Gadgetory

and mobile technology it's the same story every single time the media goes crazy over every hot new device but after that review period wears off so what is the bus behind that new tool you might still want to buy but that now faces new competition the thing is in the real world things don't really happen that way for most of us aging is just as important as the moment you unbox your product for the first time it's how that device performs after expensive use that really matters down the line so let's do something about it let's have a second look at Google's boldest attempt at making its partners its own competitors I'm hiding that event with pocket now and this is the Google pixel after the buzz I spent the last couple of months having this odd love and hate relationship with the Google pixel after my love affair with devices like the Galaxy Nexus and the Nexus 6p both the largest phones of their time I explicitly decided to decline the larger pixel XL and use the smaller Google pixel as my personal communicator for years this job has belonged to iPhones given the size and reliability but after six months of switching things up I'll admit I am NOT regretting my decision one bit for starters using a Google phone has advantages that other phones don't offer and software is one of them we're currently running Android 7.1.2 already since software updates are never a problem here the experience even after so long is still smooth or I can't really remember the time I've ever seen this phone stutter and where games play great even if I then really buy this phone for that purpose I know some of you hate the way I arranged icons on the home screen but the pixel launcher is really my dreamboat when it comes to icon density for me having more than three panes on a home screen is a problem and the grid on this launcher is ideal for fitting almost everything that I want in just one screen and yes because I know everybody's going to ask I do know that this is the first phone to run the Google assistant but the most I've ever used it for is really just setting reminders setting timers and giving me directions to drive home for everything else the Google assistant is still not compatible with most third-party services that I use like uber for example so until that happens I will call this a good work in progress but it is still a work in progress now the second and most important reason that I chose that pixel is my communicator is project Phi in the United States you get the advantage of seamless transitions between Wi-Fi and three US carriers but it's mostly when I'm abroad of the pixel is most valuable I think you've noticed that I travel a lot and roaming on project Phi is perfect not just because of the cost but because in countries like China this is one of the few ways you can actually access Google services like if you were still in the United States and then if you do the math of the ten dollars a gigabyte of data while roaming this is actually better than it sounds see if you haven't really consumed your US gigs the roaming ones will continue feeding off your existing plan meaning it's not starting off another ten gigabytes like seriously I just spent nearly a month in Europe from that you see and my phone bill was a stupid $56 that's actually cheaper than going for prepaid sim in Spain for example the third unexpected benefit is that I don't really know how this phone handles battery life but it rocks at first I was skeptical at the major 27 70 milliamp hour power pack but Android 7.1 optimizations have proven to be amazing at being able to keep me connected through a full day of use and I use this phone a lot and then the fourth benefit which is another unexpected one and it's the experience I've had with this camera Google said that this was the best smartphone camera in the world and BSO marks it is that way - at first I thought that this was just a PR stunt given the hardware but I'm going to say that the experience has been awesome so long as you're not picking about lens flares since Google hasn't really solved that yet I'm just shocked at how quickly this phone takes a photo how quick hdr+ does post-processing in the background and how well software is able to do things I thought that Hardware just couldn't do I'm a big fan of sunset photography for example and I'm just shocked at how well this phone handles dynamic range saturation and contrast and then the same goes for video where the moment you hit the record button I still find the effect of instant civilization to be surreal even if the phone doesn't include Hardware civilization out of the box and remember that unlimited Google Drive storage for photos well trust me I take a lot of them and I don't know how this phone does it because I have been able to survive just well with 32 gigabytes and it's really that concept that makes me love this phone the most and things like the camera and the battery you really don't need to worry just let the phone do its work in the background which is the way software should be for consumers now what's not so surreal is how the hardware has aged and notice this would be my first after the buzz where I leave this portion last see the aluminum finish that I praised in my reviews seems to no longer be so quite black as areas have faded over time I carry this phone the sleeves and it seems that the inner strap has taken a toll on the champers this phone has also seen two very hard drops on tile and even if the aluminum has handled the Falls well this coloration can be seen everywhere along the champers this is about that time where I recommend that you use a case and I would suggest these options from VRS design that even add a kickstand I am amazed at the fact that even after the two Falls the display is still scratch free first with all the phones that I've reviewed but the downside is that it's really hard to keep it clean something that's really annoying when you have a phone with bezels this large about the only thing that's aged will in the hardware department is the company's choice for internals with to 2017 flagship is already rocking the same processor and even the RAM and storage options to be fair and to conclude let's remember that the Google pixel is not supposed to be about its hardware Google is a software company first and for those of you praising iPhones or how well the software makes forgettable hardware look this is exactly that in the Android space so far I have to admit this is probably one of the most delightful experiences I've had with a smartphone and notice I'm not just including Android phones on that list sadly the problem is that forgettable Hardware is not an easy game to play in 2017 with black ships like the LG G 6 in the galaxy s 8 just annihilating bezels and killing it with their new designs buying a Google pixel at the same price is kind of a lost battle if Google decides to drop the price of this phone I would not mind recommending it at all but unless your preferences are locked to great software unforgettable looks you might want to consider the rest of your options for 2017 friends just like this we've gotten more after the buzz videos in the pipeline so make sure you follow us on social media and hit that subscribe button down below for more videos like this one you can also follow me on twitter hyn underscore to be better on instagram @ hi mary there please give this video a thumbs up if you liked what you saw i am hi mary but i thanks so much for watching we'll see you on the next one