By now, it's already common knowledge that the Pixel 2 XL has some serious display issues — pOLED burn-in problem, dead pixels, black smear, odd green lines, a grainy effect, and many others.
All that has been uncovered just days after Google rolled out its new phones. Needless to say, that spells bad news for not only the company but consumers as well, as a lot of them will be wary of buying the larger variant, while early adopters will be looking to return it.
That said, here are some alternatives to the Pixel 2 XL that are worth considering.
For That pOLED Experience: LG V30
First up is the LG V30. It's fitted with the same screen technology as the Pixel 2 XL, which is pOLED. What's more, LG is the manufacturer behind the two.
This seems counterintuitive since wouldn't that mean it's as susceptible to burn-in as the Pixel 2 XL? At this point, it's still unclear why, but the LG V30 doesn't seem to have the same issue as the Google phone — or at least, it's not as extensive.
Interestingly, the LG touted its pOLED to actually prevent burn-ins, which makes the case with the Pixel 2 XL all the more mysterious.
"[U]sing advanced encapsulation and pixel-scanning technology, the burn-in problem that has affected OLED technology in the past has been all but eliminated in the P-OLED technology in LG's upcoming device," the company said.
At any rate, the LG V30 is a good pOLED-equipped smartphone that can take the place of the Pixel 2 XL, coming in with a Snapdragon 835, 4 GB of RAM, and a 3,300 mAh battery.
For That Squeezable Phone Experience: HTC U11
Squeezing gadgets may still seem to be a bit gimmicky for most users, but companies such as Google and HTC think it's one of the next big things in the smartphone game, which is evidenced by the Pixel 2 and the HTC U11.
There aren't that many options that have this "feature" in the market. If the Pixel 2 XL was too much of a turnoff but its Active Edge is too great to pass up, then the HTC U11 is arguably the next best thing, not to mention that its Edge Sense is now open to user customizations.
It's also on par with flagships nowadays, sporting a Snapdragon 835, 6 GB of RAM, and a 3,000 mAh battery.
For That Similar Experience: Pixel 2
The burn-in issue with the Pixel 2 XL is evidently enough to put off users from it, and the Pixel 2 may suffer from it too, even though it doesn't have the same problem (verified by 9to5Google) — nor the same screen since it has AMOLED, not pOLED.
Despite the large bezels, it's possibly the best alternative to the Pixel 2 XL. That's because it's the closest thing to the Pixel 2 XL, from the Active Edge and the Pixel Visual Core to all the niceties expected from a Google phone such as quick Android updates and compatibility with Google's fancy accessories.
It's also worth mentioning that HTC manufactured the Pixel 2, so if LG is the root of the Pixel 2 XL's problem, then it's unlikely for the smaller Pixel to be as bad as its larger sibling. Emphasis on "if," though.
As a quick recap of its specs, it's powered by a Snapdragon 835 that's paired with 4 GB of RAM and backed by a 2,700 mAh battery.
Take note that burn-in is typical of OLED screens, even Samsung's Super AMOLED displays get them. The problem with the Pixel 2 XL is that the issue got so widespread in such a short span of time.
