Google might be prepping a couple of new lower end smartphones, if some 'fishy' details revealed in its latest
ARCore Android package (APK) are any indication. Contained within ARCore v1.5 are references to two unreleased devices, Bonito and Sargo, both of which are named after a species of fish. What does this tell us?
Maybe something, maybe nothing at all. Assuming the former, it could indicate two more Pixel phones in the pipeline. To our knowledge, the Bonito and Sargo codenames are not already attached to any existing hardware in Google's product stack. Furthermore, the Bonito codename had shown up once before—this past summer in reference to a rumored phone powered by a
Qualcomm Snapdragon 710 SoC.
The folks at
Android Police discovered the references to Bonito and Sargo in a teardown of the ARCore v1.5 APK, noting that some people questioned if Bonito was canceled after it didn't launch alongside the
Pixel 3 (Crosshatch) and Pixel 3 XL (Blueline). The reference in ARCore seems to indicate that Google still has Bonito in its roadmap.
As for Sargo, this is the first time it's been referenced. Like the other codenames, sargo is a type of fish—it can be found off the coasts of California and Mexico, along with some other spots. Apparently it tastes pretty good too (this editor hasn't ever sampled sargo).
It's worth noting that both Bonito and Sargo are named after smaller sized fish. The names could further indicate that Google is working on a pair of lower end Pixel devices that are smaller and cheaper than the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL, though nobody outside of Google really knows at the moment.