone colouring and yeah that glossy shade does look weird at first but it kind of grew on me the pixels are also deeply integrated with Google search services and are the first phones to come with Google assistant which you activate by either pressing the home button or saying okay Google what is it a young museum here are some information about a young assistant is basically an AI bot that uses Google's vast search database to answer all kinds of questions when does it close today but it's conversational and you could speak to it in a natural back-and-forth way young Museum is open right now and closes at 5:15 p.m. often with most voice assistants you forget that it's there but when you do remember Google assistant can be useful and works relatively fast but of course there are some things it just doesn't know okay Google why am I so lonely there might be some info on the web another cool software feature is launcher shortcuts which is Google's take on Apple's 3d touch just long press on some of the apps and additional options will pop up right away you'll also get a Jif integrated keyboard a nightlight mode that tints the display and a fingerprint reader on the back that you can use to pull down your notifications all right so how's the hardware the Snapdragon 820 1 processor is fast and smooth and the battery lasted a solid workday with medium to heavy usage during our lab tests both phones clocked in over 13 hours of continuous video playback on air mode oh and don't worry you still get a headphone jack Google made a big deal about the pixels camera and suffice to say it's excellent by default the phone shoots in HDR auto mode and a flick of the wrist switches between shooters the camera's lens blur feature could news work but overall images look clearer sharp and vivid photos taken in low-light understandably weren't as sharp but the pixel did manage to take in a lot of light brighten up scenes and capture relatively clear shots the camera also uses a combination of the gyroscopes and software to steady your videos this is useful when you're moving while recording but it does give your videos a sort of surreal almost drone light quality the phone has a few drawbacks though it's not completely water resistant which would have been fine a few years ago but now that many others like Sony Samsung and Apple have phones that are water-resistant having the pixel rated below ip67 seems like an oversight the screen is also pretty dim in direct sunlight and its most noticeable when you're out shooting photos in general though the pixels are superb devices and you don't have to be some sort of Android enthusiast to appreciate them they look great and work fast plus with Google Assistant it's kind of like having a helpful friend bot who talks a little stilted but knows everything in your pocket ready to go you