Roger Fingas
Google is preparing an Oct. 4 announcement, when the company is widely expected to reveal a second-generation Pixel phone that will go toe-to-toe with Apple's iPhone 8, and later the iPhone X.
A new webpage offers only the date and an option to sign up for email notifications, but related marketing material suggests the event is for anyone "thinking about changing phones," according to TechCrunch. Earlier this week, Google in fact raised a billboard in Boston with the Oct. 4 date, urging people to ask "more of your phone."
The "Pixel 2" is rumored to have a Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor, 4 gigabytes of RAM, and IP68 waterproofing, the last a notch better than the IP67 supported on the iPhone 8 and X. It may also have an always-on display like Samsung's Galaxy Note 8, and pressure-sensitive sides, enabling squeeze controls like the HTC U11.
The product should ship in both standard and XL versions, as with the original Pixel. The new XL may be the closest competitor to the iPhone X, as it's expected to have a 6-inch display with extremely narrow bezels. The X sports an edge-to-edge, 5.8-inch OLED screen.
The Pixel has captured just a tiny share of the global smartphone market so far, but has proven popular with reviewers, and represents Google's first step into self-designed phones. Earlier Nexus-series phones were Google-branded and ran pure Android, but were designed by companies like LG and Samsung.
Andrew Orr
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Wesley Hilliard
AppleInsider Staff
Amber Neely
35 Comments
Yet another HTC built, Google branded me-too product
How did the Pixel 1 work out for them?
Last time, When Pixel was available, Google was lucky because of Samsung Note fiasco and there were not credible android phones on par with Pixel. Now LG, Samsung,Xiomi,etc has phones on market and Google have to do out-of-box features(which I doubt) to reduce the loss/cost of Pixel investment..
Competition is good.
I'm not sure this qualifies.
This is on par with Microsoft's Zune against Apple's iPod.