Ever since Google suggested that it intends to take more control in matters pertaining to its in-house phones, a lot has been said about the upcoming Google Pixel and Pixel XL phones.
For starters, rumors are adamant that the phones will come with the Pixel and Pixel XL names instead of the usual Nexus. In addition, this desire to exercise more control and possibly stamp its authority on its products will result in a logo change from “Nexus” branding to a “G” branding on the back of the handsets. With the big G synonymous with Google, this move is seen by the company as a way of making its products authoritative in the highly competitive industry.
The efforts by Google to make the Pixel and Pixel XL phones its own identity do not just end with the outward appearance of the phones. Apparently, the phones will also come with some software tweaks that might remain exclusive to the Pixel lineup.
In a recent benchmark, the Google Pixel XL appeared to be running Android 7.1 Nougat, an operating system that could possibly remain exclusive to the flagship alongside the smaller Google Pixel phone. However, this is still speculation and we might see the same version of the OS appear on other Google Nexus devices, including the 6P, 5X as well as the 2014 Nexus 6. On the contrary, the existence of the OS doesn’t necessarily mean those using the v7.0 will have an update to v7.1 ready for them.
Samsung, Sony, Motorola and many other Android OEMs are still adding their own tweaks to Android 7.0 Nougat and the end result could possibly be v7.1, but for now, there is no any form of certainty. In short, only Google knows whether or not the newer version of Nougat will remain exclusive to the Pixel and Pixel XL phones.
The Pixel and Pixel XL are expected to be launched next week, which is when we’ll know more details about the two, including if the new software will remain exclusive to the phones or not. But as pointed out earlier, we could end up having small tweaks, similar to what other OEMs do to the OS, which will remain specific to the Pixel family.