Google Pixel 2 review

Telephony

The Pixel 2's dialer displays Favorites, Call history, Contacts, and Visual Voicemails. There's a search bar at the top to help you find a contact, or even nearby places to call. Smart dialing is supported, as well.

Dialer: favorites • call log • contacts • smart dial • in-call screen

Loudspeaker

The Google Pixel 2 has dual speakers on the front, just like the XL. In our testing, however, the small phone was noticeably louder, earning an Excellent mark, compared to the just Good XL.

Speakerphone test	Voice, dB	Pink noise/ Music, dB	Ringing phone, dB	Overall score
Sony Xperia XZ1 (S-Force Front Surround)	63.8	68.0	67.4	Below Average
Sony Xperia XZ1 (ClearAudio+)	64.5	67.6	67.7	Below Average
Sony Xperia XZs	62.4	65.5	73.3	Average
Sony Xperia XZ1	65.4	68.0	69.1	Average
Samsung Galaxy S8	66.2	70.5	72.5	Good
Google Pixel 2 XL	66.2	70.4	78.2	Good
Apple iPhone X	68.9	74.0	76.2	Very Good
Google Pixel	74.0	68.3	78.0	Very Good
Huawei P10	67.7	70.0	83.6	Very Good
Google Pixel 2	70.0	77.0	81.1	Excellent
Apple iPhone 8	71.7	77.8	80.3	Excellent

The sound coming out of the Pixel is not just loud, but also clear and distortion-free, even at maximum volume.

Audio settings consist of various volumes, vibrating for calls, ringtone settings, and control for various System UI sounds. The "Now Playing" feature is also here and can display what song is playing in your environment either in the notification shade or on Ambient Display. We wrote about how this works in the UI section on the fourth page of this review.

Sound settings

Text Input

GBoard is the default keyboard option for Android. It offers a plethora of features and tweaks to make it your own. You can set more than one language for Multilingual typing without the need to switch back and forth between keyboards. One-handed options are also plenty.

GBoard is one fine keyboard

You can download GBoard and/or Android Messages to your current Android device to see what it's like for yourself. Or choose from a vast selection of third-party SMS and Keyboard apps from the Play Store.

Pre-installed apps

Like Nexus devices in the past, the Google Pixel 2 doesn't come with bloatware, though it does come with the essentials, all from Google.

• Calculator
• Calendar
• Camera
• Chrome
• Clock
• Contacts
• Downloads
• Drive
• Gmail
• Google
• Maps
• Messages
• Phone
• Photos
• Play Music
• Play Store
• Settings
• YouTube

Smart Storage

Smart Storage will automatically delete photos or videos that meet two criteria: photos and videos must be older than 30/60/90 days, and photos and videos must have been backed up to Google Photos. In the Storage Settings page, there is also an option to "Free up space". This will prompt you to manually delete photos/videos backed up to Google Drive. It will also offer a list of files that you can choose to delete to free up storage space.

Storage • Smart Storage • Free up space