It’s no longer enough to know that the device of your choice is terrific. It also helps if it’s better than the rest of the pack. Sometimes these slugfests can be lop-sided but not at the end of 2017. Especially if you’re pitting the best big screen smartphones. The iPhone X (Rs 89,000 onwards) takes on two of the shiniest Android flagships – the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 (Rs 67,900) and the Google Pixel 2 XL (Rs 73,000 onwards), in an epic showdown, one of the most evenly fought battles for smartphone supremacy.
Form factor: The smartphone display – that’s one thing that has changed in 2017. The bezels have all but disappeared; it’s all screen. The iPhone X is clearly a big jump for Apple users and marks a welcome departure from the iPhone design language that hasn't changed since 2014. It’s all glass – yes, the iPhone finally catches up with the world of wireless charging and is truly gorgeous. It’s the same with the Note 8; Samsung has clearly raised its design game in 2017. The Pixel 2 doesn't look radically different from its 2016 predecessor; it’s elegant, we love the solid build. But it’s clearly not for the attention seekers who need their phones to do the talking. The Note 8 is marginally heavier of the three but it’s not something you would notice in everyday usage.
Display: We saw it first on the Samsung Galaxy S and it’s the same vibrant display on the Note 8. An impressive 83.2% screen: body ratio with a screen that packs an impressive 521 PPI (Pixels per inch). The iPhone X features a never-ending display too (82.9% screen: body ratio) with brilliant colours. The Pixel 2XL packs a terrific 6-inch display that sits (in terms of size) between the iPhone X and the larger display on the Note 8 but isn’t quite the all-screen phone. It’s another area the Pixel hasn't taken giant strides from 2016.
iPhone X
Camera: If you want evidence about the progress made by mobile shooters in 2017, you don't need to go beyond these three devices. Yes, this is one area they are evenly matched although they take somewhat different approaches. The iPhone X is unmatched in its ability to capture ‘true to life’ colours while the Pixel 2XL truly shines in lowlight. The Note 8 borrows the dual cam strategy Apple embraced in 2016 and perfects it with two 12MP rear cams that both feature OIS (Optical image stabilisation). It’s the same in the Selfie cam stakes, all three shoot sharp selfies; we particularly like the iPhone X’s portrait selfie mode.
User experience: It’s what a seamless blend of heavy duty hardware and an intuitive UI can achieve. The X is all we always loved about our iPhones – that same buttery smooth experience. Of course, the missing home button can take some getting used to. But eventually you will make peace with all those swipe gestures. At the heart of the X is Apple’s robust new A11 Bionic chip. The Note 8 and the Pixel 2 XL have similar internals – the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 with a generous 6GB of RAM. It keeps these devices chugging along even as you multi-task or indulge in intensive gaming. Samsung has improved its UI significantly and yet if you’re looking for pure-play Android, the Pixel XL2 with Android 8.0 is clearly the device you want.
Battery life: With large displays, battery life is usually a casualty. This is a round where the Pixel 2 XL’s 3520 mAh battery has a slight edge. Battery life was one of the slightly disappointing aspects of the X in our usage tests. The 8 Plus might well be the iPhone for you if battery life is all important. The Note 8 managed a full day in our test drives but it’s not quite the Pixel 2 XL in this department.
Wow Factor (s): Ultimately smartphone experiences boil down to the value adds or those fun bits and bobs that keep you engaged. The iPhone X’s big headline feature is Face ID - Apple’s radical decision to leave out the fingerprint sensor for facial recognition. You can set it up in a breeze and it works well almost every time, even in pitch darkness. We totally dig the Animojis, it’s more fun than you can ever imagine. It’s part of the deep AR integration in the iPhone X, that offers a host of interesting gaming possibilities. For the Samsung Note 8, it’s all about the S Pen – Samsung’s brilliant stylus that has built a cult following over the years. The 2017 version comes with a whole new bag of tricks. As for the Pixel 2 XL, this is the true ‘smartphone’ with Google Assistant; it’s the best digital assistant on any phone.
Not all shootouts have a conclusive winner especially if you’re sold on a particular ecosystem. The iPhone X is the best iPhone ever, and a big improvement over the previous generation. The Samsung Note 8 is probably the Android device to own.
Google Pixel 2 XL