Yesterday suggestions were provided of what the codenames might be for the 2018 Google Pixel lineup. The news on this mainly focused on three codenames, Albacore, Blueline and Crosshatch, although in the report there was a mention of a fourth name ‘Wahoo.’ Compared to the other three names the reference to Wahoo was far more vague and certainly less definitive. For example it was suggested that it could be a reference to an upcoming 2018 Pixel device or may have been something which might have been planned for this year but didn’t make it through. Now however, the mystery of Wahoo has been somewhat solved as an XDA Recognized Developer has gotten to the bottom of what it is.
In short, Wahoo is not a device that is coming, nor is it a device that was supposed to come. Instead it is simply the name used for the Pixel 2 and 2 XL’s unified kernel source. Which is likely why it was appearing on an AOSP listing related to Pixel. While this is where codenames are often spotted – as was the case yesterday with a mention of ‘Crosshatch’ – on this occasion the spotted name was not referring to a device at all, but the kernel for the current Pixel models.
Coming back to the three codenames that are still said to be in the running, along with the suggestion of the Albacore, Blueline and Crosshatch names it was also said that if these all do arrive as Pixel phones (so three in total) in 2018, then it is likely that one of them will be slightly different to the others. Yes, it is said to be a third Pixel-branded phone, but it will be one that is considered high-end and not necessarily premium. Compared to the other two which are both expected to arrive marketed as premium devices. The obvious suggestion here is that next year’s lineup with therefore consist of a Pixel 3 and a Pixel 3 XL as well as a third phone which will look to be competitive (probably in specs and features) but maybe less so in its design/build. Which could lead to the suggestion of a more affordable third Pixel option, or maybe an Android One Pixel phone. Although at present, with the limited information available, nothing is certain.