Google - Pixel XL 32GB - Very Silver (Verizon)

Some background: My first smartphone was an iPhone 4. I currently own (and adore) an iPhone 6 and use an iPhone 5c for work. I've also used a Windows Phone for work (which I liked way more than I thought I would). I have loved and lost an iPad 1 and 2, before switching to much cheaper Android tablets. I now use a Surface 3 daily as my main computer (docked) and tablet (keyboard and pen). I have never owned an Android phone. I have always pooh-poohed them as "cheap." Android was fine for a tablet I used sometimes to watch movies on my lap, but for a phone that I used all the time? I preferred a more durable Apple product--an investment. Even a Samsung phone didn't hold appeal... I've had Samsung tablets, which I liked, but couldn't stand their version of Android--too bloated for my tastes. I guess I just preferred the more streamlined iOS experience, walled garden and all. I don't think I'm alone. If all Android devices worked like the Pixel, though? More people would be changing their minds. I happened to get my phone in the mail the day before leaving for a weekend out of town trip... so I had an opportunity to try out a lot of features on this phone I might not have otherwise used right away. I'm going to try and step-by-step through my thoughts on how things worked. 1. Set-Up Set-up was incredibly easy. A SIM card tool was included and it was a piece of cake to just move my SIM card from my old phone to the new one and turn the new phone on. My Verizon signal was recognized immediately. I was then prompted to log into my home's wifi network for the rest of the setup, so as not to kill my data for the month. How thoughtful. :) Like with any other Android device, you'll also be prompted to log into your Google account or create a new one. Even transferring from my iPhone 6 was way simpler than I thought it would be. Google included two charging cables, one with USB-C connectors on both ends for use with a wall outlet charger (also included) and the other with a standard male USB connector. There was also a dongle which allowed you to connect another USB cable to your other device. So, I was able to plug my lightning cable from my phone into my new Pixel XL when prompted and transfer all of my contacts, music and pictures right to my new phone. The transfer took about 15 minutes, during which time I was able to continue with a couple of other setup procedures. The setup process was somewhat lengthy--depending on how you want to set up your device (as a new device, or from a backup of an old device), it may take some time to download apps and transfer data from an old phone or the cloud. Be prepared to take this time... but once it's done, it's done. It's also a nice touch that you get free extra cloud storage for movies and pictures that you take with your phone... No more paying for extra iCloud space! You can also allow/unallow the phone to automatically "dump" pictures from your phone to the cloud when on Wifi to open up space on your phone. This happened once on my trip, and it was actually a really helpful feature. 2. OS and Navigation The Android OS on the Pixel phone is by far the cleanest version of Android I've ever used. It is clean, snappy and intuitive. A quick right swipe opens up essentially your "Google Now" feed. An upward swipe opens up your full app list, so you have them quickly and easily accessible, without having all of them cluttering up wallpaper space, and a right swipe takes you to the next wallpaper page where you can add more app shortcuts. You can also add and place widgets, move things around, etc. A down swipe pulls up your standard settings selections like screen brightness and airplane mode. Even coming from iPhones, I was able to pick up this phone and figure it out right away. It's really easy. 3. Speed and Ease of Use It also just works. I've used cheap Android tablets that are all kinds of slow and hiccup-y and just no fun to use... This phone is FAST. Downloads and installations of apps are super fast, even on LTE. Apps open and load FAST. Pages reload FAST. It is way faster than my iPhone 6 and just a pleasure to use. 4. Camera and screen It's great. I attached a photo I took... which I downloaded from my Google Drive after the phone automatically backed up my photos to save space. :) I had it set to download lower resolution photos than the original photos taken by the phone, but you get a good idea of the color. I was happy with how my pictures came out! The camera app is pretty standard fare for a phone camera, with some other little features available to explore for kicks. I generally don't use extra filters or anything though. The screen is absolutely beautiful. The XL screen is big, but not too big, even for my tiny little kid hands. I did get a fairly grippy silicone case for my phone, if only to help keep it from slipping out of my tiny little kid hands as phones often do. I do find myself two-handing this phone, but the way they set up the OS with many of the controls and most-used apps at the bottom, I find my thumb is actually able to reach most things very easily and I don't have to think about being able to reach things too much. 5. Fingerprint Reader. This is one of my FAVORITE things about my iPhone 6. I love that the Pixel XL has one... I am not thrilled with its placement on the back of the phone. I will be the first to say that I am probably just still getting used to it. But in practical use, there are times when my phone is sitting on the table and I just want to check for notifications, and having the fingerprint reader on the front would allow me to just press my finger to the reader and see the notifications without picking up my phone. (I know... first world problems) Having the reader on the back means I have to pick the phone up and properly hold it. I'd love to at least have a "knock to wake" feature or something (maybe there is one--I looked all over and couldn't find it) so I could just see notifications without having to pick the phone up all the way to use the power button or fingerprint reader. I'm also looking forward to more apps making use of the fingerprint reader for logins like they've been doing in the iOS ecosystem. If you build it, they will come--I know they'll be coming. Just need to be patient! 6. Third Party hardware I have a Pebble Time Round smartwatch which uses Bluetooth LE. I found my watch stayed connected to my phone and actually got richer notifications than it ever did with my iPhone 6. I actually love my Pebble more now! I also use bluetooth headphones of varying types regularly. They all connected easily, stayed connected and worked great! The one downside is that I did not see a quick reference show of the battery level of the connected device on my Pixel like I do on my iPhone 6. Maybe that's not a feature I've figured out yet, maybe it's not available on Android at all--I'm not sure. 7. Hotspot and Tethering If you have Hotspot/Tethering enabled on your plan, you can use this phone as a hotspot. I found it really quickly in the settings and found that it kicked on and connected with my Surface 3 more quickly than when I use my iPhone 6 as a hotspot, which was a pleasant surprise. So far I've found this feature to work really well and the speeds going through to my hotspot connected devices were good and solid. 8. Google Maps and Navigation This was one area where maybe a software update may be coming along. I don't know if anyone else had trouble with this, but I did a lot of walking on my trip, and found that my "facing direction" when trying to follow walking directions in Google maps was pretty inconsistent, to a point where I really needed to stay aware of cross streets and make sure I was actually facing the direction Google Maps says I was. I turned the phone off and on to try and recalibrate, which helped for a short time, but the problem came back. This may be user failure in that I missed a setting that I needed to have, even after making sure all location services were on, but out of everything I love about this phone, I think this may be my one complaint. Otherwise, the Google Maps app was very fast and responsive. 9. Google Assistant Siri and I never got along. I don't have an accent or anything... but some reason, she could never understand what I was trying to ask her. Google Assistant and I had several worthwhile little chats over the weekend and actually got things done. She's a breath of fresh air, doing things for me like setting alarms, reminding me what time my flight was going to leave, and making sure I didn't forget my hotel room number. I'm looking forward to seeing what else she can do. I love that you can speak in regular language to her and almost every time, she understands. 10. Aesthetics and Design In terms of look and feel, this phone is very premium. It has just the right weight--heavy enough that it's got substance and won't fly out of your hand, but you won't get tired holding it. The finish is beautiful, and I really like the way they did the contrasting finishes on the back with the matte metal on the bottom and the mirror-y smooth gloss on the top. The button locations are intuitive and, even being on the back, the fingerprint reader is well-placed and a natural location for either index finger to reach. The front screen covers the entire front of the phone with no interruptions in the glass except for the earpiece. It's all very smooth and flush. And yes--it has a headphone jack! I think I remembered everything I wanted to say. Thanks for taking the time to read--I know buying a new (and very expensive!) phone is a big deal--I hope my feedback is helpful.

Packaging and First Impressions -------------- Right away when I looked at and held the packaging, it felt like this was going to be an absolute treat. The box itself was just the right size making it compact but efficient. The excitement just kept building as I opened everything up and proceeded to unwrap the phone. The phone is sturdy, completely solid, and smooth in the hands. Although this is not the lightest phone I’ve ever had, the weight it does possess adds to the overall premium vibe in my opinion. I was able to get a good grip in one hand, and transferring from hand to hand did not have much of a “slip” factor that some other phone enclosures. Plain and simple, this felt like a well-engineered piece of work! The Screen -------------- Simply put: gorgeous. The colors, the clarity, and the glass are spectacular. Pictures were a pleasure to view and I found myself revisiting old pictures just to see how they view on this display (more on Google Photos later). Text while reading articles and posts were incredibly crisp and legible. The touch responsiveness and accuracy were also top notch and smooth. Granted I haven’t had every phone out there, but out of my experiences, it is the best screen I have ever had on a phone. Camera/Photos -------------- I am not a professional photographer, but I 100% appreciate the art and the easier it is for me to take beautiful photos, the more I find myself taking. Having just had my first child a month ago, this was incredibly important. Here are the following things that totally got me hooked: Speed: Opening the Camera app and snapping pics was very fast. I didn’t find myself in a panic that I would miss an opportunity Tools: You have standard grid overlay available, HDR+ processing, environment presets (cloudy, sunny, fluorescent, etc. – for my tests I just used auto), a timer, and a very capable flash. You have the ability to do panorama and even photo sphere, but the feature that had me addicted was the Lens Blur. I could not get enough of this and was able to capture some amazing shots that put into focus the subject in a beautiful way! Integration with Google Photos: Since I already had signed into the phone with my Google account, the phone was automatically set to sync with Google Photos. What is nice about this? Google Photos gives you unlimited photo storage support, more tools to enhance and edit the photos, and automatically syncs as you take new pictures. You then can access these photos on other devices easily enough and all the while you don’t need to retain the photos on your local storage of the phone. A huge plus if you find that local storage starts to become a problem. Quality: The pictures were very impressive with high detail and realistic color representation. I even had pretty good success with low-light environments, which in my experience has been an absolute killer for a lot of cell phone cameras I’ve owned. I attached just a few to give an idea of how nice they can be. I found myself looking at these on my laptop in greater detail and being blown away by how it looks! Android Nougat and Google Assistant -------------- This has been the most pleasant version of Android that I have used to date. I believe the phone’s solid hardware specs help with that impression, but the interface was as clean as I have seen yet. The pre-installed apps were ones that I expected to be there and were useful. The transitions were very smooth when toggling through different apps, the scrolling was precise, and this is a pure example of how far Android as come throughout the years. Google Assistant also had me impressed. Asking for directions to a restaurant worked right the first time, even though I was a little hesitant about the restaurant name confusing the voice recognition. Asking questions brought up relevant information from weather to sports, and while feeding my baby daughter, the phone picked up my voice from a distance and actually was able to hear and answer me. I can only imagine this feature will get better through time Battery -------------- The question of today for any device that you use. There’s nothing more disappointing than when you run out of juice, so with a 5.5” screen and the way I use my phone, I was a little nervous as to how much power I would get. To test it out I first made sure I was at full charge. Through my level of usage, I literally was able to get through 1.5 days and still have 18% left! One of the features then I was so excited to try out was how quickly the phone charges (as is one of the features that is highly touted on the Pixel). I was able to add hours and hours of usage within 10-15 minutes of charging. This is a BIG factor for me considering I commute every day for around 3 – 3.5 hours a day. If I don’t have charge and don’t have the ability to charge fast, I’m left quickly without the use of a device. Phone/Wireless -------------- Being on Verizon has its perks and both coverage and speed are part of that. I am in full LTE coverage and was able to enjoy speeds that were as fast as Wi-Fi throughout most of my use so far! It’s incredible how much speed and connectivity are at your fingertips now and I have nothing but high marks on the phone’s performance in this area. Phone calls were also clear and solid. The ear piece volume more than covered my needs (and I am a little hard of hearing as it is) and I was told that my voice was sounding great on the receiving end. The speaker phone volume also was right where I needed it to be. Conclusion -------------- This review is a little long and could be a lot longer but I will try to wrap it up here. I am so happy with this phone and just ever more excited to try out more features and grow with it. The hardware makes this a pleasure to use, the newest Android OS is very awesome, and the camera really makes me question when I really even need to break out my bigger bulkier SLR. It does EXACTLY what I need in a phone, does it extremely well, and leaves a lot more room to learn and have fun. Paired with my Verizon Wireless account, I have the world at my fingertips and the ability to capture and expand my own personal life.

The Google Pixel XL is Google’s latest attempt at a pure Android device. Unlike the Nexus line before it, the Pixel XL doesn’t have any partner branding, or attempt to identify anyone other than Google as the manufacturer. This, unequivocally is the Google phone. I’ve been a long time Nexus user, owning a Galaxy Nexus, Nexus 4, and Nexus 6p. I made a jump over to the OnePlus One, but found the software experience lacking. Unfortunately when it came to the Nexus 6p my experience wasn’t quite as good as I had been used to with the Nexus 4. The OnePlus had spoiled me on battery life and unique build quality, while the Nexus had spoiled me on software support. I’ve recently switched to an iPhone 7, so I feel like I’m in a unique position to give a perspective on this phone. The build of the Pixel XL is definitely high quality. The body feels of high quality aluminum. The front glass teardrops into the chamfered edges which is much more attractive looking and feel better in the hand than the Nexus 6p’s flat glass. The chamfering is quite a bit more pronounced on the Pixel XL than its predecessor. This makes it feel slippery compared to the Nexus 6p, however the glass back around the finger print reader adds a nice bit of grip to the phone. It still has more grip than a naked iPhone, and thus, I feel like you’d be more likely to use the phone without a case. The bezels are embarrassingly large, a trend that has continued since the end of the LG Nexus era. Why a device with no front home button needs a bottom bezel that is this large is kind of a mystery. Even the 6p’s bezel, justified by its secondary speaker, is smaller than the Pixel XL’s. Another interesting piece is that its thickness is near identical to the Nexus 6p, but its tapered instead of having a ‘bump’ found on its older brethren. The camera is excellent. There are plenty of comparisons out there, but essentially you get a really nice camera without an annoying bump, hump, or protruding lens. This alone makes it a winner to me. It’s a slick package, and Google should be praised for a sleek design that is a form and functional improvement over the iPhone and most of its competitors. The phone is light, but doesn’t feel cheap. The iPhone feels heavy in comparison. I can’t comment on durability at this stage, but it isn’t probably a stretch to say it’s better than its predecessor. The materials here are all aluminum and glass, an there aren’t any stickers covering body pieces like on the Nexus 6p. The speakers are of good quality as well, even if they are bottom firing only. Up top you’ll find the 3.5mm headphone jack, a clear indication that Google doesn’t feel quite as strongly about this legacy port. Performance wise, the Pixel XL is a screamer. Youtube videos started playing almost instantly compared to the Nexus. Side by side it was clear the Snapdragon 821 in this phone is a class above the 810. This observation is yielded also in benchmarks, with Geekbench 4 showing a huge multi-threaded improvement, even though the 810 technically has 4 more cores. Indeed even Antutu showed roughly double overall score with big boosts across the board. The Pixel XL had 137521 in Antutu, while the Nexus 6p was only 74760. The iPhone 7 plus pushed out an impressive 189382 score, but essentially all but the most discerning power user would have a hard time pushing these phones beyond their comfort zone. Inside the box you'll find not only the power brick, but also a USB-C to USB-C cable, USB-C to USB-A male, and a short USB-C to USB-A female host adapter. That's a lot of nice cables in the box, and a great head start for anyone that doesn't have a USB-C cables or accessories. USB-C is the future, and this phone is ready for it. Battery life is hard to gauge at this point, but I can’t say it’s bad. The biggest indicator to me is that it slowly drains on stand-by and doesn’t seem to drop too fast under heavy load. It charges quickly thanks to USB-C PD, and even gives a nice estimate to how long till it’s fully charged (which has been pretty reliable). The screen is bright, and the AMOLED shines here against the iPhone’s IPS. The whites are also whiter than the Nexus 6p - this is a superb screen in every way I observe. Obviously being an AMOLED it’s saturation is a bit over exaggerated, but most people would find that an advantage. It certainly is pleasing to look at it. Overall Google’s ‘freshman’ attempt at a phone is pretty good. I won’t say this is their first phone, as their hand has been deeply involved in every Nexus device since the first Nexus One. There are so many similarities to previous Nexus line devices it’s hard to call this a first generation phone from Google. Regardless, this device has a higher polish than any of its predecessors, and it’s by far the fastest Android device I’ve used. If you want Android unadulterated, this is the phone to get right now, and it’s a huge improvement over the Nexus 6p.

Everything the Google advertisements have been promising has been delivered upon with the new Google Pixel XL. This phone is really fast, has a superior screen, a better than average battery life, charges very quickly and is fully loaded with the most amazing smart phone AI I've ever used, the new Google Assistant! There is room for improvement, and I wish there were some additional features and specs that you can find on other smart phones in this price category however I'm very pleased with the final product. I'm listing some of my personal pros and cons for this phone below. Pros Ergonomically designed fingerprint scanner conveniently located on the back of the phone. I love the placement of the scanner and it reacts very quickly. Wi-Fi Calling Three microphones with noise cancellation. The screen is beautiful! It has an AMOLED display with 2560 x 1440 resolution, packing 534 pixels per inch! It really looks great, probably the best I've seen. The Google Assistant works very well. My voice is recognized easily and it responds quickly. I have been using it for the past couple of days to set reminders, alarms, play music, make phone calls and search for phone numbers and other information. I'm looking forward to forming a working relationship with my Google Assistant! The battery lasts very long allowing hours of on screen time. Much longer than any other phone I've had. I'm curious to see how it performs over time in the coming months to years but I'm very hopeful! Quick charging battery is amazing! Just as advertised. Unique design soon to be easily recognized by other Pixel users. Cons Is not water resistant. No wireless charging. No 3D touch. Does not have duel speaker stereo sound. The price is a bit higher than I would have expected but I think it might be because of the screen, speed, Android version and Google Assistant, but I'm just guessing. Overall I am extremely pleased with this phone. I believe Google has made a great phone and in my opinion, the Pixel seems to be a perfect blend between other major brands. I think that users from these other brands will find Pixel to be somewhat familiar while still being fresh and new! Good job Google. I've uploaded a couple sample pictures taken with my Pixel XL, please do not judge them too harshly and look for other samples as I am not a very good photographer.. LOL My dog, Keiko, says hello! :)

The Pixel XL has a 5.5-inch Quad HD AMOLED display that pops, its a high quality screen and matches that of other well known Amoled devices, its that good. Rocking the new Snapdragon 821 processor and 4gb of ram you wont find anything but smoothness when using this devices, from the moment you use it you will see just how fluid everything, and credit to google for making the software to take advantage of the hardware 32gb of storage or 128gb, kinda sad we didn't get a 64gb option also as 128gb is more than ill ever need and 32gb is just not enough for me personally Gorilla glass and like most phones its a fingerprint magnet Finger Print sensor on the back works liek the previous Nexus with an added bonus, you can now slide your finger down the scanner to lower the notification shade on the phone 12.3mp camera with large pixels at the back and 8mp at the front, this is another place Google have nailed it, the camera is amazing. Crisp clean images to rival any other handset. For video this is where Google may just stand in a league of there own, not only is it great at capturing detail but by placing the camera with the gyroscope it has created some of the most amazing stabilization ever seen, it has to be seen to be believed USB C with fast charging of course. Only a single firing speaker but in my opinion the best you can get for a single fire system, it has some good sounds for what it is At 3,450mAh, the Pixel XL's battery is among the largest we've seen in a flagship Android phone this year. Aesthetically the Pixel XL is a little bland, with a very large chin thats there for no reason other than symmetry, it feels great in hand but lacks that visual pop you get with some of its Not only does this device work great on Verizon, but i have also used this on T-Mobile with no issues So to sum it up, the Google Pixel XL is the greatest phone i have ever used, its slick, its easy to hold, its a pleasure to navigate, while it may not be a looker on the outside its Googles magic on the inside that really makes this device shine and for me is a glimpse of the future. for a first generation true #MadeByGoogle device its really remarkable Oh and Google assistant is great... and tell it "Im feeling lucky" for a really good surprise

Quick bit about my current situation, I was offered this phone for testing purposes. Currently I have a Nexus 6P that I loved for a number of reasons, so this phone had quite a challenge to live up to. How did it do? Frankly, not bad. Out of box experience was almost perfect. From the container it was shipped in to the typical holiday feeling one gets when opening new gadgets, it was all there. I can’t believe I’m about to say this, but activating the phone on Verizon was the easiest thing I have done with them in a number of years. All I needed to do was move the SIM card from one phone to another. Transfer of data was as simple as saying “OK Google, Set up my new device” on the old phone and the magic that is Google Now/Allo took care of the rest. The only minor disappointment I had was that the transfer started by offering to link one device to another via USB cable. For some reason, it didn’t want to work with my 6P - which is disappointing, but easily enough resolved via Google Now. Before we get too far into this review, the next question has got to be “how much software did Verizon ship with it?” The answer is nothing above base carrier software - IE, the stuff that will stop those “VZWSYNC” messages from appearing when you have a voicemail. It doesn’t even come with the MyVerizon app! So now your voicemail is built right into the dialer, a nice touch if I can say so. Interacting with the Verizon network on this phone is far, far better than what currently exists (or possibly will ever exist) for the 6P. Look and feel is amazing. From day one with my 6P, the one thing that I hated was that it was ever so slightly too big for my right hand to reach the top left corner. That problem appears to be mostly gone now, and yes, I do view that as something worthy of upgrade points. Honestly, with the white coloring, it reminds me of something out of a certain fruit shaped vendor. The phone itself is slightly lighter and smaller than the 6P and I could definitely see myself using this phone on a daily basis. The only thing that I don’t particularly care for (outside from the white color) is the glass panel on the back. It doesn’t seem to do much for the phone visual appeal, but it should help with letting the phone talk to the world. Camera. Believe it or not, this camera is actually a huge improvement (in the one scene I tested). Taken in low light, the 6P had a slight blur with no flash, and a yellow hue to a shot with a flash. The XL had no blur for no flash, and though the flash picture did have a bit of yellow in it, it was not nearly as pronounced. Also, a new, amazing feature: the new camera app has a white balance slider on the side of the image - allowing you to tone down a picture while taking it with next to no effort. Audio quality.This was my one fear when I signed up for this device. The lack of front firing speakers is a fallback to an older time in my mind. The phone, built and designed by HTC, should have had full access to the HTC BoomSound technology. In its place, they put two down-firing speakers. The result? Muffled sound if you are viewing it head on unless you cup your hand around the base of the device. This was what killed off one whole star on my review. I rarely used the speakers on my 6P, but when I did, I didn’t have to worry about anyone hearing it. In the case of the XL, I had difficulties hearing it when I was in my small apartment alone. At this price point, this is unacceptable from my point of view. Phone quality hasn’t really improved or declined - though we have had the opportunity to improve mobile phone technology for 43 years. Cool new things. The latest version of Android OS ships with a feature very similar to f.lux called “Night Light.” Personally I hate adding red to my screen (and would rather be sleepless), but this feature adds something that a number of people have been seeking for a very long time. The new launcher itself is somewhat appealing and definitely reminds me of things that appear in Nova Launcher. Is it good enough to be my only launcher, no - I much rather Nova for the amount of customization. So, would I run right out and buy one as an upgrade from a 6P? No. There is not much more present in this device versus the last generation. Against a Nexus 6? Maybe. This is a nice upgrade, if a bit expensive. Against an Apple product? Yep, I’d take this thing any day - even with its cost.

OK, I ran this phone through its paces over the last 24 hours doing everything I would normally do with my iPhone, and while I'm impressed with it as an Android phone it is not better than the iPhone 6 that it replaced and certainly not better than the 6S or the new iPhone 7. I'm going to walk that statement back for one thing. Speed. This phone is incredibly fast. Apps open in a blink of an eye and close down just as fast. I was quite impressed with that feature. Google is touting this a a great photo device but after doing some pixel-peeping (see what I did there) and some A-B comparisons of shots taken with the Pixel and the iPhone 6, the iPhones still produce a nicer shot. The color in the iPhone shots is brighter and they just have more pop! That being said I have not played with any of the shots in a photo editor because I wanted to see what they would be like right off the sensor. Speaking of editors though, I will say that the editing tools that Google baked right into their Photo app are really very good and I could have probably made the photos looks as good as the iPhone ones but again, the iPhone shots were really pretty good as they were. In the pictures below you can see the phone and all of its accessories as they were right when I opened the box. On the left you have the guidebooks and the phone in its wrapping. On the rights was a disconcerting array of cables and adaptors. On the top right you have the charging brick which only accepts a USB-C plug (ugh, now I need Lightning, micro-USB, and USB-C cables? Seriously?!). Below that is the USB-C to USB-C cable for use with the aforementioned brick. In the area to the left under where the phone was is a USB to USB-C cable to plug your phone into a normal brick, charging station, or computer. Above that in the little cubby above is a USB to USB-C adaptor primarily to be used to transfer data from an iPhone to the Pixel. I appreciate that Google is trying to take market share from Apple and to make it a bit easier to get your data from one device to another (heck Apple has been doing that for years with their computers to great effect), but it did not work out as nice as I would have liked. After connecting the two devices together, I had to log in to a website on the iPhone's browser and select the info to transfer. In the interest of time I just did the basics and did not try to move my huge photo or music libraries but stuck with the basic data to make the phone usable. While much of that data come over without a problem, some data came over weird and jumbled. The data that did come over easily is all of my Gmail and other Google app data which I kind of expected since Google does a nice job within their own ecosystem. I do have to say another couple of things that I like about the Pixel. The screen is big, beautiful, and bright and may even edge out the iPhone though I would have to put them at the same brightness settings a such to make a true comparison. Also, I like the fingerprint sensor on the back of the phone and how it immediately opens up the phone without a press. Just being able to rest my index finger where it would normally land anyway and having the phone pop on is nice and definitely helps this phone feel a bit more 'snappy' in its usage. OK, almost done with this review but I can't end without saying something about the battery and the call quality... wait, this is a phone and I'm actually going to have to talk to someone on it? The battery life is very good and gave me a full days worth of pretty heavy usage though I did not do any streaming of video or music since I never really do that anyway. Mostly, it was heavy internet surfing, photo use, and calling. Speaking of calling, I don't know what it is but the calls didn't sound as clear as they do on my iPhone. I'm using the Pixel in all the same places that I used my iPhone and even swapped the SIM card back into my iPhone to check and the Pixel sounded a bit hollow and distant. Not sure what that is about. I could still hear the other person but they sounded like they were talking into their phone from a distance unlike when I talked to them with my iPhone. So, final word. If you are deep in the Android ecosystem, then this is a great phone for you. It is fast and will do everything that you are used to doing very well. If you are in the Apple ecosystem, get an iPhone 7 or heck, even a 6S if you want to save some money. This is not the iPhone killer Google wanted but it is a solid phone and it will do a very good job for you no matter your OS allegiance.

Let me start of by stating that I just didn't like the stock Android Google shipped the phone with. I just couldn't get into it. After a day, I had to switch to another launcher and remove Pixel and Google Now, it just didn't fit with my style. I recognize it is me, so I am not downgrading the phone at all on the UI/Software even though that seems to be a big deal, the new Google assistant just didn't do it for me at all. I just didn't find it useful. I guess I'm getting old. However let me state that is me, and others I'm sure will love it. The nice thing is unlike other phones you not stuck with the default launcher, so Yay for that. Though I haven't found a launcher yet that is making me love this phone. Hopefully I will one day, until then lets move on the other aspects of this phone, because I'm sure my above issues with the UI is more me. Hardware. Google found a good partner in a different OEM to build the phone for them. They did an excellent job. The phone is built solidly and size wise if this is the larger of the phones, this is the one to have, at least for my hands it fits perfect and the fingerprint sensor in the back is perfect. In fact I recommend making sure you get the senor to recognize both unlocking fingers on your left and the right hand to make 1 touch unlocking easy, because the one feature I like is when I pressing my finger on the senor it unlocks and turn my phone on. No reaching for the power button on the side. Very nice. Also under touch gestures enable the fingerprint senor on to drag down the notification bar, that too is handy. I was worried when I saw the speakers on the bottom of the phone, I thought great, tinny and quiet. They are actually fairly loud and decent sounding. In my office I could stream music and hear it quiet clearly. So the speaker is of good quality and loudness. The screen is great. I can use it outdoors in bright sunlight with minimal squinting at it, and watching a few movies/tv/videos on it I had no issues and everything looked great. Nice to see the WiFi chipset support Wireless AC. That is a plus in my household. In normal usage, watching videos, streaming music etc the phone would get a bit warm that my hands would notice it, but not hot. So Its nice to see the 821 handles itself quite well there. Now the downsides I found which is why I'm rating the phone as average: For the size of the battery (and I admit, maybe after a few days it will improve, but so far no luck) using the phone as I normally would I can eek out about day of use. With the size battery they are packing I was hoping for at least a day and half, but that doesn't seem to be the case so that makes me a sad panda. No slot for a MicroSD. If you are like me and travel and find yourself in situations without internet then the 32GB model may not be enough. If they had added a MicroSD slot it wouldn't be an issue, however in having this phone for 72, and just loading my normal Podcasts/Audiobooks/E-Books/Videos (Work and Leisure) I ran out of space and had to pair back. If you keep a lot of media on your device do yourself a favor and get the 128GB version. Also it is a shame they do not have a dual sim model. It would be nice to not carry 2 phones. Camera. A lot of people where down on the fact the camera didn't have Optical Image Stabilization. However Google via software worked around that and it is one of the better camera phones I've had to shot with. It is quick and takes good pictures. Not going to replace my DSLR anytime, but I don't mind grabbing this for taking a picture of the kids. Overall it isn't a bad attempt for Google for hardware. It is solid hardware, and for a phone it is responsive. Mine didn't come with any Verizon installed apps, and appears completely unlocked, however that could be the early versions they grabbed whatever was handy, so your mileage my vary. If you do consider this phone (and for android this is one I would, if only because Google will update this monthly which is important because OS underlining Android is always being updated) do yourself a favor and get the 128GB version so you have space to store your media and apps.