SpecEagle review · Google

Pixel 2 XL review: The 2017 Pixel that set the bar for phone cameras.

SpecEagle Editorial·Oct 2017·$849
Overall
64/100
Class rank
#77 of 121
Tier
Flagship
Buy?
Look elsewhere
The verdict, up front

The 2017 camera king — a legacy device now.

The Pixel 2 XL set the phone-camera standard with single-lens Portrait mode. Its dated pOLED panel and ended support make it a historical entry.

01Display

72/100

72/100 trails the 78-point cohort average for flagship phones of 2017.

TypeP-OLED, 60 Hz, HDR
Size6.0 inches
Resolution2,880 × 1,440 px (538 ppi)
ProtectionGorilla Glass 5

02Camera

80/100

At 80/100 this is one of the strongest camera showings among flagship phones of 2017 — 8 points above the cohort average.

Main12.2 MP, f/1.8, OIS + EIS
Selfie8 MP, f/2.4
Video4K @ 30 fps
FeaturesPortrait mode (single lens)

03Performance

58/100

58/100 is one of the weaker performance results among flagship phones of 2017 — 14 points under the average. Check the rows below before buying for this.

ChipsetSnapdragon 835 (10 nm)
CPU8 cores
GPUAdreno 540
RAM4 GB
Storage64 GB / 128 GB

04Battery

66/100

66/100 trails the 69-point cohort average for flagship phones of 2017.

Capacity3,520 mAh
Wired18 W
WirelessNo

05Build

78/100

78/100 — right at the average for flagship phones of 2017.

06Value

60/100

60/100 trails the 63-point cohort average for flagship phones of 2017.

What works
  • Benchmark-setting camera for 2017 — single-lens Portrait mode.
  • Front-firing stereo speakers.
  • Clean, fast Pixel software.
  • IP67 water resistance.
What doesn't
  • pOLED display had muted colours and uniformity complaints.
  • No 5G or wireless charging.
  • Software ended at Android 11.
  • Discontinued.
Cross-shop it against
Huawei P20 Pro
$899 · score 84/100

How this review is built: every section score, spec row and comparison on this page comes from SpecEagle's tracked catalogue — scores weight measured specs against the 121-phone cohort of flagship devices released around the same time. We don't publish invented lab anecdotes. Spot an error? .