UPDATE: Google’s Pixel and Pixel XL are official! Read all about it here.
It looks like Google‘s big surprise has just been leaked by several of their retailers ahead of their major smartphone launch. These leaks provide our first (perhaps) concrete look at Google’s brand new upcoming Pixel and Pixel XL smartphones. Here are the details.
First up, we’ve got the smaller Google Pixel handset. This smartphone sports a 5-inch Full HD AMOLED panel (441 ppi) on the front, tucked under Corning’s Gorilla Glass 4, with a Snapdragon 821 processor, clocked at 2.15 GHz, and 4GB of RAM running on the inside. Storage options are limited to 32GB or 128GB. It’s also got a 2,770 mAh battery that supports fast charging via USB Type-C, NFC capability, a fingerprint scanner and a 3.5mm headphone jack.
Next, we’ve got the larger Google Pixel XL. At its heart, it shares the same specifications as the smaller Pixel as it’s powered by a Snapdragon 821 processor with 4GB of RAM and a choice of 32GB or 128GB of internal storage. The biggest difference is in the screen as the Pixel XL is sporting a 5.5-inch Quad HD AMOLED panel up front (534 ppi), tucked under Gorilla Glass 4. Its battery capacity is also increased to 3,450 mAh, also with support for fast charging via a USB Type-C port, as well as all the other goodies on the smaller Pixel.
These handsets also share the same camera setup, which is a 12.3-megapixel f/2.0 aperture primary camera with OIS and an 8MP snapper up front for selfies. Similar to the Nexus 6P and 5X, these new Pixels will also have large 1.55 micron pixels for better low-light performance. Besides that, both smartphones will come running Android 7.1 Nougat out of the box — likely with Google’s Pixel Launcher running on top.
Carphone Warehouse, one of the retailers that leaked this information, also lists a microSD card slot, though Android Authority is rather confident that this is a mistake. Considering the fact that Google will be offering users free unlimited storage on Google Photos (at full resolution, no less), we also suspect that this is a mistake.
Alongside the raw specs, the retailer also revealed some of the key features that Google will be marketing the Pixel smartphones with, chief of which is Google’s new Assistant plus their new Duo and (controversial) Allo chat messaging applications. The Google Assistant can be summoned by the “OK Google” voice command or by holding down the home button like you would for Now on Tap.
Finally, both Pixel smartphones will have compatible Live Cases, which you would probably know, is something really cool that we don’t have access to. There is also no mention of an earlier rumour that you would be able to use the back of the phone as a touch panel for Andromeda which is a little disappointing.
What is interesting is a Gizmodo report on Verizon’s leak of the Google Pixel smartphones featuring something called ‘Google Magic’. Now what on earth could that be? Is it Andromeda related? Or is it just some marketing gimmick?
While all of this is pretty interesting, do keep in mind that nothing is set in stone yet until Google officially announces these handsets, so take it with a grain of salt. In the meantime, let us know what you think of these handsets in the comments below.
