Google’s event today saw the unveiling of its newest smartphones, Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL. According to the company, the Pixel 2 camera has been “factory calibrated and optimized for AR.”
Google says its specially calibrated Pixel 2 camera enables robust tracking, even in low-light conditions, allowing the phone to track the environment and render AR objects at 60 frames per second (FPS).
Apple made a similar claim when they unveiled the iPhone 8 last month, saying that each camera is “individually calibrated, with new gyroscopes and accelerometers for accurate motion tracking.” The new iPhone line also boasts 60 FPS tracking.
Featuring a single 12.2MP camera with f/1.8 aperture lens, Google’s Pixel 2 nearly matches the same portion of the spec sheet as iPhone 8’s 12MP camera with f/1.8 aperture lens, putting the two on par in terms of AR rendering ability, at least on paper.
Google’s AR function, thanks to the ARCore SDK, is said to support “millions of devices” capable of running Android 7.0 Nougat and above. Apple, with its ARKit SDK, has also said they’ve pushed AR to “hundreds of millions of iPhones and iPads” capable of running its newest operating system iOS 11, which includes pretty much everything back to the iPhone 5s and even the 6th generation iPod Touch.
Pixel 2 is priced at $649 (64 GB) and $749 (128 GB), with its XL-sized bigger brother selling for $849 (64 GB) and $949 (128 GB). Pixel 2 is slated to launch October 19th, and Pixel 2XL on November 15th.
Only user reports will be able tell just how Google’s flagship Pixel 2 stacks up with Apple’s iPhone 8 as it takes the fight to the realms of augmented reality.
Pixel 2 Specs
| Spec Category | Pixel 2 | Pixel 2 XL |
| Display | Cinematic 5.0 inch display / Cinematic 127 mm display FHD (1920 x 1080) AMOLED at 441ppi 16:9 2.5D Corning® Gorilla® Glass 5 Always-on display |
Fullscreen 6 inch displayQHD+ (2880 x 1440) pOLED at 538ppi18:93D Corning® Gorilla® Glass 5 Always-on display |
| Size and Weight | 5.7 x 2.7 x 0.3 inches 145.7 x 69.7 x 7.8 mm 143 gm |
6.2 x 3.0 x 0.3 inches 157.9 x 76.7 x 7.9 mm 175 gm |
| Battery | 2700 mAh battery
Up to 7 hours of go with 15 minutes of charge *Approximate battery life based on a mix of talk, data, and standby use with always on display off. Requires use of included charger. An active display or data usage will decrease battery life. Actual results may vary, see website for details. |
3520 mAh battery
Up to 7 hours of go with 15 minutes of charge *Approximate battery life based on a mix of talk, data, and standby use with always on display off. Requires use of included charger. An active display or data usage will decrease battery life. Actual results may vary, see website for details. |
| Design | Aluminum unibody with hybrid coating IP67 water and dust resistant
**Pixel has a water protection rating of IP67 under IEC standard 60529. Charger and accessories are not water resistant. |
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| Memory | 4GB LPDDR4x RAM | |
| Display Characteristics | 95% DCI-P3 coverage100,000:1, super contrast ratio True black levelFull 24-bits depth or 16.77 million colors | 100% DCI-P3 coverage 100,000:1, super contrast ratio True black level Full 24-bits depth or 16.77 million colors |
| Storage | 64 or 128GB | |
| Processors | Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 8352.35Ghz + 1.9Ghz, 64Bit Octa-Core Adreno 540Security module | |
| Rear Camera | 12.2MP 1.4μm Autofocus with laser + dual pixel phase detection Optical + electronic image stabilization f/1.8 aperture |
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| Front Camera | 8MP 1.4μm f/2.4 aperture Fixed focus |
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| Video | Rear Camera: 1080p @ 30fps, 60fps, 120fps 720p @ 30fps, 60fps, 240fps 4K @ 30fpsFront Camera: 1080p @ 30fps 720p @ 30fps 480p @ 30fps |
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| Sensors | Active Edge™ Proximity / Ambient light sensor Accelerometer / Gyrometer MagnetometerPixel Imprint – Back-mounted fingerprint sensor for fast unlockingBarometer Hall effect sensor Android Sensor Hub Advanced x-axis haptics for sharper / defined response | |
| Charging | USB Type-C™ 18W adaptor with USB-PD 2.0 18W charging | |
| Ports and Slots | USB Type-C™ USB 3.1 Gen 1 Single Nano SIM |
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| Media | Stereo front-firing speakers3 Mics Noise suppression | |
| Connectivity | Wi-Fi 2.4G + 5GHz 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac 2×2 MIMOBluetooth 5.0 + LENFC eSIMGoogle Cast | |
| In box | [GLOBAL] USB Type-C™ 18W adaptor with USB-PD C-C cable (USB 2.0) SIM tool Quick Switch Adapter 3.5mm to USB-C Headphone Adapter (aka Headphone Adapter) |
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| OS | Android Oreo | |
| Hearing Aid Compatibility | M4/T3 HAC rating Google’s devices meet the hearing aid compatibility (HAC) requirements set by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). |
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| Security Updates | Minimum 3 years of security updates**[US and GLOBAL] Pixel’s software and security updates for three years. See website for details. | |
| OS Updates | Minimum 3 years of OS updates**[US and GLOBAL] Pixel’s software and security updates for three years. See website for details. | |
| Daydream Ready | Daydream-ready: Built for VR to work with Google Daydream View headset. | |