Haters of the notch, hang in there. At least one upcoming flagship phone hasn’t gone the way of the iPhone X.
Bloomberg has reported, according to “people familiar with the matter”, that the Pixel 3 won’t have a notch, while the bigger Pixel 3 XL will.
“Google aims to eventually remove the bezels completely in a future Pixel, but is retaining the notch and chin this year to keep stereo speakers on the front of the phone,” Bloomberg’s sources said.
Backing up Bloomberg’s sources are some photos leaked on Chinese social network Weibo, which featured a notchless Pixel 3 and the Pixel 3 XL, as reported by Lifehacker yesterday.
Both phones – although the report does not “at least two models” were in the works – are expected to be revealed around October. The Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL will be the first phones Google has developed since their partial buyout of mobile and VR manufacturer HTC earlier this year, a deal that included the acquisition of HTC’s engineering staff.
The Pixel 3 XL will supposedly have two camera lenses inside the notch on the front. Google isn’t going for dual lenses on the back, either, instead focusing on better single-lens rear cameras. Apple went the dual camera route with the iPhone X and iPhone 8 last year, while Samsung opted for an adjustable aperture camera that could switch between f/1.5 and f/2.4.
While the Pixel line has sported some fantastic camera tech and an unblemished Android experience, the phones ran into the odd roadblock as well. The first Pixel offerings sported a rather pedestrian design and were a touch unrefined, while the Pixel 2 XL was troubled at launch by a noticeable blue tint in its POLED screen. Google eventually fixed that with a firmware update, however.
For more details about the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL, head to Bloomberg’s report.
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