Google plans to launch at least two new Pixel-branded smartphones this year, and thanks to a series of leaks in recent months we have a pretty good idea of what to expect.

Now we also have a pretty good idea of when to expect it: Evan Blass says that Google will unveil its 2nd-gen Pixel phones on October 5th. He says they’ll also feature Qualcomm Snapdragon 836 chips, making them some of the first phones to ship with the new chip (which Qualcomm has yet to officially announce).

Google Pixel XL2 “Taimen” from Android Police

Blass has a pretty stellar track record with this kind of thing, so unless Google’s plans change, I’d say it’s pretty safe to assume the October 5th date is legit.

According to previously leaked info, Google is working with HTC on a 5 inch phone that will replace the first-gen Pixel in the company’s lineup. While it’s expected to look a lot like the original Pixel, it could have one new feature: squeezable edges that work with a new “Active Edge” feature that lets you trigger Google Assistant by squeezing the phone.

The 5 inch phone, which is code-named Walleye, is expected to feature a 1920 x 1080 pixel display, 4GB of RAM, 64GB of storage, and a USB Type-C port, but no headphone jack.

Google is said to be working with LG on a 6 inch phone that will have a significantly different design, thanks to slim bezels and a display with a 2:1 aspect ratio.

Like the smaller phone, the 6 inch model, which is code-named Taimen, is expected to have pressure-sensitive sides with Active Edge support and a Snapdragon 836 processor.

As for that new chip, the name suggests it’ll be a modest update from the Snapdragon 835 processor powering many of today’s flagship phones. If the move from Snapdragon 835 to 836 is anything like last year’s update from the Snapdragon 820 to 821, that probably means we’ll see a slight boost in the top clock speeds.

Oh, and the new Pixel phones may not be the only new Google devices coming this fall. Rumor has it that the Chromebook Pixel is getting a refresh soon, and that Google may introduce a smaller, cheaper version of its Google Home smart speaker. While Android Police had reported that we’d see those by the end of the third quarter of 2017, October 5th is only a few days into the fourth quarter, and it’s easy to imagine Google unveiling all of these new products at once.

 

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2 replies on “Google’s new Pixel phones launching Oct 5th (@evleaks)”

  1. Meh.
    Barely an improvement over the standard Pixels, and pretty much a regression from the likes of the LG G6, SGS8 and even the SGS7. The stretched display fad is becoming annoying because they aren’t shrinking the bezels, and in some/many cases, are actually making the device larger with a smaller display.

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