With a lot of discussion on the positives and negatives on this phone, I figured I would give my personal review after spending a day with the phone compared to my XL 1. I will first address what a lot of people are griping about. I used this phone as my personal and business line, so they both get heavy use all day. I will update this thread as I spend more time with the phone.
Screen- In a nutshell, the colors are not as vivid as the original XL because the have the SRGB turned on with no way for us to turn off. I think Google will address in a future update since enough reviews/people complain about it. Regardless, I run both phones with adaptive brightness off and set at about 25%. At that level I actually prefer the XL2 screen over my original XL. Its actually brighter despite the colors being more natural. I lay my phone lay on my work desk and viewing the XL2 and XL the XL2 does have a slight blue tint. Its honestly not a big deal to me at all. I can still read everything just fine and its nice to know i can see the screen outdoors with sunglasses easier. I can not comment on the burn in as I have only had it for 1 day, but what I can confirm is that my original XL does have burn in. I honestly never noticed it until people started complaining about the XL2 getting burn-in so quickly. Dont know if that will be a long term issue or how bad the ghosted nav bar will show in other applications.
Sound- Since I had both phone side by side I played the same song at the same time on both laying flat on my work surface. I placed both at about 75% volume. The XL2 is much louder and brighter. The mids and highs are much more pronounced on the XL2. The original XL did seem to have more bass but was really lacking in the mid and highs. Since its a phone, I prefer the XL2 for music and conference calls by far. If I want full sound I will connect to bluetooth and listen on a real speaker. The speaker phone works really well for me as I am on conference calls hours each day.
!!Cellular Signal!!- So this is a big topic for me as its my primary phone. I can say that for me on Verizon the XL2 has a much better signal strength. Sitting in the exact same location I have sometimes twice as much signal as my original XL. My original XL had to switch over to WiFi calling quite frequently and the XL2 has not switched over once. I am very happy so far with this. The real test will be later this week where I always had dead spots while driving. Will update.
Battery- I think we all agree the XL2 has an advantage over the XL. The XL2 still needs a few days to break in, but it drains a lot slower than the original XL.
Performance- The XL2 is MUCH faster in all around daily use. Scrolling on websites, loading apps, fingerprint reader, etc. Its all much faster on the XL2. I thought my original XL was fluid and snappy, but the XL2 is really nice.
Feel- Although I have seen the XL2 can scratch with sharp objects easier, I will say that it feels better in hand that the original XL. It has a textured back that is much easier to grip and hold on to.
Headphones- Have yet to test against original XL if there is even a difference.
Weird stuff-- I do not heard the clicking and high pitches sound a few people reported about.
Negative- I personally dont like how the screen curves and the metal/plastic has a lip between the screen and edge of the phone. I feel like it will collect a lot of pocket lint/junk if you dont have a case. I never use a case.
Let me know if there is anything else people care about that you want me to comment on.
Screen- In a nutshell, the colors are not as vivid as the original XL because the have the SRGB turned on with no way for us to turn off. I think Google will address in a future update since enough reviews/people complain about it. Regardless, I run both phones with adaptive brightness off and set at about 25%. At that level I actually prefer the XL2 screen over my original XL. Its actually brighter despite the colors being more natural. I lay my phone lay on my work desk and viewing the XL2 and XL the XL2 does have a slight blue tint. Its honestly not a big deal to me at all. I can still read everything just fine and its nice to know i can see the screen outdoors with sunglasses easier. I can not comment on the burn in as I have only had it for 1 day, but what I can confirm is that my original XL does have burn in. I honestly never noticed it until people started complaining about the XL2 getting burn-in so quickly. Dont know if that will be a long term issue or how bad the ghosted nav bar will show in other applications.
Sound- Since I had both phone side by side I played the same song at the same time on both laying flat on my work surface. I placed both at about 75% volume. The XL2 is much louder and brighter. The mids and highs are much more pronounced on the XL2. The original XL did seem to have more bass but was really lacking in the mid and highs. Since its a phone, I prefer the XL2 for music and conference calls by far. If I want full sound I will connect to bluetooth and listen on a real speaker. The speaker phone works really well for me as I am on conference calls hours each day.
!!Cellular Signal!!- So this is a big topic for me as its my primary phone. I can say that for me on Verizon the XL2 has a much better signal strength. Sitting in the exact same location I have sometimes twice as much signal as my original XL. My original XL had to switch over to WiFi calling quite frequently and the XL2 has not switched over once. I am very happy so far with this. The real test will be later this week where I always had dead spots while driving. Will update.
Battery- I think we all agree the XL2 has an advantage over the XL. The XL2 still needs a few days to break in, but it drains a lot slower than the original XL.
Performance- The XL2 is MUCH faster in all around daily use. Scrolling on websites, loading apps, fingerprint reader, etc. Its all much faster on the XL2. I thought my original XL was fluid and snappy, but the XL2 is really nice.
Feel- Although I have seen the XL2 can scratch with sharp objects easier, I will say that it feels better in hand that the original XL. It has a textured back that is much easier to grip and hold on to.
Headphones- Have yet to test against original XL if there is even a difference.
Weird stuff-- I do not heard the clicking and high pitches sound a few people reported about.
Negative- I personally dont like how the screen curves and the metal/plastic has a lip between the screen and edge of the phone. I feel like it will collect a lot of pocket lint/junk if you dont have a case. I never use a case.
Let me know if there is anything else people care about that you want me to comment on.
Last edited:
