There are several surprising rumors about the Google Pixel 3, including that we expect a cheap Pixel phone.
Update: It’s official, the Google Pixel 3 launch date is Tuesday, October 9, according to the invite Google just sent us. We’ve also had our closest look yet at the likely design of the Google Pixel 3 in leaked photos. Plus, the phone has been certified in Taiwan, suggesting it’s landing soon, and a specs leak has revealed more information about the screen, camera and battery.
The Google Pixel 3 release date is probably not too far off as its predecessor was launched back in October 2017. Google Pixel 3 leaks are beginning to gather pace, and we’re analyzing each one as it comes in and updating this article to keep you in the know.
The Google Pixel 3 is set to be an ideal smartphone for pure Android fans and camera enthusiasts, simply because the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL were great.
There’s going to be more Pixel to love in 2018, as according to Google Pixel 3 rumors the search giant may be readying three different models.
Pixel 3 leaks describe the inevitable normal-sized Google Pixel 3, a screen-refined Google Pixel 3 XL, and a cheaper Pixel phone.
Every Google Pixel 3 rumor points to another machine-learning beast of a smartphone – one powered by the Android Pie update from day one. It’s time to separate fact from fiction with a deep dive into its potential release date, price and design.
We fully expect the Google Pixel 3 launch date to be October 4 again. Evidence relies on a Canadian Google ad looking for influencers mentions this date, and history tells us that new Pixels phones have been unveiled on October 4 100% of the time.
Yes, October 4 is when we got the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL in 2017, and again, the same date was used for the original Pixel and Pixel XL. Google clearly likes to stick to a schedule.
On the other hand, a more recent Bloomberg report suggests Thursday October 9 is the big day, so we’ll have to wait and see what Google decides.
An early October launch event would put the Google Pixel 3 release date in October (last year, it was October 19), and it might not be alone. Google is reportedly going to launch the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL with an official Google Pixel Watch that runs Wear OS, the new name for Android Wear.
The theorized October 4 Google Pixel 3 release date makes sense – Apple will have announced the iPhone 9 and iPhone 11 by mid-September, and it’ll then be Google’s turn to show us its next smartphones.
One thing’s for sure though, the Google Pixel 3 is definitely coming soon, as it has also been certified by various agencies, most recently the NCC (National Communications Commission) in Taiwan.
The Google Pixel 3 price is a bigger mystery simply because smartphone prices have been climbing higher in the last twelve months.
Just look at the Note 9 price and the iPhone X price. There’s room for Google to start charging more, but no sign that it definitely will.
The Pixel 2 started at $649 (£629, AU$1,079) at launch, and the Pixel 3 will have a similar price, and may edge slightly higher.
Our best look yet at the likely Google Pixel 3 takes the form of several photos shared by an anonymous Reddit user.
You can see them below, highlighting the dual-tone back, single-lens rear camera, dual-lens front-facing camera, large notch on the front, and rear-facing fingerprint scanner, while the right edge houses the power and volume buttons.
We’ve also seen various leaked renders from factory CADs (computer-aided designs), and they show both the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL from all angles.
You can see them below and will note that as in the images above they both have just a single-lens rear camera (something that’s also seen in a leaked case picture), but that they seemingly have dual-lens front-facing cameras and – in the Pixel 3 XL’s case – a notch.
There’s no sign of a display notch on the Google Pixel 3 though.
The design on the rear of the phone looks similar to the Pixel 2, with a two-tone finish and a fingerprint scanner.
As well as the images, the same source says that the Pixel 3 will have a 5.4-inch screen and dimensions of 145.6 x 68.2 x 7.9mm, with the phone widening to 8.6mm where the camera sticks out.
Those renders match up with things we’d heard previously. For example, a report talks about the Google Pixel 3, with ‘people familiar with the matter’ saying that the Pixel 3 will look a lot like the Pixel 2.
They go on to say that the Pixel 3 XL will have a bezel at the bottom of the screen, and that both phones will have an upgraded single-lens rear camera and could be built by Foxconn for the first time (that being the company that builds iPhones).
The claim that the Google Pixel 3 won’t have a notch has been echoed elsewhere, with the source (@OnLeaks, who’s reliable as leakers go) adding that the Pixel 3 screen is roughly 5.3 inches – sizes which are roughly the same as we’ve heard elsewhere.
Another source also claims that at least one Pixel 3 model will have a notch, and that it will use an OLED screen provided by LG. The Pixel 2 already uses OLED screens, so this is no surprise.
Screen protectors supposedly for the two phones have also leaked. You can see them below and they match the design rumored above.
Google itself may also have slightly shown off the Pixel 3, as illustrations in the Android Pie show a phone with an edge-to-edge display – though this could just be a placeholder.
In any case, the images don’t give away much, and don’t quite match up with the other leaks we’ve seen, but you never know, they might be representative of the final phones.
We’ve also seen the Pixel 3 name mentioned by Google. Specifically, a mention of Pixel 3 has been found in code on the Android Open Source Project (AOSP) site, which all but confirms it’s in the works.
The Google Pixel 3 names have yet to be confirmed, but last year’s report that three new Pixel phones might be in the works came with codenames: “crosshatch”, “albacore” and “blueline”.
It’s worth noting also that all these code names are types of fish, which was true of previous Pixel handsets as well.
The cameras are perhaps the most interesting aspect of the Pixel 3 and we now know more about them, as sources claim that the dual-lens front-facing camera will be capable of better bokeh effects/portrait mode, and that one of its lenses will be wide-angle.
The front-facing camera will also apparently have a ‘Super Selfies’ feature, though it’s not yet clear what this is.
And while the rear shooter is seemingly just a single-lens one, that doesn’t mean it’s not exciting, as the same sources say that it’s capable of « incredible » low light shots and has a new Visual Core.
Visual Core is a chip that debuted in the Pixel 2 range, but while there it was used just to improve the processing of HDR+ shots, here it’s apparently capable of more. Exactly what remains to be seen.
According to another leak, both front-facing cameras will be 8MP, but one will have an f/1.8 aperture, while the other will have a dual-aperture, being able to switch between f/1.8 and f/2.2.
The Google Pixel 3 specs aren’t as exciting as the camera potential, but we know it’ll be faster than before if these internal components prove to be the real deal.
The Pixel 3 XL (and we assume the Pixel 3 will have matching specs) will reportedly use an octa-core Qualcomm chipset (almost certainly the Snapdragon 845), an Ardreno 630 GPU, and use 4GB of memory, according to the unconfirmed benchmark leaks .
