Pixel 2 and 2 XL: Google’s new phones take on iPhone X

Both phones have a single camera and squeezable sides that launch Google Assistant.

Google has just launched the Pixel 2 and 2 XL phones, the tech giant's answer to Apple's iPhone 8 and iPhone X, Samsung's Galaxy S8 and Galaxy Note 8, and LG's G6 and V30.

Single camera, squeezable sides, Google Lens

The most interesting feature so far as this presentation unfolds: You can squeeze the sides to launch an app. Debuted earlier this year on the HTC U11 (HTC is quietly behind the Pixel 2s), squeezing the Pixel 2 launches Google Assistant. It works with or without a case.

Google has also just announced the Pixel 2 camera and oh boy, there's just one camera rather than the two cameras most high-end smartphones now have. Google uses plenty of background software to create a depth map to get the same kind of blurring effect you would from a dual camera array. You can take portrait mode shots from the front-facing camera, too.

OIS, optical image stabilization, is new here as well. Google's Pixels combine OIS with digital image stabilization for a blended approach. 

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Google Pixel 2 and 2 XL photos: Feast your eyes

Pixel users will get unlimited high-resolution storage on Google's cloud so long as they keep using a Pixel phone. Google's found that on average, Pixel users store an average of 23GB in the cloud.

These are also the first phones to launch with Google Lens, a feature that will eventually come to all Android phones. It lives inside Google Assistant and the camera, and will help identify objects in the world around you. If you see a router number or a long email address, for example, you can rev up Google Lens to capture, remember and identify these numbers for you.

Pixel 2 versus Pixel 2 XL: The difference is size... oh, and price

Both phones share all the same hardware features, so choosing between them comes down to you picking your preferred size, and a slightly different look. Google says that its Pixel 2 displays are readable with sunglasses on, have an always-on display, and will work with Google's Daydream VR.

The smaller Pixel 2 has:

• 5-inch screen
• Three colors: kinda blue, just black and clearly white
• Starts at $649 (preorders begin today)

The Pixel 2 XL has:

• 6-inch screen that uses a P-OLED display and 538 pixels per inch
• Comes in two colors: Black and Black and White
• Starts at $849 (preorders begin today)

For a limited time in the US, UK, AU, Canada and Germany, you'll get a Pixel Home Mini with a Pixel purchase. You'll be able to make a customized case through Google.

Google Pixel 2 XL.

CNET

Why we care about Pixel 2

The Pixel 2 launch is crucial for Google, whose second-generation handsets will square off against phonemakers' best and brightest in a bloody scrimmage for your holiday bucks.

For Google, the Pixel 2 phones are a chance to appeal to Android purists when other Android handsets layer on their own software tricks, often at the expense of timely updates. Also at stake is acknowledgement of Google's rightful place fully designing and branding hardware, not just the extensive network of software that props up each Pixel 2 -- and the entire Android-using world -- from the operating system to Google Maps to Gmail.

Finally, the Pixel 2 and 2 XL anchor Google's decision to essentially buy HTC's in-house designers for the Big G's hardware team. HTC is Google's all-but-confirmed design partner in these two new devices; Google's cash infusion is helping keep the company afloat to design another day.

Stay tuned for all the Pixel 2 specs and our hands-on impressions as the live event continues.

Google Pixel 2 event live: Watch the livestream of Google's press conference

Everything Google just announced: Every story from today's event