Google’s latest Pixel smartphones were a big hit — and even made our best Android phones list — so it’s no surprise fans are already hyped for a sequel. Here’s what we know.
Google Pixel 3 release date — when is Google’s next phone out?
Google has been fairly consistent with its Pixel smartphone releases, which makes the next launch date easy to guess.
The original Google Pixel launched back on October 4, 2016, which was a Tuesday. It then went on sale on Tuesday, October 25 that same year.
Then last year’s Google Pixel 2 was announced on Wednesday, October 4 — the exact same date as the original phone’s debut. It went on sale more quickly however, landing in stores on Thursday, October 19.
Based on that brief history, we’d expect Google to announce the Google Pixel 3 on Thursday, October 4, 2018.
As far as a specific Google Pixel 3 release date goes, we’d guess it would fall somewhere between October 16 and 18 this year.
However, no stocking info has been released for this year’s models, because the smartphones haven’t actually been announced yet.
Google Pixel 3 specs, features and design — latest news and rumours
The most solid rumour we’ve seen so far comes from the highly respected tech blog Droid Life.
The specialist site quotes insider sources as saying that there will be three different Google Pixel 3 models this year, codenamed: ‘Crosshatch’, ‘Albacore’, and ‘Blueline’.
The quirky monikers follow Google’s tradition of internally codenaming products after types of fish.
We spoke to expert analyst Imran Choudhary, who agreed that Google could launch three new phones, but said two was more likely.
There haven’t been any solid leaks around the sort of specs the phone will feature, but there are some very likely additions.
For instance, it’s almost certain that the two phones will be powered by Qualcomm’s new and powerful Snapdragon 845 smartphone processor.
The Google Pixel 2 ran on the older Snapdragon 835 chip, but Qualcomm says its latest version is 25 per cent faster — which means the Pixel 3 could be seriously powerful.
There’s also a good chance both the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL will follow Apple’s lead and reduce the size of the bezel on the new phones. The bezel is the ugly bit of plastic or metal that surrounds your phone’s screen.
Google’s next phone is also likely to borrow Apple’s Face ID feature, which debuted on last year’s iPhone X.
Face ID is a facial recognition system that uses sensors to scan a user’s face in order to unlock the phone.
“There needs to be an Android equivalent of Face ID,” Mr Choudhary said.
The mobile expert added that we could expect other new features, including an under-screen fingerprint scanner and wireless charging.
The only other obvious upgrade is guaranteed: the Google Pixel 3 will run the latest version of Android.
That’s no surprise, given that Google is responsible for the development of the world’s most popular mobile operating system.
Google is expected to announce the new Android 9.0 software in June, although we don’t know what new features it will add just yet.
But Pixel devices are always chosen as the debut platform for Google’s latest software, so this upgrade all but a certainty.
