You’ll be able to use Google’s newest smartphones, the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL, without needing to pop in a SIM card, the company announced today. As long as you’re a Project Fi subscriber, Google will use the devices’ built-in eSIMs to authenticate your cellular account. Prior to today, no smartphone has ever used the eSIM standard. The relatively new technology has typically been reserved for LTE-equipped tablets, smartwatches, and other cellular wearables.

Even though we’re still a month away from the iPhone X making its way to consumers, many are already looking towards next year. Building off of reports claiming Apple has a 6-inch iPhone in the work, iDropNews today has shared a new set of renders that imagine that large-screened iPhone… The renders depict a 6.4-inch “iPhone X Plus” that features the same nearly bezel-less design as the upcoming iPhone X, but in a larger overall footprint. These renders offer a neat comparison between the 5.8-inch iPhone X and the rumored larger 6.4-inch form factor.

As any follower of the smartphone industry knows, we're living in an age where OEMs are striving for all metal and glass designs in favor of cheaper materials, such as plastic. This is a trend we've seen from Samsung, LG, Google, and plenty others, and while glass and metal might subjectively be more attractive than plastic, are these materials really any better in day-to-day use?

The original Pixel and Pixel XL have fantastic camera capabilities. Not only does HDR+ make most still images look great, but both phones include Electronic Image Stabilization to reduce shaky video. Despite being done entirely in software, the result is incredibly-smooth video that looks almost unreal. Unfortunately, this feature has one major flaw - panning. During video recording, tilting your Pixel while keeping it in place resulted in sudden jumps, when the software would realize that you are purposefully changing the angle and not simply shaking the camera.

Remember all that Google Store trade-in confusion we talked about the other day? We now have some clarification, thanks to Google, as well as a retroactive coverage for those of you who got in early pre-orders, yet aren’t expecting your phones to arrive for some time. Since our original story went up, Google says they are updating the Google Store trade-in program to give you 30 days from the receipt of your new phone to trade in your old phone and receive the original price they quoted you.

Each year, Fall ushers in a few certainties. Leaves change color and fall gently to the ground. Pumpkin spice flavors turn up in unlikely foodstuffs. And iPhone owners feel pretty sure that Apple has intentionally slowed down their smartphone, in a dastardly attempt to get them to upgrade to the latest model. That last one? It’s not a thing. Hue and cry about Apple’s “planned obsolescence” has burbled up for years, at one point gracing even the pages of The New York Times Magazine. But a new look at historic iPhone performance data disproves the notion for good.

One thing that Google left unannounced during its Pixel 2 launch event on October 4th is being revealed today: it’s called the Pixel Visual Core, and it is Google’s first custom system-on-a-chip (SOC) for consumer products. You can think of it as a very scaled-down and simplified, purpose-built version of Qualcomm’s Snapdragon, Samsung’s Exynos, or Apple’s A series chips. The purpose in this case? Accelerating the HDR+ camera magic that makes Pixel photos so uniquely superior to...

Xiaomi is a fun company. Its phones are great to play with. They’re powerful, innovative, and for the most part, cheap. My biggest problem with their phones is that I can’t get them; they’re not available in the United States. Xiaomi is a China-first affair, with precious few exceptions. Despite public comments about building a patent war chest in advance of a Stateside launch in mid-2015, there’s been no meaningful push into the American market.

The menu button used to be oh-so-important to Android in the early years. Google ditched it pretty early on with the introduction of the Galaxy Nexus, but Samsung's flagship Galaxy Note III was released in late 2013 and still had one on board. But even after menu buttons lost their permanent spots on the chins of phones, some still persisted through long-presses of the multitasking button. You could even find cheaper devices with dedicated menu buttons to the right of their multitasking buttons...

When we first learned about the Google Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL’s squeezable frame, we hoped that it would be customizable. Our own source told us that the squeezable frame would only be able to launch Google Assistant or to silence incoming calls, and unfortunately that’s all you can do on the live build that is now shipping out to customers. This is disappointing especially in light of the fact that the HTC U11 offers more customization for its squeeze feature than Google does...

In our Pixel 2 review, we also dive into the Pixel 2 XL to share thoughts on what we believe are the best Android experiences available.

Google’s new Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL offer a lot of features but as with any new smartphone, it’s not without its issues. Complaints of a less vibrant display than the previous generation Pixel have prompted Google to state that it may add more color options for users in a future update. The company said it targeted a more neutral and realistic panel this time around, rather than the heavy saturation usually associated with OLED displays.

It's a pair of cameras each but who wore it better? We all know the iPhone did it first, and Samsung's a little late to this party. And yes, we all know that between these two it's not really a 'hey, you've got the same shirt, let's hang out together' moment - no, it's more like 'look the other way and pretend they're not there'.

It feels like no-one cares about the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus. Last week it was reported that Apple’s latest iPhones are actually being outsold by their predecessors, the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus. I can’t vouch for the veracity of that analysis, but it wouldn’t really surprise me if it were true. People that buy iPhones in September are early adopters. Early adopters are likely to wait for the iPhone X. The iPhone 8 isn’t a transformative upgrade over the 7, and the 7 now costs $100 less than it did before. Simple enough.

There are already multiple Pixel 2-related issues that Google has either acknowledged or is investigating. Just recently, the screen burn-in issue and clicking sounds issue came to light, and now, you can add one more to the list – multiple Pixel 2 users are now reporting problem with their unit’s microphone.

The search giant's flagship device has suffered several issues, including complaints about screen quality.

It wasn’t supposed to be like this. Twenty days ago, when Google revealed its 2017 Pixel phones, the talk was all about the “panda” Pixel 2 XL, the one with a white aluminum back and black glass window at the top. The larger of Google’s new Android flagships was shaping up to be an instantly iconic device with its own nickname and cult following. The “Pixel 2 XL” moniker would quickly be forgotten and we’d all talk, in beatifying tones, about the great Pixel Panda.

Apple calls Bloomberg's claim that it has reduced the accuracy specification for Face ID "completely false".

Earlier this month, Google officially unveiled its second generation Pixel smartphones: the Google Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL. But the first rumors regarding this year’s Pixel devices initially suggested there would be 3 Pixel smartphones codenamed walleye, muskie, and taimen, and that all 3 would sport the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835. The rumors regarding a ‘muskie’ model were later squashed, but today this previously unannounced and unreleased Google Pixel 2 model started showing up in AOSP.

So you’re having troubles with your new Pixel order from Google? Dang. Well, I hate to break this to you, but it has been this way for years. Looking back through our post archives, Google has had issues when it comes to meeting demand for its flagship devices, both Pixel and Nexus. Please, allow me to provide a brief history to you.