Google typically releases new phones in the fall, but details about the upcoming Pixel 2 and Pixel XL 2 smartphones have been leaking since this spring. Details about their codenames, possible specs, and manufacturers have already been leaked.
Now xda-developers claims to have more information about the design, displays, and other hardware for the upcoming phones.
Keep in mind that nothing is official until Google actually announces the phones. But xda-developers says the information comes from a reliable source and that the hardware has been finalized. So if the source is correct, this isn’t an early design that could change between now and launch day.
We don’t know for certain if the new phones will be called the Pixel 2 and Pixel XL 2, but it does look like there will be one phone with a small(ish) display and another with a larger screen. The bigger model has a higher-resolution display, support for more storage, and some differences in design, but otherwise the specs seem to be largely the same.
The smaller phone is allegedly code-named Walleye, and it sports a 4.97 inch, 1920 x 1080 pixel display. The phone has a Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor, 4GB of RAM, and 64GB of storage and it’s said to look almost exactly like the original Google Pixel phone.
One key difference? There’s no 3.5mm headphone jack. You’ll need to use USB headphones, find a USB Type-C to 3.5mm audio adapter, or opt for wireless headphones.
The good news is that the Walleye phone has stereo speakers.
Google’s larger phone is code-named Taimen and it’s said to have a 5.99 inch, 2560 x 1440 pixel OLED display with slim bezels, suggesting that it might not be much larger than the 5.5 inch Pixel XL from 2016.
Other features are pretty much the same as for the smaller model, except the Taimen phone should be available with up to 128GB of storage.
While Google is jumping on the slim bezel bandwagon for at least one of its new phones, as well as the unfortunate trend of removing a dedicated headphone jack, there’s one trendy feature Google seems to be skipping: dual cameras.
The phones are said to have single-lens cameras, which means you probably won’t get optical zoom or adjustable depth features. But last year’s Pixel devices had some of the best smartphone cameras on the market when it comes to picture quality. So unless you really need those specific features, it seems likely that the new models will at least be able to snap pretty good shots.
Instead of playing the new connector game (and lol, having to use an adapter for headphones like on the iPhone 7, that’s courageous), can’t they focus on useful innovation? Just off the top of my head, waterproofing, wireless charging, more storage, FASTER storage, VR/AR onboard, etc.
Removing connectors for the sake of making us buy new accessories when it brings nothing to the table may work for Apple, but there’s a reason I ditched Apple so don’t make the same errors.
I really dislike the trend of removing features.
No removable battery
No microSD card slot
No headphone jack
Sure, over time the processor gets faster, the RAM increases, the camera gets better. This is expected progress over time. As far as I can see the only advantage Pixel phones have over other Android phones is faster updates. Updates are a big deal, but they are not the only thing that matters.
Knowing Google’s latest trends, the phone will be “meh” but charge equivalent to the overpriced iPhone. It might even make the OnePlus 5 look like a cheap phone!
Honestly, Samsung has done the above specs AND water-proofing without killing the 3.5mm AUX port.
I don’t care about the Dual-Camera’s… well nowhere near as much as I care for Stereo Speakers like on the Nexus 6P.
The only way I’d accept a Pixel phone with no headphone jack, is if they gave me a MicroSD slot.