Google is prepping to launch the Pixel and Pixel XL smartphones later tonight. Here's a look at everything we already know about the upcoming smartphones.
Google is pulling up its socks to launch its Pixel smartphones in San Francisco later tonight. After multiple leaks, and one major blunder by a UK-based retailer, we already have a fair idea of what to expect from the upcoming Pixel and Pixel XL smartphones. The retailer’s page not only showed what the upcoming devices would look like, but also confirmed most of the specifications and features that have been leaked in the past.
As far as the design and specifications are concerned, we know quite a bit about that too. If you look at the design of the Pixel smartphones, the overall look is in line with the many renders and leaked images we have come across before. In fact, many have pointed out that the leaked images showed a very iPhone-like design on the upcoming handsets. Under specifications, by now it is known that the Google Pixel XL would feature a 5.5-inch QHD (2560×1440 pixels) AMOLED display with 534ppi and Gorilla Glass 4 protection. It will be powered by a 2.15GHz Snapdragon 821 quad-core chipset, 4GB of RAM, and 256GB onboard storage. Interestingly, the retailer also mentions a microSD card slot, something that has been missing on the Nexus lineup.
The smartphone will also feature a 12-megapixel rear camera, 8-megapixel selfie camera, a fingerprint scanner placed at the back, and come with connectivity options like 4G support, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and NFC. On the software front, the smartphone runs on Android Nougat out-of-the-box. The Google Pixel too will come with a similar set of specs with the only difference being the size of the display and the battery. Hours before Google officially launches the Pixel smartphones, here are eight features that we already know of. ALSO READ: Google’s Pixel launch event today is not about hardware
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The retailer confirms that the smartphones will be available in two sizes, and they will be called Pixel and Pixel XL. With the launch of the new smartphones, Google is dropping the Nexus branding moving away towards more software inclined services.
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The Pixel smartphones will be preloaded with Siri-like Google Assistant. Just saying ‘Ok Google’ or long pressing the home button would activate the personal assistant. The AI-based assistant is also integrated in Google’s new messaging app Allo.
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With the launch of the new Pixel smartphones, Google is promising unlimited photo backup at their maximum resolution for a lifetime on these Pixel smartphones. Pixel users need never worry about running out of cloud backup space.
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The camera on the Pixel and Pixel XL smartphones come with a Smartburst feature, which is quite similar to the burst shots on Apple iPhones.
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The Pixel and Pixel XL smartphones will also be preloaded with Google’s latest AI-based messaging app, Google Allo. The new messaging app by Google, which goes head-to-head with the likes of WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger, brings in a host of smart features like WhisperShout, Ink, end-to-end encryption, and incognito mode among others.
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On the connectivity end, the smartphones will feature USB Type-C port with quick charging support. Google claims that the quick charging can give up to seven hours of battery life in just 15 minutes of charge.
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It has also been revealed that the Pixel smartphone will come with Google’s video calling app Duo, installed on it. After announcing Duo at I/O 2016 earlier this year, Google rolled out the video messaging app to users on Android and iOS, two months ago.
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The images also revealed Google’s customizable Live Cases for the Pixel smartphones. Live Cases are essentially personalized smartphone covers that users can create themselves with any image or design of their choosing.
