1 00:00:00,160 --> 00:00:06,720 Unless you've been living under a rock, you've probably noticed that Google 2 00:00:03,840 --> 00:00:11,800 seems to be trying its hardest to be a company that does seemingly everything. 3 00:00:09,679 --> 00:00:16,080 I mean, they're working on a space elevator. But closer to home, they've 4 00:00:14,080 --> 00:00:21,439 recently rolled out their first ever smartphones, the Pixel and the Pixel XL. 5 00:00:19,680 --> 00:00:26,160 Whoa, hold on a second. What about that Google Nexus sitting in my pocket right 6 00:00:23,279 --> 00:00:30,880 now? Well, although Nexus devices carried Google's branding, they weren't 7 00:00:28,640 --> 00:00:35,120 designed by Google. Rather, Google intended for them to be a reference for 8 00:00:32,960 --> 00:00:40,000 what the vanilla Android experience should be like. But phones themselves 9 00:00:38,079 --> 00:00:45,360 weren't all that different from other devices available from the manufacturers 10 00:00:42,800 --> 00:00:50,160 contracted to produce a Nexus. Companies like LG or Motorola. But this time is 11 00:00:48,320 --> 00:00:54,239 different, man. Google designed the Pixels in-house, intending for them to 12 00:00:52,320 --> 00:01:00,320 be the first smartphones they could truly call their own. Even if it is 13 00:00:57,360 --> 00:01:05,680 contract manufactured by HTC and looks suspiciously iPhone like from the front, 14 00:01:03,280 --> 00:01:10,320 the hardware, while upper tier, mostly isn't anything we haven't seen before. 15 00:01:07,280 --> 00:01:12,560 1080p AMOLED screen or 1440p if you opt 16 00:01:10,320 --> 00:01:18,640 for the larger Pixel XL. Quad core Snapdragon 821, either 32 or 128 GB of 17 00:01:16,320 --> 00:01:25,600 internal UFS 2.0based O based storage, but no micro SD slot and USB type-C. It 18 00:01:23,280 --> 00:01:29,880 does however come with some really next level stuff like a non-exloding battery 19 00:01:27,759 --> 00:01:33,920 and a headphone jack. All joking aside, there is at 20 00:01:32,159 --> 00:01:39,360 least one hardware feature that does legitimately set the Pixel apart. Google 21 00:01:36,560 --> 00:01:44,320 has hyped the Pixel's camera quite hard, even going so far as to call it the best 22 00:01:41,920 --> 00:01:49,040 smartphone camera ever. And while Google might not be the most unbiased source of 23 00:01:47,040 --> 00:01:53,520 such a statement, most independent reviewers have already had high praise 24 00:01:51,439 --> 00:01:59,280 for the Pixel's wide dynamic range, solid lowlight performance, and accurate 25 00:01:55,840 --> 00:02:01,840 color. It also packs 4K video, 240 FPS 26 00:01:59,280 --> 00:02:05,920 slow-mo, and image stabilization to round out its feature set. And there's 27 00:02:04,159 --> 00:02:09,360 more. The fingerprint sensor is on the back of the phone, which is supposed to 28 00:02:07,680 --> 00:02:12,959 make it easier to access when you're holding the phone in your hand. and it 29 00:02:11,360 --> 00:02:17,520 also comes with full support for Google's upcoming Daydream VR headset. 30 00:02:15,520 --> 00:02:21,840 Aesthetically, the pixels are a little polarizing. The upper third of the rear 31 00:02:19,599 --> 00:02:26,239 is covered with Gorilla Glass, which Google claims helps with cell reception. 32 00:02:24,160 --> 00:02:31,280 And the phones are available not only in the more traditional black and white, 33 00:02:28,080 --> 00:02:34,480 but also in a very intense shade of blue 34 00:02:31,280 --> 00:02:36,720 that Google literally calls really blue. 35 00:02:34,480 --> 00:02:40,480 They got that right. But color choices aside, where Google has really tried to 36 00:02:38,400 --> 00:02:46,319 set the Pixel apart from its competitors is its software. The Pixel does, as you 37 00:02:43,599 --> 00:02:51,680 might expect, run Android 7, but there are some interesting touches that are, 38 00:02:48,560 --> 00:02:54,160 as of now, Pixel exclusive, something 39 00:02:51,680 --> 00:02:58,560 that we never saw with Nexus devices. The most prominent of these is the new 40 00:02:56,000 --> 00:03:03,040 Google Assistant, a competitor to Siri and Cortana that is based more around 41 00:03:00,800 --> 00:03:07,680 having conversations with the user instead of just spitting out search 42 00:03:04,879 --> 00:03:12,640 results. Google even went as far as to hire writers from the Onion to give the 43 00:03:10,239 --> 00:03:16,800 assistant some personality. And while the Pixel doesn't come with an iPhone 44 00:03:14,560 --> 00:03:21,440 like pressure sensitive screen, you can learn more about this up here, it does 45 00:03:19,120 --> 00:03:26,239 feature app shortcuts, which are quick context menus that show up when you long 46 00:03:23,760 --> 00:03:31,280 press on an app icon. Then another big selling point is support for what Google 47 00:03:28,640 --> 00:03:36,159 calls seamless updates, where a separate partition of your phone's storage is 48 00:03:33,519 --> 00:03:40,799 updated in the background, and the Pixel just boots from that partition the next 49 00:03:38,560 --> 00:03:45,280 time you turn it on, meaning no more absurdly long wait times just to use 50 00:03:43,360 --> 00:03:49,120 your phone after a system update, which is pretty cool in my opinion. So, with a 51 00:03:47,200 --> 00:03:53,519 focus on solid usability rather than possibly extraneous bells and whistles, 52 00:03:51,680 --> 00:03:58,000 it'll be interesting to see how Google's first real foray into smartphones 53 00:03:56,000 --> 00:04:02,879 ultimately goes. But no matter what happens, it can't be worse than the 54 00:04:00,560 --> 00:04:06,799 Windows phone. Poor Windows phone. Tunnel BearVPN lets you tunnel into 20 55 00:04:05,360 --> 00:04:11,280 different countries, allowing you to browse the internet and use online 56 00:04:08,879 --> 00:04:16,320 services as if you're in, well, a different country. They have an easy to 57 00:04:13,519 --> 00:04:20,639 use app on iOS, Android, PC, and Mac, and also a Chrome extension. Just choose 58 00:04:18,560 --> 00:04:24,080 a country in the app, turn Tunnel Bear on, and watch as your bear tunnels your 59 00:04:22,639 --> 00:04:27,759 internet connection to your new location. 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Uh, comment down below if you have 69 00:05:03,120 --> 00:05:08,560 suggestions for other videos that we should make on TechQuicki. Uh, hit the 70 00:05:06,720 --> 00:05:12,160 like button, subscribe, all that fun stuff. And I'll see you guys next time.