Pixel 2 XL Review (2021) - Still a Great Option in 2021?! By Rjey Tech

How's it going everyone, my name is RJ, and this is the pixel 2 XL, just a quick refresher for you guys. This is a flagship phone made by google that was released in 2017. I wanted to know how the pixel 2 XL holds up in 2021, so naturally, I've been using this as my daily driver for a good two weeks now, and I want to share with you guys my thoughts and overall experience. Let me tell you something: it's so easy to get caught up in all the hype featuring these new flagship smartphones that sometimes you just need to take a step back and take a look at the older flagships that still deliver the best bang for your buck. Because, quite honestly, there are a lot of older flagships out there that are vastly under covered over on YouTube. So the question is: is the pixel 2 XL still a good buy in 2021? Well, let's find out this phone has a lot of good things going for it.

To my surprise, people are just giving away the 2xl now in fact, I've gotten two of these for free, and I feel like many users out there. Just don't know what they're giving up. If you are lucky, you can probably pick up a pixel 2 XL for under a hundred dollars in fairly good condition, like the one I have over here. The 2xl currently runs android 11 and google says this is the last major software update for the pixel 2 lineups. But there is a work around this which I will discuss closer to the end of the video in the hands.

The 2xl feels premium. It's made up of a solid aluminum frame and I love this two-tone glass back finish over on the front, there are rather big bezels, judging by 2021 standards which do house dual firing. Stereo speakers, the 2xl sports, a 6 inch 60hz OLED display the display- may not be the best, but it's enough to get you by on a day-to-day basis. There isn't anything special or fancy about the display. Colors are more on the natural side, and, quite honestly, they are a bit muted in bright.

Sunny or winter whiteout conditions it can be rather difficult to see your display, but in a normal environment you should have no issues whatsoever. I love the optical fingerprint scanner on the back. Google went away from this in the pixel 4 lineups, but I'm so glad that they brought it back on the pixel 5. Quite frankly, there is nothing wrong with fingerprint scanners and I can do away with face ID. The fingerprint scanner is quick, receptive and ideal in a world of masks.

I do think we will be wearing masks for a little while longer so just hang in there. As an added bonus, you can swipe down on the fingerprint scanner to bring up your notification panel. This is just so convenient, and I love doing this just for the fun of it. It's like my own personal phone, fidget spinner. Of course, if you are enjoying this video- and you want to see more throwback reviews on older smartphones, leave a comment down below and let me know which phone you would like me to cover in my next review.

I absolutely love using older phones and coming back to you guys with my thoughts and opinions, I'm planning on making this a series on my channel so yeah. Do me a quick favor leave a like on this video and consider subscribing to the channel for more. If I was a betting man, I'd say you clicked on this video to find out how good the cameras are on the 2xl. You know what I'm just going to come out and say it: the pixel, 2 XL outperforms, a lot of 2021 mid-range smartphones in the camera department, it's safe to say that the cameras on the pixel 2 XL were ahead of its time in 2017. , pixel devices are renowned for their photography prowess and the 2xl is no exception.

You have a 12.2 megapixel lens on the back sporting, an f 1.8 aperture. This camera excels in low light conditions thanks to the lower aperture and pixel software. The pictures coming out of this camera are very good. The autofocus is fast, it's quick to snap, so you don't miss those timely memories. The portrait mode is fantastic, even though it gets the edges wrong from time to time.

Photography is the main reason to buy a pixel, 2 XL in 2021 sure there's not much versatility in the lens. It is missing an ultra-wide angle lens, but these snaps you get are fantastic, they're natural, with vivid colors and excellent contrast. You will be surprised on how well the photos hold up compared to mid-range 2021 smartphones. On the video side of things, you can record in 4k at 30fps with image stabilization, which was a relatively new feature at the time. If you are getting this phone, and you're thinking to yourself.

I want to use this as my primary video camera. Then you are better off getting an older iPhone because they just do better in the video department. So how has the performance of the pixel 2 XL held up against the test of time? You know this is a 4-year-old flagship, but google devices have always been known for great software, optimization performance and stellar cameras, it's sort of like an iPhone in that sense, where you can just pick up an older iPhone and still expect great performance. The 2xl is equipped with the snapdragon, 835 and 4 gigabytes of ram. Of course, it runs stock android, and this is the biggest advantage of an older pixel device.

Android 11, to my surprise, still runs well on this device. There's no bloatware and unnecessary applications bogging down this device. In fact, day-to-day performance is pretty smooth, and I do experience the occasional stutter here and there. But overall, though I'm not complaining, if you are coming to this phone from say a 90hz or 120hz display, you will notice, it does feel a bit sluggish, but keep in mind in 2017. High refractory displays were barely a thing at the time.

Even today, iPhones don't even come with the 90hz display, so I'm not really complaining in the refresh rate department. It took a little over a day for me to adapt to a lower refractory display coming from the OnePlus 8 pro as my daily driver, but once I adapted, I didn't have any complaints. If you're doing any heavy gaming, you will notice a few frame drops here and there I haven't done too much gaming on the 2xl. I've been strictly using it to browse the web, check emails and a bit of social media for those basic tasks. This phone performs quite well battery life can be a concern on the pixel 2 XL, it's not as bad as its little brother, the pixel 2, but for some of you out there, the screen on time will not be enough.

The 2xl is equipped with a 3520 William battery and over time batteries naturally degrade. I've been getting around six hours of screen on time over the past two weeks, putting this phone through the paces for some of you, that is more than enough screen on time, to get you through a full day's abuse and for others, if you are a power, user, and you're looking for a ride, eight hours of screen on time from a single charge, this phone is just not going to cut it. The 2xl is also missing some basic 2021 necessities like wireless charging and fast wire charging. It charges at a speed of 10.5 watts through its USB port, and it takes around four hours to charge from zero to 100. It's very hard for me to use a device in 2021 that doesn't feature wireless charging.

I do have wireless chargers set up in all the corners of my house and not having the convenience to charge. My phone anywhere is a bit of a nuisance, but for under a hundred dollars you are getting an amazing phone value-wise. The one thing that may be holding you back from pulling the trigger is software updates. But there is an easy work around this. I will leave a link for you guys down below where you can easily flash ROMs of newer software updates and keep your old phone feeling like it's brand new and fresh there's not much to dislike about the pixel 2 XL.

There are a few compromises you have to make like an outdated design and a mediocre display, but those compromises, in my opinion, are plenty worth it. If you decide to pick up this phone in 2021, you are getting a very capable camera, stellar performance and my favorite a rear fingerprint scanner for under a hundred dollars. You can't go wrong with the pixel 2 XL. If you decide to buy used, make sure you find out how many owners this phone has previously been through and always thoroughly check the device to see. If there are any lingering issues, I will leave you guys with my pixel 5 review.

This is one of my best shot, reviews, cinematography, wise, so make sure you do go and check that out. If you found value in this video, don't forget to leave a like on this video and subscribe to the channel. As always. Thank you. So much for watching and don't forget to flex with your throwback pixel tech.

Source : Rjey Tech