Customer Ratings & Reviews

Thought this phone would be a good compromise between i-phone and Droid. Not so much. Little more complicating than a Droid and nothing like an i-phone.

Out of the box the phone is very nice and feels great in the hands. The phone is solid and feels expensive. I would have loved to see how the PIXEL XL differs but got the PIXEL. After 2 days of using the phone I think it is OK. If Google is trying to compete they should have done a better job. First off I have the Pixel 32gb and the adroid software takes up about 5.39gb, luckily we get unlimited storage for photos and videos. Second, Android is great because you can customize it a lot. The phone comes preloaded with wallpaper, ringtones, etc...which are ok. Google did not think about sound when they made the phone because the ring volume, speaker volume and phone volume is very low. When making calls I had trouble hearing the person on the other end. The volume is so low that I am afraid of using it for an alarm because I do not think I will hear it in the morning. Third, I think they could have done a better job on the keyboard, the keyboard is a little boring. The display is not as sharp as I thought it would be but the camera does take great night photos. What I do like about the phone is how it feels in the hand, the camera and google assistant. It is the first generation that is why I gave it 3 stars. If they work on the speakers and sound this would be a phone to consider. It is fast and responsive, I had a lot of apps running and was not slowing down or freezing up. I am familiar with the Android OS so it was pretty easy to navigate and set up. Overall, I would get the 3rd or 4th generation version of this phone. I would recommend this phone only if you are a diehard android user!

I'm an iPhone user and have been for years so I was a little skeptical about trying this phone out but of course I wasn't going to let the opportunity pass. Activation was easy (just popped my SIM card from my iPhone 6s Plus in). I had to sign in to my google account (as with the iPhone you sign in with your Apple ID). It was a little slow with downloading 11 things (not sure what those things were as google did that on its own) but it happened in the background and didn't interfere with me using the phone while it happened. It did cause it to run got pretty fast but it wasn't anything that made it impossible to hold the phone or anything. Setting up the fingerprint scanner was simple but I was surprised that it didn't want to do more detailed scans like the iPhone does. It's not a bad thing but that may be why they give a disclaimer on the screen that the fingerprint option may not be as secure as a strong password. Getting used to the Android operating system can be a little difficult if you haven't had any experience with it but that can be true with anything. The Google assistant works well and has a feature similar to "Hey Siri" so you can activate it without picking up the phone. It's a feature I use on the iPhone often so it's definitely something I appreciate on this device. The camera works well but I feel like the iPhone 6s Plus camera works a little better overall (although the pixel seems to win a tad bit more in lower light with the main camera). Overall it's a solid performing phone from what I can tell with the short time I've had it. How well it performs in the long run is hard to say since it's new but for now I would recommend it to those that prefer Android to iOS. I would have probably enjoyed this more if it were the XL version because the size would be more comparable to my 6s Plus but that's the only real negative I have.

So I will be making a lot of comparisons to the LG G5 because that is the phone I went from and since they are phones of the current generation I feel that it is fair to compare the two. I want to start with the successes of the Google Pixel however and that really starts with the software experience. Google Assistant is awesome and feels, work, and looks both professional and personalized at the same time. It is the killer feature of the Google Pixel and it is a great reason to pick one up. I will say that performance between the Google Pixel and the LG G5 feels different. The Google Pixel felt faster in nearly everything that I have done and that's not to the discredit of the G5. It is amazing in terms of performance too. It is hard to tell if it is due to Android 7.1 VS Android 6.0.1 or if it is the hardware between the two phones. Google is not wrong about the camera performance of their phone it is truly amazing. That being said I did find myself missing my wide angle camera that is present on the G5. Where the G5 is a jack of all trades the Pixel absolutely nails its camera quality with it's rear and front facing shooter. The single biggest thing that I missed is the removable battery. While the Pixel does have fast charging it doesn't always guarantee you'll be set though the fast charging does seem to work faster than it does on the G5. One of my favorite things about the G5 is the build quality. It is simply fantastic. Yeah it may not have any fancy water resistance, but you just feel confident in the build of the phone. Everything on the phones software end feels just as premium as the hardware does and everything works seamlessly. It is quite simply the best software experience I have had on a phone. Overall if you are wanting a Android experience with no gimmicks, but just done very well then the Google Pixel is the phone for you.

I purchased this to upgrade from a Nexus 5x. I have to say...this is a HUGE upgrade. The phone is so much faster and snappier and responsive. There is no lag at all or anything when you are trying to do things on the phone. I remember getting frustrated a lot on my old phone waiting for it to do things. The screen also looks amazing. I have owned the other flagship phones from the other 2 major players in the cell phone world...and this one is definitely on par with those, I dare to say it even looks better than those! The camera is just as good as everyone is saying it is. It loads up very fast, and there is virtually no lag from when you hit the shutter button to when the picture is taken. Thats a HUGE plus for me, cause i'm used to using my DSLR camera which is instantaneous. The pictures are very vibrant, clear, and just look amazing. I couldn't be happier with the camera. The overall design of the phone I know has gotten some not so great reviews, but in my opinion I think it looks good, and sleek. It is well built and feels solid in your hand. I like that they aren't trying to be the thinnest phone in the world like some other companies...I would rather have a little more beef to my phones so I don't always feel like they are going to break or bend. Plus, you will most likely have it in a case most of the time anyways, so the actual look of the phone really doesn't matter. Overall, I am very satisfied with the Google Pixel. I know its a little pricey, but in my opinion, it is worth every penny! I would highly recommend this to anyone looking to upgrade from a Nexus, switch from another brand, or anyone who just wants a really awesome, fast, and solid phone!

First off I have been a IOS user for eons and this is my first higher end android device in some time. I love IOS! That being said I am really starting to dig this phone the more I use it, also it's FAST. It's much faster than my iPhone6 was and the camera beats my 7. Low light pics are superb. The screen is rough in direct sunlight but most are I guess. The screen is crystal sharp and rich in color with very sensitive touch controls. The OK google AI is nice and almost feels a tad more real than SIRI. I enjoy the night feature like the iPhone has. The fingerprint sensor on the back of the phone is genius and work perfectly every time, no issues or glitches yet like I get with my iPhones. The phone is very similar to Apples and has a great solidness and build to it. I was able to find cables and a case from Amazon before they were available elsewhere. 2 x 3' cables and 2 x clear cases for $15 shipped. Wow what a deal and great quality considering I have paid $60-80 for my iPhone cases and $30-40 for cables. What I don't like about this phone besides it running Android is that it gets dang warm when charging and using the phone at the same time. That's about it really I guess minus some of the stuff I hate about android which really has nothing to do with how Google made this phone. So it wouldn't really be fair knock it for that. It comes in great packaging, extra cable and sync adapter for copying non Android phones, which was a simple process. If you are a Apple user switching to Android be sure to do your research before switching, Apple has made this a not so simple process. Good job Google!

Not happy with Best Buy because did not receive gift card that should've come with the phone

The Pixel came in a simple box with no instructions, except to turn it on. The on-screen instructions were easy to follow and the transfer of apps from my old phone (Maxx) was easy and seamless. I was unable to activate the phone, and had to call Verizon for assistance. She had me up and running in a few minutes and even told me about some of the features of the new Pixel. The phone itself was slim and elegant, but slippery. I felt as though it may slip out of my hands, so I quickly invested in a military style case and am more comfortable handling it with it on (plus I like the added protection). One of the first things I tried was the camera. It has an extremely fast focus, and adjusts for the light of the environment. Even in a dark conference hall, the pictures were impressive and of course easy to share. The battery life is very good. It charges quickly (takes slightly longer than the 15 minutes claimed) and lasts about 8-12 hours depending on usage. The fingerprint reader is responsive and I like using it to quickly enter the phone. The Pixel has a neat feature of a drop down express settings which has a flashlight (very handy) and a Do Not Disturb function - perfect for meetings. I also like having some of the Google features readily available like the Google Search bar and swiping to the right which brings up weather and news. Overall, I'm very pleased with the Pixel and look forward to discovering all the features.

Battery life sucks. Webpages are slow to load. Will be getting a Samsung.

Graphics, screen quality and overall functionality is not as good as expected.

This is the fastest most solid Android phone I've ever used. In keeping with the other Google phones, the Pixel is bone stock, with no addons, which is refreshing and runs blazingly fast. The haptic feedback is snappy and useful./ Nougat is well polished and feels like Android is now enough cycles that the bugs are worked out and it can rival iOS. The phone itself is as close to an iPhone 6 clone as I can imagine, with some differences that make it unique and all Android. The placement of the fingerprint sensor on the back takes some getting used to, but once you are it's easy to unlock as you're bringing the phone up to your face. Call quality and Speakerphone are all as I would expect for a top of the line phone, and are top notch. The metal body and and glass back all feel very well assembled. I like the feel of the beveled edge in my hand, it gives the feeling of something to hold on to around the curve of the phone, in spite of it's size. The AMOLED screen is bright even in bright daylight and is pleasing to the eye. Overall this phone is a wonderful flagship for the Android brand. It's refreshing to see Android as it was meant to be used, without touchwiz or any other overlays that slow it down and make it actually harder to use. I would highly recommend this phone to anyone looking for a new device.

Phone works pretty good no complaints and satisfied with my purchase

Good Phone and cheap cost. Nice to have purchased this.

The reviews for this phone are great, so I bought it to replace my Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge (which really was a great phone). Well, there's nothing special about this phone. The pure Android doesn't make the phone run any faster than my Samsung did, you lose a lot of screen real estate because of the way the screen is laid out, and the back is really garbage. Today I dropped the phone no more than 1 foot and the glass on the back shattered. Researching fixes, I found that this glass shatters if you bump the phone, and even sometimes just from being in a pocket. Google does not cover this, even though it is a clear design flaw, so I will be going back to my S6. Don't fall for the hype, stay away from this phone!

I was provided this phone for reviewing by Best Buy. I popped in a Verizon SIM and was off and running. 7.1 Nougat took a bit to get used to, as you have to hold the google button for a split sec and then swipe up to open the apps selection menu. Also the back button and the currently opened apps button are on opposite sides of the home button, that also took a bit to get used for me. The camera on this phone and the camera software works very well. Takes HDR pictures about as fast as an older phone like a Samsung S5 takes regular pictures. The pictures in lower light turn out pretty sharp as well. Runs apps pretty well. Cons are that it does not accept Micro SD cards for additional storage, so it might pay to get the one with more than 32GB of space if you like to keep a lot of pics and videos (and apps) on your phone at once. Overall I would say it is very comparable to a friend of mine's Samsung Galaxy S7, feature wise, performance wise. The Pixel is a very nice flagship level smartphone with some of the latest bells and whistles.

When Google announced the Pixel, I was pretty excited - finally a true Google-branded phone. The only real complaint I had before receiving my Pixel was the large bezel on top and bottom of the phone (I mean, come on Google, you don't have a physical button like the iPhone). I received this phone, and was able to use with Sprint - excellent LTE signal, and relatively long battery life (better than my iPhone 7). The screen on the Pixel is absolutely gorgeous - the color saturation is phenomenal and I really, really love it. The sound is good, but Google made the mistake Apple did with the iPhone 6 & 6s - the speakers are on the bottom. So, if you're holding the phone sideways and have a finger covering the bottom, the sound will be quite muffled. Google should have taken a page from Apple and put a second speaker in the earpiece. The camera is pretty awesome - I consider it to be on par with my iPhone 7. It takes good low-light photos, but day-time is where it really shines. All in all, this is a good phone - I do like it more than the S6 Edge I had previously. However, the large bezels and the speaker placements knock it to four stars from five. Kudos to Google for making sure the phone can work on virtually every carrier, though - that is an awesome feature and I wish every handset maker would do the same.

It’s hard to review a phone like this without also reviewing the operating system, especially with some exclusive features that have made their way into this device, but I’ll do my best. Performance: I can say that the performance of the phone is excellent, as can be expected from the first of the devices with Qualcomm’s new Flagship SnapDragon 821. I haven’t run into any issues with any of my numerous apps. The camera is good, as all reviews have stated, though I don’t see any great differences between it and many other devices on the market. At this point, all of the cameras are very good in these devices, so without professional equipment to measure differences between them, the average person will not be able to tell the difference. The cellular signal strength on this phone is definitely worse than my previous device, every single location I’ve tried (~20 ft from a Verizon microcell and multiple other locations), this seems to come in approximately -20dbm worse in strength than the same spot with my Galaxy S6. It hasn’t yet caused any reception issues though. Interesting Options: There are a couple of interesting things that I’ve not seen in my previous devices (likely because I’ve never owned a Google branded phone). First, in the developers’ options, there’s an option to outright allow Bootloader Unlock. I’m so used to having to jump through hoops to be able to do such a thing (if at all), that it is a welcome addition for it to be so readily available. The fingerprint reader is slick, though I feel like there is a missed opportunity in making it more functional, almost button-like, as some other phones on the market have, so you’re not holding your phone differently just to use the fingerprint reader then having to switch your grip on it because it serves very little other purpose. That said, there is a ‘gesture’ type function in the OS called ‘Moves’ which is interesting, by swiping your finger up or down the sensor you can slide open and close the notifications bar. While an interesting concept, I found the sensor to be a tad oversensitive, sometimes sliding open or closed the bar when I put down the phone, with barely a touch to the back of it. It was nice to see USB-C included as the charging/accessory port to alleviate a lot of issues that micro-USB has always had. Google Assistant is a neat feature, and while it is technically an OS option, it is currently only available on the Pixel, with more devices coming later. It still has a way to go before it becomes entirely useful, however, as even normal functionality of the Google NOW such as identifying songs, is currently absent from Assistant. The contextual offerings are interesting though I have yet to find any real use for them, maybe I will moving forward. I did find it odd that the Pixel only has a 1080p screen while the XL has the QHD screen, especially with QHD becoming the norm on flagship phones, even of this size. That said, however, I am unable to distinguish any real difference between the 1080p of this device and the QHD screen of my Galaxy S6. Layout: The phone looks like your standard smartphone, basically a cross between a Galaxy and an iPhone, though the understated ‘G’ on the back denoting it a google phone, and the glass plate at the top where the fingerprint reader is are nice understated touches. Unlike some reviews I’ve read saying that the glass feels cheap and almost plastic-like, I actually find it to be a nice addition. However, when looking at the front the first thing about this phone that is most apparent is the black bar at the bottom of the phone under the screen. Unfortunately, it serves no real purpose, it has no touch sensitive buttons or anything else of any use, it seems like a waste of space, which is unfortunate. It also makes it look too much like most other phones on the market, where they could have added something to distinguish it. The power and volume buttons are on the same side of the phone, which is taking some getting used to, as all of my previous phones have had them on two separate sides, whether top and side or opposing sides. I’m sure I’ll get used to it, but for now it feels odd. Finally, I wish the headphones jack wasn’t at the top, coming from multiple generations of phones with the jack on the bottom, this one having it on top causes issues with the wires of aux cables and headphones nearly always draping over the screen, but that’s just a personal gripe. Initial Setup: The phone wanted me to transfer all of my data from my previous device using a dongle that was included with the phone. While I appreciate this feature, and while it did finally work as expected, it took a great deal of effort (including 4 reboots of my old devices and 2 reboots and a factory reset of the Pixel) in order to get it to work. The very first time I connected my previous phone (a Galaxy S6) it told me that it was not compatible with this functionality. I thought that was somewhat odd so I rebooted the S6 which fortunately cleared that up. The unfortunate part is, for the next 2 attempts, some part of that transfer failed requiring me at one point to reboot the S6 again and the next time to factory reset the Pixel. That said, if it fails for any reason it does not give you the opportunity to pick up where it left off, instead it says “some of your settings transferred” and then just moved on with the setup process. I chose to factory reset at that time because I wanted to be sure all of my settings transferred. Conclusion: Overall it’s a good attempt at a phone, though with no real distinguishing features or aesthetics. That said, so far I am happier with it than I was with my previous device, and I’m sure as I get used to some of the options, I will come to enjoy it more. I want to give this device 5/5 stars, but some of the misses are just enough to keep that star from it, though the additions of the easy bootloader unlock is probably one of the best things I've seen in a phone in generations.

Phone app crashed at 5 weeks of owning it brand new . Couldn't make or receive calls. Google was not helpful, getting a refurbished phone in the mail. Not happy. As much as I'm paying for this phone , I expected more from Google. Wouldn't trust it... Bad experience overall.

Overall I love this thing for a smartphone, but I drop calls worse than I ever did in my life with any phone I have ever had.

The Google Pixel is simple the best phone I have ever owned; better than any Android or iPhone I've ever used. It feels great in my hand, the display is in the same league as Samsung’s AMOLED screens, and in a full day of nearly continuous use, I haven't seen one hiccup or stutter. The phone came about 60% charged and the included USB-C cable got it up to a full charge in under an hour. The display really looks like paper. Settings allow you to change both font size and display size. There's also a nighttime mode that seems to cut blue-light in the display, although the setting says that it's really tinting your screen red -- same difference, I guess. The fingerprint reader is exceedingly fast. I couldn't really measure the time it took to wake the phone using the reader simply because it is so quick. So, as someone who has bought and returned a fair share of phones that weren’t good enough, I’m keeping the Pixel. It’s the first phone that will prevent me from considering the latest iPhone. I’m not really tied into either the Apple or the Google ecosystem, but with the Pixel’s performance and Android’s polish of Material Design, I’m just not interested in anything else.