Google Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL rumours: A complete roundup of the leaks so far

Kshitij PujariSep 04, 2018 21:52:24 IST

At this point, it looks to me that Google doesn't need to hold an entire event around launching the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL. They could just announce the price and save a lot of money that would otherwise be used to unveil a device that, for the most part, has been revealed in its entirety via leaks, rumours and in one case, a very careless mistake.

Leaked Images of Google Pixel 3 XL. Image: Rozetked

Here is everything that has been leaked so far on the Pixel 3 and 3 XL, which makes the official launch on 9 October completely pointless. We shall be updating this copy as and when new leaks arrive, but the chances of that are quite slim since there's nothing left to reveal.

Notches galore

Straight of the bat, you should know that pre-production units of the Google Pixel 3 XL have already been sold in the black market and many people have put out detailed reviews and camera comparisons of the phone. Quite possibly, the biggest thing we have to address is that gigantic notch on the Pixel 3 XL. It even looks like a face. It is, thankfully, absent on the Pixel 3. From the renders and all the leaks about the device, I gather that this notch is going to make the Pixel 3 XL a very unattractive device indeed.

Google Pixel 3 XL. Image: Android Police

Sure, it looks to be housing the dual-front facing camera as well as a speaker grille, but it's still unsightly. Google doesn't want to sacrifice the dual-speakers on the Pixel 3 XL, but even if the notch is removed using a software function, there would still be clunky bezel on the top. Also, it would seem that LG would still be supplying the OLED panels for the Pixel 3 XL, and seeing how things went last time around, I'm not expecting the best of displays here.

Wireless charging?

On the back, we see the same design as on the previous Pixel devices. Both the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL have the same metal-back-and-glass-window design as seen on the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL smartphones. However, looking closely we see that the back is made of glass and one part of it has a matte finish. Is wireless charging on the table? A video on Twitter did show some wireless charging capabilities on the Pixel 3 XL, but we should wait and see if they are actually true.

Leaked image of Pixel 3 XL. Mobilesyrup.

No Jack

Yeah, it seems that the 3.5 mm headphone jack and Pixel smartphones have parted ways for good now. Google will likely be offering type-C wired earphones, but when you're on a long drive and are sitting with a bunch of iPhone X users, you won't be able to brag about playing music using the AUX cable. The other problem, of course, is one of supply. Pixel 2 users faced a great deal of trouble over getting USB-C adapters for their phones, and Google had better work on getting its supply issues sorted.

No jack on the Pixel 3 XL. Image credits rozetked

Camera still good

The Pixel 2 was, in many people's opinion, the best camera phone ever and to a certain degree, it still is. Seeing the photo comparison between the Pixel 3 (pre-production unit), Huawei P20 Pro and the Note 9 on the Russian website mobilereview.com, it seems to me that the Pixel 3 could be the best camera phone from 2018. Obviously, this is just a pre-production unit but these early samples shed a lot of light on the image clicking prowess of the device. You can check out all the photos in the comparison over here.

As was the case last year, the Pixel 3 XL and Pixel 3 looks to be packing in the same single-camera unit on the back. On the front, as we mentioned before, there looks to be a dual-camera setup housed in that ginormous notch. It looks like that second camera will most likely be a wide-angle lens for wide selfies. In any case, Pixel smartphones have been synonymous with great cameras and this Pixel will not be any different.

Flagship hardware.... duh

It goes without saying that the Pixel 3 XL will have the latest Snapdragon 845 chipset inside it as it is a flagship phone. As usual, Google will be late to the party and is likely to be the last flagship to feature the SD845 this year. Qualcomm's Snapdragon 855 chip is expected to be announced a month or two later. Apart from that, it was revealed that the Pixel 3 and 3 XL will come in a 4 GB RAM + 64 GB storage and 4 GB RAM + 128 GB storage variants.

Maybe Google should increase the RAM they're giving, but hey, we're not engineers and it's not like either the Pixel 2 or Pixel had issues with 4 GB of RAM. Also, it is a no-brainer that the Pixel 3 and 3 XL will come with Android Pie 9.0 out-of-the-box.

Google Pixel 3 XL. Image: Android Police

Battery or not to Battery?

Seeing that the Pixel 3 XL will be having a 6.7-inch screen, putting in a small, 3,430mAh battery is not going to win any brownie points for the device, but that is what the leaked battery capacity of the device is. As a matter of fact, the Pixel 2 XL before it had a bigger battery. Hopefully, the smaller battery means that Google is doing something exciting with the internals.

Pricing

The Russian website mobilereviews.com has stated that the Pixel 3 will be priced at somewhere around $649 (about Rs 46,000) and the larger Pixel 3 XL will come in at $749 (about Rs 53,500). This is less than what the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL were initially launched at.

Pixel 3, Pixel 3 XL render by Phone Designer.

Technology has made the world an open book and no information can stay shut behind closed doors for long. The Pixel 3 XL has been leaked so much that even a Lyft driver was able to recognise it. I'd be very surprised if the Pixel 3 XL design turns out to be very different from all these infinite leaks. On the off chance that does happen, Google can be very proud of itself for running the biggest smartphone hoax operation ever.