Google Pixel 2 XL Quick Review: Mighty and crafty

But it's no longer a game of big players like Apple or Samsung: Many new companies have come forward to help in this change.

Google's name has for years been strongly associated with internet, web search and of course Android.

The company's Nexus smartphone line offered a great experience to mobile users through the stock Android experience, but Google relied on third-party OEMs such as LG and HTC to build the hardware.

Last year, Google decided to take things into its own hands, and the Pixel series was born.

Google has the leverage of owning the world's largest mobile operating system, and it can use it to its benefit.

The Pixel and Pixel XL from last year were certainly refreshing in the world of iPhones and Galaxies. And we're here looking at the second-generation Pixel phones.

The Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL had their fair share of popularity when they were launched.

Now that the phones have arrived in India, we at International Business Times, India, got our hands on the premium Pixel 2 XL, which is priced at Rs 73,000 and Rs 82,000 for 64GB and 128GB variants, respectively.

With international publications widely reporting the issues with the Pixel 2 XL's screen, it was subconsciously tickling our brains to dig deeper when we got the new phone.

While we reserve the in-depth specifics of the Pixel 2 XL's problems for the final review, here's a quick look at how Google's 2017 flagship makes a first impression.

Not to be too obvious, but the 18:9 aspect ratio display measuring 5.99 inches is certainly a welcoming change.

We've had experience with Samsung Galaxy S8 and LG G6 with a similar aspect ratio and display size, so it wasn't surprising when the Pixel 2 XL felt handy and tall.

The pOLED display looks natural and balances bright and dark colour shades perfectly to strain the eyes less.

It's only been a day since we've been using the Pixel 2 XL, so it's unfair to judge the handset for its burn-in issue, but the blue tint while viewing from the sides is certainly real. Google says it's fixing it with an OTA update (including the burn-in issue).

Now that we've the display and design covered, it's time for to highlight the star performer inside the phone – the camera. To be specific, the rear-facing camera, which has a 12.2MP sensor with f/1.8 aperture, OIS, EIS, PDAF and LDAF.

Google had set up photo booths with various lighting effects at the event for us to test the Pixel 2 XL's camera, and we did not miss the opportunity. It was as if the booths were designed to let the Pixel 2 XL perform splendidly.

Even though there were endearing backdrops, the lighting was to test Pixel 2 XL's low-light and natural colour captures.

Nevertheless, we shot some photos and check out the samples here:

Google hosted some performances for the event, which we found perfect to test the video-shooting capabilities. The phone captures the videos steady by eliminating minor hand jitters.

The phone captured true colours to our best satisfaction, with ideal colour reproduction and balanced exposure, brightness and contrast under various lighting conditions.

You'll not be disappointed with Pixel 2 XL's video capturing capabilities if you want to record a live concert.

Google also added some new camera features equivalent to Portrait and Live Photos in the iPhone 8 Plus. So far, the results are nothing short of extraordinary.

To most people's satisfaction, the portrait mode works in extreme low light conditions, supports zooming and LED flash.

We are going to be spending a lot of time shooting some portraits to show you in the upcoming days. Follow our official social media handles.

During our time with the Pixel 2 XL at the event, we were shooting videos, conducting live streams in addition to the usual messages and calling. And the (3,520mAh) battery impressed us. We will be sharing a more detailed review of the battery in the upcoming days.

Then there was the question of overall performance. Even while running multiple apps and with constant use during the event, there was no sign of heating or lags.

It's not surprising considering the phone is powered by a Snapdragon 835 chipset, 4GB RAM and Android 8.0 Oreo.

It was our second encounter with the Oreo in recent days (the first was Sony Xperia XZ1), and Google's expertise can be seen in every frame and code.

Features like Google Lens, Daydream, squeezable display, Google Assistant, unlimited storage, and a snappy UI enhance the overall user experience. We will be testing these features individually in our full review.

Just in case you're wondering, the fingerprint scanner is as accurate and fast as it gets. But Google has added a sweet trick, where swiping up and down on the fingerprint sensor controls the notification center.

It's a pretty good way to justify the reason to put the fingerprint scanner at the back.

Stay tuned for our detailed review.