Google Pixel 2: Premium Smartphone Confirmed to Launch This Year
It seems that Google will continue manufacturing its own smartphones as an executive of the Mountain View-based tech giant has confirmed that the Pixel 2 is in development and will be released in 2017.
"There's an annual rhythm in the industry. So, you can count on us to follow it. You can count on a successor this year, even if you don't hear a date from me now," Rick Osterloh, senior vice president of hardware at Google, told AndroidPit during the recently concluded Mobile World Congress 2017.
To recall, Google released the Pixel and Pixel XL smartphones last October 2016. Unlike the company's previous range of Nexus devices, whose production was outsourced to different original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), the Pixel-branded phones were manufactured by Google.
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Osterloh also revealed that the Google Pixel 2 will be a high-end smartphone, saying, "Pixel stays premium."
This means that the device will also have a steep price tag. Currently, the first-generation Pixel is priced at $649 while the larger Pixel XL costs $769. This puts Google's new smartphone range in the same league as Apple and Samsung.
According to Forbes, the next-generation smartphones from these tech giants — the iPhone 8 and the Galaxy S8 — are expected to be priced higher, which would most likely mean that the Google Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL could also have a price hike.
In terms of technical specifications, sources have told 9to5Google that the smartphone will be waterproof and cameras will be enhanced as developers are reportedly working on low light photography.
Moreover, the tech giant is said to be testing more powerful chipsets from two different suppliers, possibly Qualcomm and Intel. There also rumblings that Google could be developing its own processor, but there's no confirmation if that particular chip is intended for the Pixel 2.
However, since Google has not officially confirmed the Pixel 2 yet, information regarding the second-generation smartphone should be taken with a grain of salt.
