Google Pixel 2 XL, Round Three (Premium)

I've experienced a steady stream of issues with my Google Pixel 2 XL, and I had the phone replaced under warranty in April. Now I'm having its replacement replaced too.

So this is not a good time to ask me how I feel about this particular device. As we might say on Facebook, it's complicated.

I purchased my original Pixel 2 XL in November 2017, as soon as was possible, paying the lofty sum of $1026.97 for the privilege of owning Google's latest and greatest.

My problems began immediately. I first noticed that the Pixel 2 XL's display was incredibly washed out. More so, in fact, than that of its predecessor. Its build quality was unimpessive, with prominent "forehead" and "chin" bezels despite its seemingly modern 18:9 aspect ratio.

But the biggest issue I had was with the USB-C port.

Google, in its mad desire to prove that it could be just like Apple, didn't just price the Pixel 2 XL into the stratosphere. It also removed the headphone jack, ensuring that most customers would need to use dongles for the duration of their ownership of this device.

So I stocked up. I purchased two sets of USB-C headphone adapters from Google to augment the one that came with the phone. And I put them where I'd find them: In the little bag for my Bose noise-canceling headphones, in my carry-on bag, and in my gadget bag.

I also purchased third-party USB-C dongles. And I experimented with USB-C headphones over the ensuing months, like the Libratone Q Adapt headphones that I found to be lackluster.

In other words, I feel like I did everything I could to overcome this weird and unnecessary limitation. And my Pixel 2 XL rewarded this effort, and this expense, by not working.

As I noted in Google Pixel 2 XL, Round Two, I routinely had problems getting audio to actually route through the USB-C port, and it got worse over time. Indeed, it just stopped working: With any headphones attached, the sound would only come out of the device's speakers. I reset the handset multiple times. Hoped that subsequent firmware updates would fix it. Nothing worked.

So in April, I finally did what I should have done months earlier: I contacted Google support, went through some rote troubleshooting steps, and they agreed to send me a replacement device. No, not a new Pixel 2 XL. But a refurbished unit. Fine, I thought. I just want it to work.

That refurb replacement arrived a few days later. I tested audio over USB and it worked ... technically. I still got an annoying audible "pop" through any USB-C- dongle-based headphones, another issue I had had with the original phone, whenever I manually changed songs (or other audio content). See, I'm getting really good at settling.

Sometime in the last month or so, however, a new problem emerged. A new problem with the USB port.

Yes, really.

I recall plugging in a USB cable and it not making a firm connection, as if there might be some gunk in one corner of the port in the bottom of the phone. I checked...