Google went through a bit of its own shakeup when it
acquired HTC's phone hardware team in September 2017, which it has since folded
it into its own operations. And the smartphone landscape has evolved too, as
Apple reset the standards and conventions for price and design with the iPhone
X.
The
Google Pixel 3 and 3 XL, as they're assumed to be called, could be radically
different phones compared to their predecessors, the current Pixel 2 and Pixel
2 XL.
It's in this dynamic environment
that Google will launch the next generation of its flagship phone, as it
attempts to solidify its place among the smartphone elite. (The company is
rumored to launch a Pixel Wear OS smartwatch too.) The current Pixel is one of
the best smartphones on the strength of its camera, snappy performance and
homegrown Android software -- one that's first with feature updates and
security patches. And the company's forthcoming Android P operating system has
compelling new features that can't be found on any iPhone (yet).
But there have been some bumps in
the road. With the Pixel 3 series, Google will want to avoid the mistakes
associated with the Pixel 2 XL, which caught flack for burn-in issues and other
defects related to the phone's OLED display. Those missteps resulted in quite a
bit of media attention, marring some initial positive reviews with caveats. It
also added a spotlight on Google's warranty policies, which were eventually
broadened. (Note that the iPhone X's OLED display is not immune from burn-in
either.)
As for design changes coming to the
Pixel 3 there have been some renders, and Google's annual I/O conference
provided plenty of grist for the rumor mill. We've collated the major buzz on
the Google Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL below, and will continue to update this space
regularly with news and rumors.
So far so good it google has kept to
speed in the run up these devices with physical appearance tweaks as it may
seem
Google released its first pixel smart phone on October 2016
,we have no doubt that their latest installment should arrive in October as
well as Google introduced the original Pixel and its super-size sibling, the
Pixel XL on October 4, 2016. The Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL debuted exactly one
year later
The first phone with Android P
The next version of Google's Android OS is all about gesture
navigation, and it would be natural for Google to debut it on its upcoming
flagship. Google already showed off two beta versions of Android P -- we don't
know what the P stands for yet -- since its I/O conference in May.
Because the iPhone X also has a new gesture-based
navigation, Google executives insist that they've been working on their new
interface for more than a year, and that they are driven by a desire to reduce
the number of physical buttons on Android phones.
Google could give the Pixel 3 a notch
This one requires a little triangulation. We already know
that Android P will support phones with notches. And, as previously mentioned,
we're assuming that Google will debut Android P on the Pixel 3. As such, the
rumor about a notched Pixel 3 is entirely plausible.
And while Google may deny that it's following any other
company with its gesture-based navigation, it's irrefutable that Apple has
brought notch design into the mainstream, even though the Essential Phone was
the first to actually ship it.
Pixel 3 XL
may have two front-facing cameras, new display
In addition to the notch, Bloomberg posited that the Pixel 3
XL will have an edge-to-edge display and two front-facing cameras. The smaller
Pixel 3, however, will have neither of these things.
The German news site WinFuture, which has a pretty reliable
record with tech rumors, also reported that Google will partner with Taiwanese
manufacturer Foxconn (the same company that makes iPhones) to build "new
display hardware."
It might
look pretty similar to the Pixel 2
According to the first batch of allegedly leaked Pixel 3
images (because we're sure there will be more), the Pixel 3 may not look too
different than its predecessor. Again, these photos weren't independently
verified, but the images show a phone with a speaker grilled embedded in the
bottom bezel, one rear-camera and the Pixel's signature glass shade.
There could
be a premium Pixel phone to battle 2018 iPhones...
Tech blog Droid Life reported that Google has three new
Pixel phones in the pipeline for 2018. This trio could include a mysterious
higher-end version -- perhaps intended to compete with the $999 iPhone X -- in
addition to the standard and XL models. As a reminder, the 64GB Pixel 2 starts
at $649 (£629 or AU$1,079) and the Pixel 2 XL starts at $849 (£799 or
AU$1,399).
That noted, frequent tipster Evan Blass tweeted that,
according to a "reliable source," Google will deliver a Pixel 3 and Pixel
3 XL -- as well as the next generation of Pixel Buds and a Pixel-branded watch.
If he's right, we're back to looking at two phones, not three. The Pixel 3 XL
might have to take on 2018's iPhones on its own.
Or a
super-cheap Pixel phone?
Google is said to be developing an inexpensive
"midrange" Pixel for emerging markets that could debut this summer,
according to Economic Times.
It's not clear whether Google would bring this budget model
to the US; the timing doesn't sync up with the Pixel's usual October debut. But
such a phone would certainly make an interesting foil to Apple's rumored iPhone
SE 2, which we could see in September, when iPhones usually launch.
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