Although it is no longer called Nexus, Pixel/Pixel XL is still the familiar crown prince of Google. After the Nexus 5X/6P has filled in the photo pit, the prince also has the possibility of competing with flagship companies such as Samsung Apple. Google also rarely gives software tilt, making Pixel/Pixel XL the only machine equipped with Google Assistant.
The negative factor is the price. The 32G and 128G versions of Pixel sell for $649/749 (about 4500/5200 yuan), while the XL version sells for $769/869 (about 5300/6000 yuan). We have 32G American Pixel XL, G-2PW2100 model, and shipping cost. The price reached 6000 yuan at the beginning of December.
Appearance and workmanship
Pixel XL adopts the drawer+flip design that is pulled out on the left side. It has very rich accessories. In addition to the very thick instructions and pins, it also includes:
The PD standard charging head supports 5V/3A and 9V/2A outputs. The former is the same as the previous generation, and the latter is the new charging standard;
OTG connector of USB to Type-C;
Double headed Type-C and ordinary Type-C data lines. The former is used for charging, and the latter is used for connecting PC/Mac. Although the dual head Type-C is a trend, it is not yet popular. In fact, the charger interface can save one line by replacing it with a common Type-A interface, and the device compatibility will be much better
All accessories are made of light gray frosted material, with sufficient wire materials, solid workmanship and self provided clamps. The accessories are highly praised.
We got Pixel XL Quite Black However, the front panel is dark gray and cannot cover the sensor hole under the earpiece, which is a pity. The recessed earpiece is easy to accumulate dust, and the design of the earpiece used as a loudspeaker on the Nexus 6P is canceled.
The integrated metal body and the screen edge trimming part have been slightly sandblasted, which looks low-key and textured. The left sim card slot supports a single nano SIM card, but does not support TF card expansion. right It is still the layout of upper power supply and lower volume (domestic products generally use upper volume and lower power supply), and the power key has anti slip treatment. The power key is tight, the volume key is slightly empty, the key is hard, and the feedback is solid.
Different people have different opinions on the appearance of the Pixel XL rear cover, but the glass+metal design is really bold and special. Some users reported that the glass fitting tolerance is relatively large, but the machine on our hands fits closely, but when holding, the finger touch spans the glass and smooth frosted metal, which is a bit disharmonious.
The openings from left to right are Dual LED fill light , rear camera Laser assisted Focusing module and noise reducing microphone. The flash hole is larger than the camera, and there is a special hole. Instead, the camera is placed under the glass cover. The Nexus 4 was similarly set, but its position and proportion were more harmonious than those of the Pixel XL.
There is a 3.5mm headphone connector on the top, and the symmetrical position is the antenna partition strip. The speaker is on the left side of the bottom, and the microphone is on the right side. Type-C connector supports PD Standard quick charge and USB3.0 。
Compared with the Nexus 6P of the previous generation, the Pixel XL is "fatter". There is no speaker on the front of the chin, but it is still very wide. Both generations adopt the post fingerprint identification scheme, and the back cover is very recognizable. Moreover, this generation of smoothing camera is no longer convex.
Hand feel and fingerprint recognition
The Pixel XL screen accounts for 75% of the total. The "forehead" and "chin" areas are large, and the frame is not narrow. It will be a little stressful to hold it in a single hand. The 2.5D Corning Gorilla Generation 4 glass has a small arc, and the metal frame has a little touch, but it feels good.
Pixel XL fingerprint identification module also has a polished surface similar to glass, which is easy to be contaminated with fingerprint oil stains, thus affecting fingerprint identification. It only takes 6 fingerprint entries, but the recognition speed is not high, the speed experience is not as good as the Nexus 6P, there is no obvious speed difference with iPhone, Samsung S7 edge and other machines, and there is a large gap with the unlocking speed of many domestic models.
In particular, This time, the prince's fingerprint button has integrated the sliding function, which can slide up and down to call out/fold the notice bar, which has improved the practicability to a certain extent.
screen
Default mode color standard
SRGB mode color standard
Pixel XL adopts 5.5 inch 2K resolution AMOLED screen, the maximum brightness of full white is about 400 nits, and the display area can reach 500 nits when it becomes smaller. The default color temperature 7200K, slightly cold, can cover 141.9% SRGB color gamut, 93.9% NTSC color gamut.
When the brightness is close to 100 nits in daily use, the average deltaE of 104 colors in Pixel XL default mode is 5.5, and the maximum deltaE is 12.8. The performance is not very good. For comparison, iPhone 7 is 1.6, Note5 is 1.8, S6 edge+is 2.6, and S7 edge is 2.9.
When sRGB mode is enabled in developer mode, the color temperature is close to 6500K, The average deltaE increases to 3.9, the maximum is 6.6, but The color gamut is reduced to 90.3% sRGB. The naked eye can see the very obvious color fading, which affects the appearance.
In the default mode, the screen view is significantly improved than that of the previous generation. Even the Pentile arrangement has good fineness. The base color of the default mode is slightly red and blue, which is more pleasing.
performance
Left CPU computing performance, right GPU graphics performance test
Flash memory read/write speed test
Pixel/Pixel XL is equipped with the "low-frequency" Snapdragon 821. The core frequency of CPU and GPU is the same as that of Snapdragon 820. The 1.59+2.15GHz Kryo architecture+624MHz Adreno530 has the same theoretical performance as that of Snapdragon 820. The advantages of the 821 are lower voltage at the same frequency, lighter heating, and better continuous performance output and power consumption control than the Snapdragon 820.
In the actual test, in addition to the RAR single core optimization, the Pixel XL, both CPU and GPU, belongs to the lower middle level in the 820/821 model. In terms of read-write performance, we get the 32GB version, which has obvious disadvantages in front of other 64/128GB machines (under the same conditions, the larger the capacity, the faster the read-write speed). Detailed test items can be viewed Love to play computer games Of Running points library , I will not repeat it here.
Actual smoothness: Pixel XL's default system smoothness and animation delicacy/coolness are impeccable, but many domestic apps keep booting in the background, and the native system cannot completely eliminate these "cancer" in the background. In addition, Xiaolong 820 has few cores. After the actual installation of Weibo, Tieba, Taobao, JD, UC and other applications, It will have a significant impact on the smoothness of the machine, and even there will be a jam from time to time. We must always have green guards to ensure safety. The actual application startup speed can be compared to view the video of our favorite computer.
system
Although the first launch of Android 7.0 was snatched by LG V20, Pixel XL is the first model with Android 7.1 pre installed. The system is as clean as ever when it leaves the factory. Apart from Google Assistant, which is an important selling point of the new system, such as settings, phone, address book, SMS, camera, photo album, Play store, clock, and so on, there are only a few life applications, such as "calendar, Gmail, calculator, map, and music".
On the whole, it seems that there is little difference from Android 7.0. It is an enhanced version of split screen, enhanced notice bar that is very close to the domestic rom function. It has very convenient notice control and can adjust the position of the shortcut switch by itself The most obvious changes are as follows:
The new launcher, which has become more complex and cool, has a new round icon, its own wallpaper will generate real scene movement according to the sliding direction, the left side resident Google Now, the lower Dock up stroke will directly pull out the application drawer, and some applications support long press to pop up the shortcut function entrance, and the horizontal screen mode.
Google Assistant
For the time being, Google Assistant, which is exclusive to Pixel series, has to change the system language into English in addition to scientific Internet access. After startup, click the home key to display the logo animation of the Google logo color dot, and press and hold to call out the assistant. When the assistant is called, it will also execute the Now on Tap function to read the contents of the current screen and give suggestions. The first use experience is very cool. The machine captures pictures and text content on the screen with unexpected accuracy, which is very suitable for dealing with foreign language websites. In practical experience, Google Assistant is more like a search/voice tool that provides numerous content recommendations, but it seems a bit complicated.
In terms of ease of use, the system also has a one button background cleaning button (the cleaning button will be displayed in the upper right corner only when you slide down the task card), and small functions such as information screen double clicking to display notifications have been added.
Compatibility: At present, some applications support Android 7.0 not well enough, and there is a certain chance that the temple will disappear from the multitasking page (Mate9, V20 and other 7.0 models also have similar problems), and some old applications will flash back. These are the pains that occur every year when they are updated.
Bug: Pixel XL itself has also had small problems in some places, such as application/service crashes, inability to set up search for Chinese, and inability to fully recharge and restart after a long boot time. Its stability is worse than most conservative domestic ROMs, and even worse than when the official version of Android 6.0 first came out.
In addition, Considering the domestic app ecology and the harassment and interception function of phone messages, many third-party auxiliary apps or third-party ROMs must be installed to be used satisfactorily. Unfortunately, the ROM resources of this year are slower and less than those of previous years (due to the impact of too expensive and out of stock machines?).
photograph
Pixel XL comes with Sony IMX378 sensor, 12.3 million pixels, 1/2.3 inch, unit pixel size 1.55 μ m, f/2.0 aperture, configuration and Xiaomi 5s is exactly the same. The law that the bottom of the photography field is bigger than the bottom makes everyone look forward to Sony's mobile phone sensor IMX378, which has the largest unit pixel size. Although anti shake has not been added, 377/378 is the only configuration that can compete with the optical anti shake IMX260/362 scheme. And whether it is Xiaomi 5s or Pixel XL, this camera can be stable without protruding, which is quite touching.
In the photo comparison, the former IMX377 represents Google Nexus 6P, the IMX378 represents Xiaomi 5s and Pixel XL, and the S7 edge serves as the top photo benchmark and "optical anti shake+1.4 μ M "scheme.
The IMX377 used by the Nexus 5X/6P last year was first used on UAVs. Since there is no phase focusing, it is equipped with laser focusing for compensation. IMX378 is essentially an enhanced version of IMX377 that adds phase focusing and optimizes mobile phones. The sensor size and proportion have not changed. The two generations of Prince Goolge even keep the same aperture and lens focal length.
In terms of the system, when collecting samples, S7 edge is the Android 6.0 of the Bank of China, Xiaomi 5s is the development version of 6.12.8, Pixel XL and Nexus 6P are the latest Android 7.1.1.
In terms of photographing experience, the new HDR+algorithm poses a serious challenge to the performance of the Nexus 6P. After taking three or four consecutive pictures, the shutter cannot be pressed because of background processing. After that, it takes nearly 10 seconds to take each successive picture. The experience is negative, and it can compete with the worst domestic models. Pixel XL is much better, but HDR+mode requires users to set the shutter for 1 or 2 seconds after pressing the shutter. The experience is worse than Xiaomi 5s and S7 edge.
Lens quality&wide angle&edge degradation
Lower right corner of the screen
The parameters of the two Prince's lenses are the same. The focal length of Xiaomi 5s is slightly different from that of their lenses, but in fact there is no big difference in wide-angle/field of view. It may be a problem of exif information display, or it may be just a simple difference in lens spacing. They are all super wide-angle, and their field of vision is larger than the S7 edge with an equivalent focal length of 26mm, but the control of edge degradation cannot be separated from the S7 edge with optical anti shake. Among them, the edge of Xiaomi 5s screen is obviously deteriorated but the area is small, while other machines are slightly deteriorated but the area is relatively larger.
Pixel XL and Xiaomi 5s have good anti glare performance, which is no less than Nexus 6P and S7 edge. The latter not only has very obvious glare, but also has a certain degree of flooding that affects the brightness and contrast of the picture near the strong light source.
HDR+mode
PS: All focus points are in the middle. Click the picture to view the large picture.
Scenario 1
Scene 1 dark details enlarged
Scenario 2
Scene 2 central zoom in
Scene 3 Zoom in above the center
Scene 3 Zoom in below the center
Scene 4 Enlarge the dark details
Scene 5 Enlarge
Weak light scene 1
Zoom in above the center of weak light scene 1
Weak light scene 2
Weak light scene 2 central amplification
Extremely weak light scene
Despite high expectations, the HDR+mode has not been debugged yet. The Nexus 6P and Pixel XL still have amazing weak light discrimination and color saturation, but there are still some strange small flaws. HDR+mode will affect light metering and white balance in the daytime. The synthetic effect is unnatural. Upgrading the Nexus 6P in 7.1.1 will even lose the dark color saturation. In light and weak light scenes, HDR+has a relatively smaller impact on the white balance, better noise control, and the highlight shows the sky, even the interior details can be seen in the distance. Extremely weak light shows supernatural details and color saturation.
The whole set of HDR+and noise reduction algorithms purposely avoid highlights in order to retain the details of highlights. However, the algorithm does not capture the edges of objects accurately, resulting in very unnatural noise around the highlights. It's a pity that they shoot off at the door. However, the overall availability is still much better than the daytime performance. It is recommended that ordinary users use the current HDR+as the night view mode and use it during the day as appropriate.
In addition, we can also note that when HDR+mode is not turned on, Pixel XL has higher color saturation in low light scenes, and the highest ISO is also higher. The quality of the sensor has indeed improved to some extent.
Multi machine comparison - daytime/strong light scene
PS: All focus points are in the middle. Click the picture to view the large picture. Xiaomi 5s and S7 edge are in automatic mode. The 6P and Pixel XL daytime proofs are represented by the better ones selected from the default and HDR+modes. HDR+proofs are used for both light and weak light scenes.
Day Scene 1
Daytime scene 1 central magnification
Day Scene 2
Daytime scene 2 central magnification
Day Scene 3
Daytime scene 3 central magnification
Daytime scenario 4
Day Scene 5
Daytime scene 5 central magnification
Multi machine comparison - light scene
Light Scene 1 Center Enlarged
Light Scene 2
Light Scene 2 Center Enlarged
Light scene 2 center right zoom in
Light Scene 3
Light scene 3 center right zoom in
Light Scene 3 Zoom in above the center
Multi machine comparison - low light scene
Weak light scene 1
Weak light scene 1 central amplification
Weak light scene 2
Weak light scene 2 central amplification
Central amplification of extremely weak light scene
In terms of white balance, the Pixel XL is not as stable as the previous generation and Xiaomi 5s. Different scenes may have yellow or green color problems. Its noise reduction algorithm is obviously more powerful than the previous generation, While the dark noise is better controlled, The texture of the object will be lost, The contrast with the previously mentioned noise at the highlight is more abrupt and affects the appearance.
In terms of discrimination, Pixel XL's daytime performance is slightly better than that of the previous generation, not much different from Xiaomi 5s, but slightly weaker than S7 edge. After the light weakens, the HDR+algorithm of the two generations of prince easily beats Xiaomi's 5s night scene mode, which is dominated by smudging. The former uses smudging in a large area of the same color, while the processing of highlights and nearby areas is less, and the discrimination and brightness details remain intact. majority The discrimination of several scenes can surpass S7 edge, but the problem of high light and noise mentioned earlier has seriously affected the overall detail texture and appearance.
In summary, there is no essential difference between Pixel XL and the Nexus 6P upgraded to Android 7.1.1. The main improvement is focusing and photographing experience. The current version of the white balance and noise reduction algorithm is not as stable and reliable as the previous generation. The more forceful noise reduction smearing also leads to a small regression in the weak light discrimination. The white balance is also not as good as Xiaomi 5s with the same sensor and its previous generation. The overall performance is not as expected.
While the HDR+algorithm, which the prince is proud of, has greatly improved the performance of discrimination on the basis of the original saturation and weak light brightness, but the experience and overall effect are not as stable as the last year. Details/texture, discrimination and saturation can only be used“ Chengya HDR+, loser HDR+". These minor problems have a lot to do with the current version of ROM. I hope Google will push updates to fill the hole as soon as possible.
Endurance&Charging&Heating
Pixel XL is equipped with 3450mAh battery. After 30 minutes of large-scale games (NBA 2K15), 30 minutes of wifi and 4G Internet access, 1 hour of music playing and 30 minutes of local video playing, after a total of 3 hours of endurance testing, the remaining power is 71%. Affected by 2K screen, its endurance is worse than that of one plus 3T, Xiaomi 5s (smaller screen but more active core regulation) and other products with similar battery capacity. But the good news is that even without scientific Internet access, as long as the cancer background is cleaned, the power consumption of the machine even the 8-hour standby of wifi is only about 3%. This generation of prince, when unable to connect to Google server, consumes much less power than previous native models.
NBA 2K15 at 26 ℃ for 20 minutes. The highest temperature on the front is 46.6 ℃ at the lower right of the receiver; The highest temperature on the back is 46.2 degrees on the left side of the fingerprint identification button, which is in good order. During the daily use of the machine, when performing simple tasks such as system setting and Internet access, the temperature rises slightly faster than that of other Snapdragon 820/821 models, but not much.
Since the Pixel XL charger uses dual Type-C interfaces and cannot use a conventional ammeter, it is changed to a power detector. After the loss is added, the reading is generally 10-20% higher than the actual output of the charging head. During actual charging, the maximum power of Pixel XL is about 15-17W, but after a little longer boot time, its charging power will be stuck around 8W, and it needs to be restarted to recover.
From 5% to 100% charging, it takes 15 minutes to charge 26%, 30 minutes to charge 47%, 45 minutes to charge 63%, 1 hour to charge 76%, and 90% to charge in 1 hour and 20 minutes. At this time, the obvious trickle charging starts. It takes a total of 1 hour and 50 minutes to fully charge, and the charging speed is normal.
summary
From the perspective of the same door, Pixel and Pixel XL have different screen resolution, size and battery capacity. The screen resolution of small computers is low, and the pressure on performance and endurance is low, but the fineness will be poor, and the endurance will also be at a disadvantage. However, the price difference between large and small computers is as high as 120 dollars (about 800 yuan). If you just want to experience the latest system and Google Assistant, the beggar version Pixel is definitely the best choice. However, if it is the main machine, you are still recommended to bite the bullet and get on the big machine.
From the perspective of Pixel XL itself, its Different people have different opinions on appearance, but the workmanship is solid; The screen color is average, but the appearance is excellent; System and Google Assistant has a good experience, but domestic use requires wall climbing ladders and various computer skills; The discrimination and saturation of weak light photography are outstanding, but there are still small problems to be repaired; The endurance, heating and charging are all normal. There is no weakness.
For domestic users, it is still a symbol of original beliefs that people love and hate, but this generation is definitely the best performing and most balanced prince. In terms of problems, only price and appearance are really left.
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