[Update 2: Before you choose a phone, check out the amazing Samsung Galaxy S8 review.]

It is as good as or incrementally better than everything else on the market but the A.I-enhanced Google Assistant elevates it to another level of smartphone technology. However, now that Google's amazing Daydream VR is here - and it's currently exclusive to Pixel - this is the phone to buy.

Google Assistant's A.I. is innovative; Superb camera; Fast; Unlimited cloud storage; Fast charging; Daydream VR compatibility;

Battery life is modest; Expensive; Not pretty; Single speaker is retrograde step; Not waterproof; 15% price hike for Aussies;

At the Made by Google event which took place in October, Google announced two new phones . Unlike their regular Nexus phones, these were two phones made completely by Google - the Pixel and Pixel XL.

Google is clearly and unambiguously targeting the flagship market with its Pixel phones. With a starting price of $649 for the smaller 5.0-inch Pixel with 32GB of storage ($749 with 128GB) and $769 for the 5.5-inch Pixel XL with 32GB ($869 with 128GB), Google is competing directly with Samsung’s...

The Google Pixel XL is a very good smartphone. However, its core feature, the Google Assistant, is not a decisive reason to buy it. Above all, it does not justify the price which the manufacturer charges for its product.

good display, high-end build quality, LTE Cat; 11, fast WiFi, excellent voice quality, great cameras, low SAR values

no Dual-SIM; no microSD support; PWM; SoC throttling

There is no such thing as a perfect smartphone. I know because I've been trying to find one for longer than I care to remember. There's also no such thing as being 100% happy with the phone you have. At least this is true for me.

Very fast; Great camera; Long battery life; 2 years of OS updates; 3 years of security updates

Expensive; Not water resistant/water proof; No stereo speakers

For years, Google has employed other mobile brands – LG, Motorola and HTC to name but three – to help design and manufacture its Nexus smartphones and tablets.

Debuts latest Android Nougat OS; Clean; slick and efficiently stripped-back interface; Google Assistant is impressive; Sharp; punchy and detailed screen; Comprehensive; high-quality camera

Sound quality is uncompetitive; Not fully waterproof

Had a HTC 10 but drowned it. The Pixel XL so far is great. The finger print scanner on the back works extremely well. The camera and video quality the best yet, with the quick launch of either by long pressing the camera app is a great feature.

The new Google Pixel phone and its supersized cousin, the Google Pixel XL, represent a paradigm shift in the smartphone world. Although this isn't the first time the search giant has sold smartphones under its own name, it's the first time it has marketed them under the Pixel brand.

At $769 (or $869 if you go with the 128GB model, which you should), the Google Pixel XL is priced to compete with the highest-end phones on the market. And in most regards, it's a success.

Fast Snapdragon 821 processor; Sharp display; Latest Android 7.1 software and guaranteed updates; Excellent camera; Promising Google Assistant functionality; 24/7 live help

No waterproofing; expandable storage; or wireless charging

Display - XL The first major difference that we find on the Google Pixel XL is a larger 5.5" AMOLED displayed. This gives the user an extra half inch of screen to enjoy and its inclusion only adds 11mm to its height and 6mm to its width.