Pixel 2 with Android 8 - hanging out at the mall with insecure wifi networks

So there you are, like me, hanging out at Best Buy at the mall, far away from good cellular data and reception signal, just needing to send a message to your family member one store over to come over.

Without too many options, you connect to the "freeBestBuywifi" (conveniently named) with misgivings about connecting your phone's entire data connection to an open and unsecured network, just so you can get a data message.

In those few minutes after you have connected, your phone's entire data starts funneling through open, exposed network open to malicious individuals who these days are sophisticated enough to intercept and pick up all the services your phone is connecting to and all the data its sending and receiving.

Not a great place to be!

Even if you had VPN software installed which would give you some level of protection, you'd have to remember to turn it on after you connected to "freeBestBuywifi", which sometimes you might accidentally forget to in a hurry.

Enter ... the better UX experience.

Pixel 2/ Android 8 & my installed VPN app worked together to understood that I was connected to an insecure, public network and popped up a notification offering to launch the VPN and turn it on:

All without me needing to think about it...

Now That's the future!

Pixel 2 with Android 8.0 - Wifi automagically turned on and auto-connect to trusted Wifi network

Heres something cool I came across - automatically let your phone turn it's Wifi service on, and connect to a trusted network when you come back to the location where you connected to your trusted Wifi network.

So I left home, where I have a trusted Wifi network which the Pixel 2 will auto-connect to. I turn off my Wifi just because its one less energy-consuming component running. Some time later, I come back home. Normally at this point Id have to remember to turn on my Wifi service, and then wait for the phone to connect. If I forget, I might end up using my Cell data without realizing it at home.

now, If you have location services on Pixel 2 turned on (let's face it, for anything useful these days Google services religiously prompt you to give them location history and search history access) & if you set the option to enable this feature in settings....

Pixel 2 will:

1. recognize when you are in the location where you have a saved, auto-connect trusted Wifi network on
2. Turn on your Wifi radio
3. Auto-connect to your saved auto-connect wifi network

Essentially - I can go from this:

To this:

without doing anything except walking into my home.

Now that's the future!

Pixel 2 (not XL) paired with Android 8.0 (Oreo)

My short conclusion - a worthy follow-up from Google and a true update to the Nexus 5 line (in my opinion the last great pure Android software/hardware experience from Google built with user experience in mind).

I'd like to share some of the less advertised experiences that, to me, really make this a smart experience as opposed to just a miniature tablet with an operating system and a phone as an afterthought. 

After all - that's what an idea, always-on / always-around "daily driver" smartphone device can aspire to - an improvement to the daily lifestyle without requiring a ton of customization or planning. 

At least, thats what it should aspire to.

Comments/ thoughts always welcome!