Google Pixel 2 XL vs iPhone X: Which big-budget smartphone is actually worth your cash?
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This autumn, tech heavyweights Apple and Google both revealed high-cost, high-performance smartphones within a few weeks of each other.
If you're planning to upgrade your phone and need to know which is the best one to go for, chances are these two devices will come out near the top of your list.
Both will take a sizeable chunk out of your bank balance and offer you top-level performance and features in return - not to mention looking pretty impressive in the hand.
(Image: AFP)
But deciding which one to go for means lining them up against each other and seeing how they compare in several key areas.
Read on to find out which one is actually worth your cash.
Design
Apple changed up the design of the iPhone drastically for the X and proclaimed it the blueprint for smartphones for the next ten years.
It's certainly a looker. The device is almost all screen, and Apple has dropped the home button and dramatically reduced the bezels around the edge of the body.
There's a "notch" left at the top of the screen containing the speaker and front-facing camera that's dividing opinion, but otherwise the iPhone X is a pretty seamless piece of industrial design. The back is glass, similar to the iPhone 8 , meaning it supports wireless charging and the dual-lens camera has been bolted onto the back, albeit in a vertical alignment rather than a horizontal one.
The X measures 143.6 x 70.9 x 7.7mm and weighs in at 174g, making it thin and light enough not to be noticeable in your pocket.
Google has followed a similar design plan with the Pixel 2 XL by making it all about the screen.
The company has dropped the bezels - although not quite as much as Apple - and given the 6-inch OLED screen a 2,880 x 1,440 resolution. That goes up against the Phone X's "Super Retina" display, which has a resolution of 2,436 x 1,125 (458ppi).
Google's more detailed display is due to the phone functioning as a VR headset when you combine it with the Daydream View headset.
Both phones are not only waterproof and dustproof but also ditch the 3.5mm headphone jack. If you want to use headphones you're going to need wireless headphones like Apple's AirPods or Google's Pixel Buds, or use the adaptors included with both.
When it comes down to it, we feel Apple has the edge on the design front over Google in this case.
Camera
If there's one thing that smartphone companies like to quibble over, it's the strength of their cameras.
Google laid down the gauntlet at its recent Pixel event by proclaiming that DxOMark gave the Pixel 2 XL the highest mark of any smartphone camera ever. Which is impressive, but probably carries little weight for most users weighing up the devices in a store.
This year Google is changing the camera setup slightly and switching to a dual-pixel sensor, whereby each pixel is actually made up of two smaller ones. To compensate, the lens aperture has been expanded to let in even more light.
(Image: Droidlife)
More importantly, the company is offering unlimited cloud storage for all your pictures - which gives it a real tangible advantage over the iPhone X. If you take a lot of pictures, the Pixel 2 XL may be the phone for you.
Apple's iPhone X, by comparison, has dual cameras on the rear, giving users a 2X optical zoom and the ability to capture a depth-of-field effect known as bokeh.
Bokeh is an effect often used by fashion photographers to make the subject appear to pop out of the picture, and involves blurring the background of the photo while keeping the subject in focus.
The dual cameras feature two 12-megapixel sensors, autofocus, optical image stabilisation and LED dual tone flash.
In terms of tricks, both cameras have a few at their disposal. The iPhone X's "TrueDepth" selfie camera is made up of a dot projector, infrared camera and flood illuminator, allowing it to accurately map and recognise a face.
These depth-sensing technologies work together to securely unlock the iPhone X, enable Apple Pay, gain access to secure apps and many more new features.
Meanwhile, Google Lens is a smart piece of software that uses the camera to recognise things like writing, products and even landscapes. So you snap the picture and can immediately look up the subject using the company's artificial intelligence smarts.
If you're looking for practicality - storage, information and the like - you're best off going for the Pixel 2 XL. But if you want stylish effects then you may be swayed by the iPhone.
Power and battery life
The iPhone X runs on Apple's own six-core A11 "Bionic" chip, which the company claims is the most powerful ever in a smartphone.
It has 3GB RAM and a choice of 64 or 256GB of internal storage - with no option to expand that via a microSD card. The non-removable battery offers up to 21 hours of talk time and up to 60 hours of music play.
Google, by comparison, has packed the Pixel 2 XL with Qualcomm's latest Snapdragon 835 processor and 4GB of RAM. There's a choice of 64GB or 128GB of storage space and likewise no option to add to that with a microSD card.
There's a 3,520 mAh non-removable battery inside the Pixel 2 XL that Google states will last "all day". What's more, 15 minutes connected to the charger is enough to get you seven hours of power.
Software
Part of the appeal of both these phones is that in each case the company is responsible for both the hardware and the software. Meaning both devices should be running as efficiently as possible.
The iPhone X runs Apple's latest operating system iOS 11 while the Pixel is rocking the latest version of Android, known as Oreo.
Both iOS 11 and Android Oreo introduce new multitasking features, allowing two apps to run side by side on the screen - so you can watch a video on YouTube while replying to an email, for example.
The Android Oreo update focuses on making applications run more smoothly on the phone, with features like background limits, to prevent individual apps chewing through the phone's resources.
Meanwhile iOS 11 introduces new interactive and multimedia experiences, like looping live videos and augmented reality apps.
The software is arguably the main thing setting these two phones apart, so it's worth trying out both iOS 11 and Android Oreo before making a decision.
Special features
Google is selling the Pixel XL 2 heavily on the strength of its camera and the artificial intelligence smarts of the Google Assistant. You can squeeze the sides of the phone to launch the Assistant which uses all of Google's search knowledge to help organise your life.
The iPhone X, by contrast, is offering the TrueDepth camera which enables users to unlock their phone using a facial recognition system called Face ID.
(Image: Daily Mirror)
The TrueDepth technology also enables users to create Animojis - 3D, live rendered emojis, which track your facial expressions and create animated characters to use in Messages.
Price
If you're looking to save money, neither of these phones are going to do you any favours.
The 64GB iPhone X costs £999 while the 256GB version is £1,149.
The Pixel 2 XL is slightly cheaper at £799 for the 64GB model and £899 for the 128GB.
Choose your poison.
Verdict
More than anything, the decision comes down to which operating system you're more comfortable with. It's unlikely that either the iPhone X nor the Google Pixel 2 XL are strong enough propositions to woo users from rival camps to swap over.
If it's price and practicality, we'd opt for the Pixel as its promise of unlimited photo storage and the benefit of the Google Assistant put it ahead of Apple.
Apple gets props for aesthetic and the design of the screen - but realistically we need a bit more for £1,149 than a bezel-less screen, wireless charging and face-tracking emojis.