Google Pixel 2 XL review

Synthetic benchmarks and real-life performance

Google has went with the industry standard for premium smartphones of 2017: a Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 chipset with 4GB of RAM. The chipset is an octa-core CPU with two four-core Kryo clusters. The first, more powerful cluster is clocked at 2.35 GHz while the other, more efficient cluster is clocked at 1.9 GHz.

It's worth noting that other smartphones with the same CPU have the high-power cluster clocked marginally faster at 2.45 GHz. This difference is so miniscule that we're not likely going to see a major difference in benchmarks among other devices. For graphics, the Adreno 540 pairs with the Snapdragon 835, as is standard.

For this round-up of performance scores, we're tossing in several other devices powered by the same Qualcomm chip, as well as the first-gen Pixel XL before it. We've also included the Meizu Pro 7 Plus, a device powered by Mediatek Helio X30, as well as Huawei's newest Kirin 970 and Samsung's current Exynos-powered devices.

Starting off with GeekBench, the iPhone 8 duo takes the lead by a mile with those A11 Bionic chipsets in the multi-core test. The Pixel XL didn't do the best, in fact, it scored toward the bottom of the pile. There is a noticeable difference between the Pixel XL and Pixel 2 XL, though.

GeekBench 4.1 (multi-core)

Higher is better

• Apple iPhone 8
  10214
• Apple iPhone 8 Plus
  10037
• Samsung Galaxy Note8
  6784
• Huawei Mate 10 Pro
  6783
• Samsung Galaxy S8+
  6754
• ZTE nubia Z17
  6622
• OnePlus 5
  6604
• Samsung Galaxy Note8 (SD 835)
  6590
• Sony Xperia XZ1
  6541
• Google Pixel 2 XL
  6428
• LG V30
  6365
• Samsung Galaxy S8+ (SD 835)
  6301
• Google Pixel XL
  4113

Single-core tests fared a bit better for the Pixel 2 XL, but the difference is still negligible among other similarly spec'd smartphones. The A11 chip takes the cake again with a beastly single core.

GeekBench 4.1 (single-core)

Higher is better

• Apple iPhone 8
  4234
• Apple iPhone 8 Plus
  4232
• Samsung Galaxy Note8
  1987
• Samsung Galaxy S8+
  1986
• ZTE nubia Z17
  1966
• OnePlus 5
  1932
• Google Pixel 2 XL
  1915
• Huawei Mate 10 Pro
  1902
• LG V30
  1901
• Samsung Galaxy Note8 (SD 835)
  1862
• Sony Xperia XZ1
  1840
• Samsung Galaxy S8+ (SD 835)
  1832
• Google Pixel XL
  1582

Antutu 6 incorporates UX performance into its scores, so you'll see some variations among the other similarly-powered smartphones. Like we saw with Geekbench, we are seeing the Pixel 2 XL score toward the bottom of the pile. Though, just as before, the difference between scores is not very significant.

AnTuTu 6

Higher is better

• Apple iPhone 8
  202645
• Apple iPhone 8 Plus
  188766
• OnePlus 5
  180331
• ZTE nubia Z17
  178629
• Huawei Mate 10 Pro
  178510
• Samsung Galaxy Note8 (SD 835)
  175153
• LG V30
  174330
• Samsung Galaxy S8+
  174070
• Samsung Galaxy Note8
  172425
• Google Pixel 2 XL
  170407
• Samsung Galaxy S8+ (SD 835)
  168133
• Sony Xperia XZ1
  144462
• Google Pixel XL
  141186
• Meizu Pro 7 Plus
  128498

The Pixel 2 XL did well in the off-screen graphics tests. These off-screen tests compensate for differences between smartphones' screen resolutions and puts them in a level playing field for comparing scores.

The Car Scene is definitely more taxing on these processors than the Manhattan test. The Pixel 2 XL scored at the top with 25 fps in the on-screen test, as did the devices with alternative processors.

GFX 3.1 Manhattan (1080p offscreen)

Higher is better

• Samsung Galaxy Note8 (SD 835)
  43
• ZTE nubia Z17
  43
• Google Pixel 2 XL
  42
• Samsung Galaxy S8+
  42
• Samsung Galaxy Note8
  42
• OnePlus 5
  41
• LG V30
  41
• Samsung Galaxy S8+ (SD 835)
  39
• Sony Xperia XZ1
  39
• Huawei Mate 10 Pro
  38
• Google Pixel XL
  32
• Meizu Pro 7 Plus
  22

GFX 3.1 Car scene (1080p offscreen)

Higher is better

• Google Pixel 2 XL
  25
• Samsung Galaxy S8+
  25
• Samsung Galaxy Note8 (SD 835)
  25
• Samsung Galaxy Note8
  25
• ZTE nubia Z17
  25
• OnePlus 5
  24
• LG V30
  24
• Sony Xperia XZ1
  24
• Samsung Galaxy S8+ (SD 835)
  23
• Huawei Mate 10 Pro
  22
• Google Pixel XL
  19
• Meizu Pro 7 Plus
  8.4

On-screen tests are a different story. The Pixel 2 XL has one of the highest-res displays available in the market since the longer length of the display requires more pixels than a standard 16:9. The Pixel 2 XL carried its weight though, coming in second behind the Exynos-powered Galaxy S8+ and Galaxy Note8.

GFX 3.1 Manhattan (onscreen)

Higher is better

• ZTE nubia Z17
  41
• OnePlus 5
  40
• Sony Xperia XZ1
  40
• Huawei Mate 10 Pro
  35
• Samsung Galaxy S8+
  23
• Samsung Galaxy Note8
  23
• Google Pixel 2 XL
  21
• Samsung Galaxy Note8 (SD 835)
  20
• LG V30
  19
• Samsung Galaxy S8+ (SD 835)
  18
• Google Pixel XL
  17
• Meizu Pro 7 Plus
  13

GFX 3.1 Car scene (onscreen)

Higher is better

• ZTE nubia Z17
  25
• Sony Xperia XZ1
  25
• OnePlus 5
  24
• Huawei Mate 10 Pro
  21
• Google Pixel 2 XL
  13
• Samsung Galaxy S8+
  13
• Samsung Galaxy Note8 (SD 835)
  13
• Samsung Galaxy Note8
  13
• LG V30
  13
• Samsung Galaxy S8+ (SD 835)
  12
• Google Pixel XL
  11
• Meizu Pro 7 Plus
  4.8

The same situation can be seen here as we saw in the graphics tests: The Pixel 2 XL's score was right behind those of the Note8 and S8+ with the rest trailing behind. Meanwhile, the Meizu Pro 7 Plus struggles to keep up with the first-gen Pixel XL.

Basemark X

Higher is better

• Samsung Galaxy S8+
  43862
• Samsung Galaxy Note8
  40890
• Huawei Mate 10 Pro
  40232
• Google Pixel 2 XL
  39143
• OnePlus 5
  38844
• Sony Xperia XZ1
  38583
• Samsung Galaxy Note8 (SD 835)
  37211
• LG V30
  36704
• Samsung Galaxy S8+ (SD 835)
  34951
• ZTE nubia Z17
  33513
• Google Pixel XL
  30861
• Meizu Pro 7 Plus
  22472

Not all benchmark tests are created equally, which is precisely why the iPhone 8 duo didn't score drastically different results like we saw on GeekBench and Antutu. The Pixel 2 XL scored well above the median result of the devices being compared.

Basemark OS 2.0

Higher is better

• Apple iPhone 8
  3934
• Apple iPhone 8 Plus
  3601
• OnePlus 5
  3601
• Huawei Mate 10 Pro
  3425
• Samsung Galaxy Note8 (SD 835)
  3424
• Google Pixel 2 XL
  3379
• Samsung Galaxy Note8
  3333
• Samsung Galaxy S8+ (SD 835)
  3319
• Samsung Galaxy S8+
  3298
• ZTE nubia Z17
  3281
• Sony Xperia XZ1
  2986
• LG V30
  2705
• Meizu Pro 7 Plus
  2380
• Google Pixel XL
  2281

Finally, here's Basemark's equivalent of the GFX Graphic tests. Unlike GFX, Basemark ES 3.1 offers its test on iOS to compare graphics across operating systems on the Open GL 3.1 graphics platform. The iPhone 8 ranks on top while the Pixel XL is about somewhere in the middle.

The Snapdragon 835 doesn't break past 900 on Basemark's graphic test while the Exynos 8895, Kirin 970, and A11 Bionic all sailed above and beyond.

Basemark ES 3.1 / Metal

Higher is better

• Apple iPhone 8
  1690
• Apple iPhone 8 Plus
  1644
• Samsung Galaxy Note8
  1268
• Huawei Mate 10 Pro
  1183
• Samsung Galaxy S8+
  1111
• Samsung Galaxy Note8 (SD 835)
  875
• Google Pixel 2 XL
  874
• LG V30
  860
• Sony Xperia XZ1
  853
• Samsung Galaxy S8+ (SD 835)
  817
• OnePlus 5
  796
• Google Pixel XL
  626
• ZTE nubia Z17
  619
• Meizu Pro 7 Plus
  517

You will not be disappointed with the Pixel 2 XL's performance in day-to-day multitasking, social media apps, and overall snappiness. Although it's not the best-performing smartphone in the world, it's still more-than-capable of handling any game with demanding graphics.

The Snapdragon 835 is well future-proofed for the promised three years of software updates from Google. The 10nm process is also very power efficient and doesn't warm up with use quite like the Snapdragon 820 used to. The Pixel 2 XL warms up pretty evenly across the lower portion of the rear glass window in times of graphic-intensive gaming or high-intensity rendering. That heat is quickly dissipated through the glass window and the metal body of the phone.