Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge is a flagship from Samsung released early this year. Google also started to make smartphones to compete with the “OS branded smartphone” out there like Microsoft and Apple. Google released Google Pixel (no Nexus anymore) with two variants; Google Pixel and Google Pixel XL.
Design
Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge
Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge is an “edgier” smartphone with the display curved to the edges which make the multimedia experience almost bezel free. The edges come with some software integration which shows you notifications without turning on the whole smartphone, Just rub your finger on the edge, and it will show you the time and notifications on the edge only, which saves battery too!
Rest of the design is same as you see on Samsung Galaxy S7; the camera has a little bump, glass back panel and SIM and memory card tray is on the top edge. The power button is on the right and volume rocker is one the left side. And Yes! The smartphone is glossy on the back as well so the fingerprints and smudges will be normal while using.
Google Pixel XL
Google Pixel XL is the first smartphone with Google branding on it. Although HTC made the smartphones, the design was from the Google itself. Google tried to make the smartphone look like iPhone. But to make it unique, Google added a glass panel on the back with Google logo slightly below where Apple use to add a logo on the iPhones.
The camera is on the top left corner at the back with the flash with CRI rating 90. You’ll also see three pin holes, which are the three microphones to make sure that the Google Assistant will listen to you clearer.
Display
The display on both of the smartphones is same; 5.5 inches with quad HD resolution and 534 ppi pixel density. You’ll see each and everything in these smartphones with crisp and crystal clarity. The only difference between both the smartphone’s display is that the Google Pixel comes with an AMOLED and Samsung Galaxy S7 comes with SuperAMOLED display.
The difference between the two display is that the digitizer, which detects the touch is a separate layer in AMOLED display hence making it a little thicker than SuperAMOLED in which the digitizer is integrated into the display itself hence making it slimmer. This could be the reason that Galaxy S7 is 7.7 mm thick and Google Pixel XL is 8.5 mm.
Camera
The camera on both the devices are quite similar; the Google Pixel XL comes with a 12.3 MP camera sensor with large 1.5μm pixels and f/2.0 aperture for best pictures in low light condition. Samsung Galaxy S7 comes with a 12 MP camera with 1.4μm pixels and f/1.7 aperture size. Both the smartphones are capable of shooting UHD videos at 30 frames per second.
The Google Pixel XL lacks the Optical Image Stabilization instead Google added the DIS (Digital Image Stabilization), which is a software controlled stabilization technology. Samsung Galaxy S7 camera features OIS, and we all know OIS is better than DIS but in some test videos, we have seen Google Pixel doing a great job stabilizing the video.
Google bragged a lot about the Pixel XL’s camera scored 89 on DxO mark but if you’ll notice that Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge’s score is 88 on DxO Mark which means you can’t differentiate the picture quality taken with this camera.
Hardware
The Samsung Galaxy S7 comes in two different variants based on the processor and GPU pair; Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 or Exynos 8890 processor with Adreno 530 or Mali-T880 MP12 respectively. Google Pixel XL comes with Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 processor and Adreno 530 GPU.
Both the smartphones come with the same amount of RAM-4 GB, but storage options are different; 32GB and 64 GB on Samsung Galaxy S7 and 32 GB and 128 GB on Google Pixel XL. You can expand the memory using microSD in Galaxy S7, but Google Pixel XL doesn’t come with this expansion option so need to carry some storage option with you to save your memories locally.
Conclusion
Google Pixel XL is a great smartphone only if you are a stock Android fan and do not want lots of curvy tech on your phone, just a simple looking phone with Android on it. If you want some amazing tech which is not annoying but more productive, then make sure that Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge is on your buying list.
