Google is already shipping its new Pixel phones that got announced not long ago, and they are every bit as improved compared to their predecessors as expected. The Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL have great cameras with a new portrait mode, better battery life, thoughtful soft-touch design, and faster performance, not to mention the screen-to-body ratio on the larger XL. They don’t come cheap, though, as gone are the days when Google sold plasticky Nexus phones at or near cost as a means to spread out the stock Android message.
These are high-end machines that …