Bruce misses his Windows Phone 8 mobile phone. Now he needs to get a new phone and doesn't know what to get. Is the iPhone good for his wife? Or should he get her the LG V30? Leo says the V30 is a very nice phone, but he thinks the Google Pixel 2 XL is the best camera phone on the market. Leo uses it on T-Mobile and it works great.
Leo says that phone manufacturers like Apple and Google are taking advantage of the hyper-competitive nature of the tech blogging world by only giving out limited quantities of smartphones, and at the very last minute for only 24 hours. This strategy was pretty interesting because it gave bloggers limited hands-on time with their latest phones before they had to publish a review. As such, Leo says they didn't really have time to focus on bread and butter features like battery life or issues like screen burn-in. Instead, they're focusing on the newest features.
Craig bought the Google Pixel 2 XL directly from Google. He hasn't experienced the burn-in issue, nor does he have to deal with the so-called "blotchiness" on a white background. He only got it with the Microsoft screensaver launcher.
Customers have been reporting a serious burn-in issue on the Google Pixel 2 XL, many had issues straight out of the box. Google has acknowledged the issue, along with a clicking noise, and hopes to fix it with a firmware update. But this could be a huge problem for Google. It's too bad, because Leo really likes the Pixel 2 XL. It has a beautiful design and a great camera.
Richard really likes his phone, but the battery is starting to run out and Verizon says that since the battery is built-in, it can't be replaced. He'll have to replace the whole phone. Leo says that drives him nuts. Richard has a perfectly good phone that he likes, but he has to go to the extra expense of upgrading a phone and throw his old one away. What phone should he get now? Leo says that Google's Pixel 2 XL is exclusive to Verizon and it's a great phone. It runs pure Android. The Samsung Galaxy Note 8 is another great option, with a great screen.
The Google Pixel 2 XL came out this week and users are complaining of a "blotchy" screen when you turn the brightness down. Leo also says that there's been burn in complaints on the screen's OLED display. Leo went in to look at it in the store and turned it down and said that the difference in the display didn't bother him. But he does like the LG V30, which has the same display.
David is looking at the Google Pixel 2 XL but he's worried about losing accessibility on his iPhone. Leo says that Google isn't going to take their apps off iOS any time soon. The Pixel 2 XL is a worthy contender if he chooses to make the switch. Both are great phones. One argument in Apple's favor is that from a security point of view, he's safer because their ecosystem is closed versus Android's open source approach.
Gary wants to know which Android phone to get: Pixel 2, Samsung Galaxy S8, Note 8 or LG V30? Leo says that Google's pure Android is ideal because it doesn't have any software overlays. LGs overlays are decent, though. Samsung is the worst in that regard.
