Google Pixel XL2 Reportedly Rocks Snapdragon 835 And 5.6-inch 18:9 Thin Bezel Display
Benchmarking sites continue to hint at what Google has in store for its second generation Pixel handsets. Just a few weeks ago, what is believed to be one of Google's forthcoming Pixel 2 devices landed on Geekbench, giving us a glimpse of the phone's performance. Now there is GFXBench entry that lists the "Pixel XL2" as toting a 5.6-inch display with a 2560x1312 resolution.
That works out to around an 18:9 aspect ratio. And if the listing is indeed indicative of the final model, it also means the Pixel XL2 will carry fewer pixels than its predecessor, which featured a 2560x1440 resolution and 16:9 aspect ratio. While that might seem like a bummer, there are upsides to dropping some pixels en route to an 18:9 aspect ratio—the narrower packing of pixels is great for one-handed use and can make reading a bit easier as well. It also reinforces rumors of a thin bezel design.
The other side of the argument is that Google could have gone with the same narrower aspect ratio without dumping pixels. For example, the native resolution on Samsung's Galaxy S8 is 2960x1440, even though by default the display downsamples to 2220x1080 for better battery life and performance (users can change it to 2960x1440, or downsample even further to 1480x720).
Click to Enlarge
Beyond the display, GFXBench lists the Pixel XL2 as having a Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 SoC clocked at 2.4GHz with an Adreno 540 GPU and 4GB of system memory. That is the same foundation Samsung's flagship Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ handsets are built on. Performance should be similar among all three handsets, though one advantage the Pixel XL2 should have is a leaner OS since Google does not pile on custom skins and carrier apps.
GFXBench also indicates the presence of a 7-megapixel camera on the front and a 12-megapixel shooter on the rear. The front camera is a bit of a head scratcher—either the benchmark is having trouble correctly identifying the camera(s), or Google for some reason traded out an 8-megapixel front camera for 7 megapixels.
The other suspect spec is 100GB of storage. Our guess is that GFXBench is just not reading the hardware correctly, which is not unusual for early prototypes and unreleased products. We probably will not have a definitive answer for several more months, as Google likes to wait until the tail end of September and early fall to announce new smartphones—the Pixel and Pixel XL were unveiled on October 4, 2016, while the Nexus 6P and Nexus 5X were announced on September 29, 2015.
That works out to around an 18:9 aspect ratio. And if the listing is indeed indicative of the final model, it also means the Pixel XL2 will carry fewer pixels than its predecessor, which featured a 2560x1440 resolution and 16:9 aspect ratio. While that might seem like a bummer, there are upsides to dropping some pixels en route to an 18:9 aspect ratio—the narrower packing of pixels is great for one-handed use and can make reading a bit easier as well. It also reinforces rumors of a thin bezel design.
The other side of the argument is that Google could have gone with the same narrower aspect ratio without dumping pixels. For example, the native resolution on Samsung's Galaxy S8 is 2960x1440, even though by default the display downsamples to 2220x1080 for better battery life and performance (users can change it to 2960x1440, or downsample even further to 1480x720).
Click to Enlarge
Beyond the display, GFXBench lists the Pixel XL2 as having a Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 SoC clocked at 2.4GHz with an Adreno 540 GPU and 4GB of system memory. That is the same foundation Samsung's flagship Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ handsets are built on. Performance should be similar among all three handsets, though one advantage the Pixel XL2 should have is a leaner OS since Google does not pile on custom skins and carrier apps.
GFXBench also indicates the presence of a 7-megapixel camera on the front and a 12-megapixel shooter on the rear. The front camera is a bit of a head scratcher—either the benchmark is having trouble correctly identifying the camera(s), or Google for some reason traded out an 8-megapixel front camera for 7 megapixels.
The other suspect spec is 100GB of storage. Our guess is that GFXBench is just not reading the hardware correctly, which is not unusual for early prototypes and unreleased products. We probably will not have a definitive answer for several more months, as Google likes to wait until the tail end of September and early fall to announce new smartphones—the Pixel and Pixel XL were unveiled on October 4, 2016, while the Nexus 6P and Nexus 5X were announced on September 29, 2015.
