Rumors came out this week that Qualcomm is planning a mid-term upgrade of the Snapdragon 835 with the SD 836 and the two Android flagships to get the monster processor first will be the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 and the Google Pixel 2. Which of the two will best rock SD 836?

At best, Qualcomm's chipset bump, if the rumors are correct, will mean minimal performance improvements for both the Galaxy Note 8 and the Pixel 2 so end-users can simply focus on the merits of the handsets outside of the processing chip concerns.

If the main motivation for picking a smartphone is beauty and style then the automatic choice will have to be the Samsung flagship, which is actually the company' second premium offering this 2017. The Note 8 is said to be the bigger replica of the Galaxy S8 Plus so there is no denying the former will be a thing of beauty and the best proof is the nearly all-screen Infinity Display. Rumors say the Note 8 display will stretch 6.3-inch diagonally.

The counterpart in the Google Pixel 2 line would be the Pixel XL that supposedly will boast of a 5.7-inch display, certainly large but destined to be overwhelmed by Samsung's super phablet. So if the competition will all boil down to aesthetics, the winner is Samsung's bet as even the most hardcore Android fans know that like the Nexus models before it the Google Pixel is more about functions than form.

And that is where the advantage of Google Pixel will come in and mainly because the handset, on all models, will have Pure Android and will not be burdened by the OS layering normally found on Android-based devices.

For many Android users, Stock OS is a big plus - it's light and buttery smooth. Then the biggest plus is the fact that Google Pixel will always get the latest firmware updates first. In fact, the Pixel 2 is expected to roll out with Android O and the same cannot be said of the Note 8. Leaked details on the device indicated of Android 7.1.1 Nougat as the one to run the Galaxy Note 8 show. And it's fair to assume that the earliest the Note 8 can get Android O is in the early months of 2018.

The bottom line, if the choice is pure gorgeous and sheer power then the Galaxy Note 8 will be hard to match. But a deeper probe on the Google Pixel 2, which reports said will get a significant cosmetic enhancement this year apart from the expected specs bumps, will reveal the Pure Android line is more than able to compete with rivals at any given time.