The Google Pixel 2 will feature regularly sized bezels and be significantly more different than the Pixel XL 2 compared to the original series of Google-designed smartphones, known industry insider Evan Blass said on Friday. The source substantiated that claim with a real-life image of what’s said to be the upcoming Pixel 2, codenamed Walleye. The photograph that can be seen above shows a device with standard bezels and what looks like a 16:9 screen. The Pixel 2 will reportedly be produced by HTC, and as the Taiwanese original equipment manufacturer (OEM) has yet to debut a smartphone with minimal bezels, it won’t be able to utilize its existing technology to deliver a bezel-free handset. The company is still said to equip the Pixel 2 with a pressure-sensitive frame that’s virtually identical to the Edge Sense technology implemented into the HTC U11, in addition to delivering front-facing stereo speakers. The same two features will also be present on the Pixel XL 2, the source said, adding that neither smartphone will feature a 3.5mm audio jack.
The larger flagship — codenamed Taimen — will reportedly be produced by LG Electronics and have minimal bezels, as well as a display panel with an aspect ratio of 18:9, i.e. 2:1, the same one that the South Korean tech giant already introduced on the LG G6 and its recently announced LG Q series. Neither the Pixel 2 nor the Pixel XL 2 will have a dual camera setup on their rear panels, though it’s currently unclear what prompted Google to opt for that design choice that’s becoming increasingly uncommon in the smartphone industry. Both HTC and LG have experience with implementing two-sensor imaging systems into mobile devices and shouldn’t have major issues doing so for Google if the Alphabet-owned company wanted to follow this industry trend.
The Pixel 2 and Pixel XL 2 were the subjects of numerous reports and rumors in recent months, with some insiders claiming that the duo will be powered by the Snapdragon 835, whereas others believe that it will be the first to commercialize the Snapdragon 836, a supposed revision of Qualcomm’s flagship system-on-chip (SoC) that hasn’t been officially announced to date. The Pixel 2 lineup is still several months away from being launched and Google likely won’t introduce it before early October, i.e. around the same period when it debuted the original Pixel and Pixel XL last year.