 Okay, it's been six months since Apple first announced the iPhone X. And around five months since Google first announced the Pixel 2 and the Pixel 2 XL. Now these are both great phones, which is what you might expect because they're both flagship phones. But after actually using them for a while, it's clear, to me at least, which one of these is the better phone. You mean the one that doesn't cost a thousand dollars and is still a fantastic phone? Uh, no. Oh, I missed this. Now the iPhone X was a pretty radical redesign for Apple. It's the first iPhone without a home button, it has an OLED display, its size is somewhere in between a regular sized iPhone and a plus iPhone, and you can unlock it with your face. Okay, the smaller Pixel 2 doesn't look all that different from the first Pixel, but the Pixel 2 XL looks different. It has a nearly all-screen front design. Both have OLED displays, and keep in mind, this is only Google's second generation of Pixel phones, and already they're up there competing with the top smartphone makers. Okay, well, the iPhone X is fast. Like ridiculously fast. Its processor is faster than processors and a lot of laptops. And in the time that I've been using it, I've been kind of blown away by it. Okay, well, the Pixel 2 is no slouch either. It's running on a Snapdragon 835 processor, which is powering all of the top Android phones right now. It might not be a bionic processor, but it's still pretty fast. One of the biggest changes with the iPhone X though is that Apple has also redesigned the way you interact with the phone. So the way you switch between apps or swipe to see notifications. Now that I've used this for a while, I really like it. Okay, I'll admit, it took me way longer to get used to these interactions than I thought it would. And I wouldn't be surprised if other people got the new phone and hated it. But now when I pick up other phones, I just think the iPhone X's UI is probably the way to do it. The Pixel 2 has some UI changes too. Although that's because of Android and not specific to Pixels. Like the search bar is now at the bottom of the home screen. And the display is always on, which seems like a small thing, but after a few months you kind of find that you can't live without it. I mean, one of the things that really annoys me about that phone is that if you just want to see the time, you have to pick the phone up. No, I don't. Okay, what time is it? Now if you've been seriously considering these phones for the past few months, then you've probably read all of the camera comparisons. In fact, the Verge did one that you should go check out. But to sum it up, both of these phones have excellent cameras. On the Pixel 2 XL, a lot of the camera improvements are happening on the software side. So for example, this now shoots in portrait mode with a nice soft background, which the iPhone has done for a while. But this phone doesn't have two cameras. Yeah, but the iPhone X not only has portrait mode, it also has studio lighting now. Like this. That looks awful. Well, it's pretty great when it works. Okay. Also, we think that the Pixel 2 XL shoots a little bit better in low light. Just saying. Yeah, but not that much better. Also, the iPhone X and the iPhone 8 both support wireless charging, which your phone doesn't. Yeah, but you can charge the Pixel 2 and the Pixel 2 XL with USB-C, which is how I charge my MacBook, which means I'm just carrying around fewer cables. Okay, well, your phone doesn't have a headphone jack. Neither does yours. I'm just pointing out you're finally catching up with the times. Your point makes zero sense. Another thing you're only going to get with the iPhone is Siri. Now, I know you may be thinking Siri is useless, but the more I've used it, the better it has gotten. You're kidding. You're kidding, right? No. Okay, let's do a test. I'm going to squeeze the phone. Who is the star of the movie The Post? Meryl Streep, Tom Hanks, and 13 others. Okay, no problem. Hey, Siri, who is the star of the movie The Post? I found nine movies for you to choose from. Post Grad, The Post, Post Pop Depression, Live at the Royal Albert Hall, The Last Post, New Mommy Fitness, How to Get Your Body Back, Functional Post Pregnancy, X... Yeah, I'm sorry. Google Assistant is just better. It just is. But I have Face ID. I wouldn't go as far as saying that Face ID is the best feature of the new iPhone X, but I think it's the most significant. It's the one that feels like it's propelling us forward into the future. Now, when I need to unlock my phone or log into apps or even just pay a friend with a peer-to-peer app, I just use my face. Okay, we literally wrote an article about how Face ID was unusable if the phone's not directly in front of you, like when you're in the car, and said that you missed having the home button. Yeah, but it's grown on me. I mean, I still think the in-app experience is a little bit more useful than using it to unlock the phone, but how's your fingerprint sensor? It's fine. It's totally fine. It works, and it's in the right place where it should be on the back of the phone. Yeah, so what happens when you have your phone down on the table face up? Well, I guess that's bad if you're the kind of person who puts the phone down napper. Also, I have an emoji! Oh, good God. What this really comes down to after using both of these phones for a while is ecosystem. Which ecosystem do you want to live in? Or be locked into. But really, this is a point that we agree on. I mean, it's all about the apps and services that you use the most. Like iMessage. If you love iMessage, then no matter how fantastic the Pixel 2 or the Pixel 2XL are, you're not going to really want that phone because you can't get iMessage. And if you don't care about iMessage, and you don't care about using AirPlay or AirDrop or having an Apple Watch, and you want the most highly optimized version of Android that you can get, then you're going to want this phone. I mean, I still use the same Google apps and services that you use on that phone, and I didn't pay $1,000 for this. What she's really trying to say is that they're both great phones, and you probably can't go wrong with either of them, but there is one that is slightly better, which is why it costs slightly more. You would say that. So these are my long-term impressions of what it's like to use the iPhone 10. Hey! We're next. You're back! I'm back! Where have you been? I was off shooting my Verge video series, Next Level. Oh, is that your Verge video series about innovation? Yes. You should watch it. You would learn something.