All the reviews I saw said the opposite. When the Pixel came out it had the best camera of any phone and nothing was considered hugely better than it now.
The 2nd gen doesn’t have a headphone jack. Which is disappointing, but shouldn’t sway anyone on this purchase since Woot today isn’t selling a 2nd gen.
I love my Pixel so much I’m considering getting one of these as a back up. I love that I can set it to upload all my photos (I’m one of those people) automatically to my Google Drive and that the glut of photos I do take don’t use up memory on the phone. Basically, I use the memory for apps.
That said, I am not as attached to or dependent on my phone as most people I know, so grains of salt and all. I doubt I use mine like the majority of those younger than I am. (I remember the Big Bang. A good time was had by all.)
This isn’t accurate. This phone will work with full network functionality on Fi.
Yes, so it’s supports Google Fi. so maybe a dumb question, but I thought Google Fi phones were dual band meaning they were both CDMA and GSM. So if I wanted to get on Google Fi, would I buy the Verizon version or GSM version?
again, please excuse the ignorance.
No problem. There is only 1 version that does both. The title is a little confusing, its just saying its unlocked for both bands.
Personally, i HATE my Pixel XL. buggy, cant launch the log in on many hot spots, missing standard defaults that pretty much every other android has. i wish i would have gotten the Galaxy 8 when i upgraded. I say skip it.
My experience with the Pixel (not XL), FWIW: Bought one used. First thing you notice is how zippy Android is on it, everything is just smoother and faster. Nice screen. The camera took gorgeous photos. Call quality was excellent.
The bad (and this may just be a bad phone, I dunno)… the GPS always seemed to be losing its lock. While the camera took great pics, getting it to focus on things up close was a pain. Volume from the bottom-facing speaker was really low – apparently some Pixels were having issues with unwanted noise at high volumes, so Google just … made the highest volume much quieter. Missed the alarm on the first morning with the Pixel. I created a LOUDER version of the alarm ringtone which helped, but still … it’s a silly solution to a hardware problem, Google. The bezels on the phone are ridiculous for a phone built in 2016.
Again, this is my experience from a phone we purchased used, but the one thing I know is consistent among Pixels is the low volume. We liked a lot of things about it, so we took the leap on a Pixel 2, and it’s night and day.
Edit: Google gave me $302 on a trade-in for my Pixel, so if you buy this and hate it, you can always get your money back and a little more trading it in for a Pixel 2 
Not sure where your info comes from, or about Sprint service, but my Pixel on Project Fi works just fine on US Cellular’s LTE.
I wish people who don’t know a darned thing about phones would get off these forums. This phone is to work with project fi from google. Does not matter about cdma or gsm, it is unlocked but you are not going to install any other roms other than what it comes with. Project fi is from google so don’t worry about Sprint, t-mobile or Verizon. You are not affected by them if you want project fi.
I bought a phone about 4 months ago and the only thing bad happened was the finger print thing stopped working. Since the phone was within 90 days of purchase, Google sent me a phone the same time I returned the defective one. I have no issues after that.
Wife and I love our Pixels! Send me a PM if you want a referral code for Project Fi that’ll save us both some dough.
The bootloader was unlocked on the verizon version. There is a thread over at XDA. Not sure if it was patched or not. I have an international model and all it takes is a few lines in ADB.
Does anybody have any idea on how “scratched and dented” these are? Has anybody got a scratch and dent phone from Woot before?
I don’t mind some cosmetic imperfections here and there, I’d just be afraid I’d get a phone with a huge dent in a corner and a couple of large scratches on the face.
Actually this camera got top reviews. The camera on this phone is the best I’ve ever used on a phone. Had a Samsung Notes before the Note debacle last year. Their cameras did not even compare.
I normally don’t have problems purchasing (manufacturer) refurbished electronics (I actually sometimes prefer them to new) but on an item without an easily user replaceable battery?
That seems rather stupid.
~RF
I’ve been using this phone since launch, and it’s been a great experience. I’m on T-Mobile and the LTE works great (not sure why you would think it wouldn’t). The phone supports so many bands that I was able to get great service in Taiwan too when I was there for a visit.
The only downside for me has been the performance oscillations every Android patch. Sometimes things are awesome and sometimes things are mediocre, but that may be the cost of being in the best version of Android.
My daily driver is a Pixel on Project Fi. Didn’t buy it from Verizon so I can’t speak to that compatibility, but it seems to navigate everybody’s LTE buildouts pretty well, and I’m not certain there are actually different radio packages in these so much as different code loads.
I just wanted to put a word in for this being a Google Daydream phone. Daydream is a feature set/certification standard for phones that can render 3D/VR content at a certain minimum quality.
If you buy one of these it is worth getting some Daydream-compatible goggles & a controller. It’s not perfect and the phone will likely run hot in VR, but I was surprised at how well it delivered.
Also if your Pixel is running hot after an 8.1 update, check to see if it is endlessly synching. Google tightened up Android’s validation of TLS cryptographic certificates this year. Some mail servers aren’t up to snuff and this can cause your handset to try over and over to sync. In my experience clearing the app data from one or more Gmail-related apps squared everything away.
Edit: “I accidentally a letter.”
Specs say, “Operating System: Android 7.1.1 Nougat, the latest Android OS”
Latest OS is 8.1. Specs should be corrected.
That’s 18 months from the date it was FIRST sold on the Google store, not from the day they discontinue it. OS updates through Oct 2018 (THIS year, 8 months from now) and security updates through Oct 2019.
No. It was tested and shown to have the best camera of any phone at the time. Some experience a halo effect if the lighting is just right though.
Anecdotally, I just bought a S&D phone from w00t for my daughter last week. It arrived with a totally dead battery, and I haven’t activated it yet, but the screen looked perfect, and the exterior polished silver finish also looked perfect. TBH, I couldn’t tell that it wasn’t factory fresh. YMMV!