Taiwan’s HTC has been busy manufacturing the Google Pixel and Pixel XL phones on behalf of the search engine giant and these two will be made official at an event this Tuesday afternoon.
The Google Pixel and Pixel XL have been in the rumors for months now. In fact, the two started as the Google Nexus 2016 until it emerged that the tech giant is set to drop the Nexus branding in favor of Pixel. Apparently, a number of major names in the industry have confirmed that this is indeed going to happen. Evan Blass, a famous smartphone leaker, hinted that this was coming and the same has recently been confirmed by Canadian carrier Bell and UK’s Carphone Warehouse, which accidentally listed the Google Pixel and Pixel XL phones on their websites.
While the details that come out of the leaks are mainly giving out the looks of the phones and some few software tweaks we can expect, previous leaks had given out about everything we need to know about the hardware specs and features of these two handsets.
For starters, the Google Pixel is said to be coming with a metallic build that measures 143.8 mm tall and 8.6 mm thick. These should give the phone a weight of 143g. The Pixel will also come with a display screen of 5.0 inches in size with a resolution of 1080p. Under the hood, the phone will reportedly carry the latest Snapdragon 821 SoC (but other reports have suggested that the Snapdragon 820 SoC will be used). This chipset has a clock speed of 2.15GHz and will be paired with a 4GB RAM, matching many other Android flagships already in the market.
HTC will be using a 12MP lens on the back of the Google Pixel. This lens will be supported by features such as f/2.0 aperture and dual-LED flash, among others. As for the selfie camera, there is an 8MP sensor with the same aperture. The phone will be kept alive by a decent 2770mAh battery unit that will be rechargeable via a USB Type-C port. As for the storage, you get 32GB, which is not expandable. Software-wise, the Google Pixel will be powered by the latest version of Android Nougat.
For those interested in the larger Google Pixel XL, beware that the phone will carry a slightly smaller 5.5-inch screen as compared to the 5.7-inch panel used on the Nexus 6P. However, the quality is retained, with the likes of QHD AMOLED and 1440p resolution retained. Under the hood, the Pixel XL will share the same hardware specs as the smaller Pixel, but due to the more pixels it has to power on its huge screen, the Pixel XL will get a 3450mAh battery.
The phone keeps the likes of USB Type-C, 12MP/8MP camera configuration and 32GB of onboard storage. However, the latter might see more options come into play, for instance, 64GB and 128GB, similar to 2015. Like the Pixel, the latest version of Android Nougat will come preinstalled on the Pixel XL.
This entire collection will be enclosed in a metal build that measures 154.7 x 75.7 x 8.6 mm, with a weight of 168g.
Last but not least, the Google Pixel and Pixel XL phones are expected to start selling at $649, which puts the handsets on the same pricing terms as Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge or even iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus, among other major names in the industry.
Will you get a new Google Pixel or Pixel XL phone when made available for purchase? Please share your views with us in the comments.