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A walk–thru of the phones I’ve owned over the years. It’s interesting to see how the devices themselves have changed over time.

2017 — Google^® Pixel 2 XL

Behold the flagship. As I began to grow weary of my aging Droid Maxx which was by this time 4 versions of the Android OS behind I started looking at phones. Lots of phones. Incessantly. I knew I wanted another Android based phone and of course I wanted to be as current as possible since it had been my experience that I would see one, maybe two, updates before being forgotten about by manufacturers. Battery life was a huge priority of mine as well especially given that I had gotten used to not plugging in for a top off frequently. With every new phone being announced I was pouring over specs, reading reviews and seeking opinions. I also had generally always stuck in the low to mid–range area in terms of cost so was primarily focused on the mid–range offerings. Google enticed me however. Guaranteed OS updates for 3 years and monthly security updates for 3 years. Security updates, every month! The original Google Pixel phone from 2016 was viewed as a great flagship phone with a fantastic camera and as word of the Pixel 2’s impending release began unfolding I was pouring over rumors and speculation. I kept falling over at the thought of paying the price of a flagship device though.

Obviously I decided to take the plunge into the deep end of the pool and can honestly say I have no regrets. The Pixel 2 XL is absolutely the best phone I have had. It’s blazing fast, takes beautiful pictures and because I chose to purchase it directly from Google in it’s unlocked form I have no carrier bloat to concern myself with. It goes without saying that simply upgrading 4 versions of the OS has a big impact also and due to that there was a little learning curve and frequent discovery of new features. I expect to be running this hardware for a while, part of how I justified the cost, and thus far my opinion is that this phone will go the distance. This is no small phone though. For years I always carried my phones in a holster hanging off my belt but that just doesn’t work so well anymore.

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