[ TechLeaks ] Pixel 2 ‘walleye’ and ‘taimen’ Specifications Revealed

The Pixel and Pixel XL were highly anticipated devices, but ultimately they were primarily a first-generation, introductory release for Google, and though they weren’t wholly-spectacular, we regarded them a “foundational release“. What was and remains really exciting, however, is what can be built upon said foundations.

In recent weeks, rumors of Google’s next generation ‘Pixel 2’ devices have increased in frequency. We reported earlier this month that LG would be manufacturing the likely Pixel XL successor, while back in March we got a look at Google documentation that suggested no headphone jack.
New rumors today corroborate both details and provide the first solid — thought expected — insight into what specs will power these upcoming devices, as well as other design changes in store.

A source “familiar with the matter” that has “spent time with at least one of these phones” provided information on both devices to XDA Developers.

“Walleye” — the smaller Pixel device— will have an “almost identical” design to last year’s model. This unfortunately means the same larger bezels surrounding the marginally smaller 4.97-inch 1920 x 1080 display.

As 9to5Google reported all the way back in March, there will be no 3.5mm headphone jack on the device, with Google instead opting to add stereo speakers.

Per another rumor earlier this week that confirmed the likely HTC-made nature of this device, walleye will be powered by a Snapdragon 835 with 4GB of RAM and a 64GB storage option. That capacity was not found on last year’s devices.

Meanwhile, “taimen” will feature smaller bezels in comparison to the current Pixel XL. The 5.99-inch display will use a 1440p OLED panel from LG. Another design difference is a similar, but slightly tweaked two-tone metal and glass rear. The latter material will again form a window, but is not as tall and no longer surrounds the fingerprint scanner.

On the camera front, Google is not catching the dual-camera craze and sticking to a single lens with dual LED flash. Specs are unsurprisingly similar to walleye, with the report noting a 2.45GHz clock speed on the processor.

Taimen

The larger device coming from Google this year will feature a 5.99-inch display with a 1440p OLED panel provided by LG, which isn’t extraordinary given that earlier this year, Reuters reported about Google investing into LG’s display division for their next phone. The phone will sport a smaller bezel than what we saw in the original Pixel XL, and there is a 128GB storage model, though it might not be the only configuration. The device will indeed pack the expected Snapdragon 835 processor (with the big cluster clocked at the reference 2.45GHz frequency, unlike the original Pixel’s lower frequency in the Snapdragon 821-AB) alongside 4GB of RAM. The back is similar to last year’s with a two-tone glass and metal finish, though the glass window is located near the top and no longer encloses the fingerprint scanner. The device should feature a single camera with dual LED flash.

---

Walleye

The smaller Pixel device will feature a familiar 4.97-inch display with FHD resolution. While the design remains “almost identical” to last year’s smaller Pixel, with similarly large bezels surrounding the display, Google is planning to include stereo speakers at the expense of the 3.5mm headphone jack, which our source says will not be present in this iteration. The phone will also feature a Snapdragon 835 with 4GB of RAM, and there is a 64GB of storage option, making this one of the few small display handsets with premium specifications.


That’s all we’ve learned so far, but we’ll be sure to keep you updated on any new details we get a hold of or any reports that surface on the web. With this pick up in rumors, we are getting a clearer and clearer picture of Google’s upcoming devices. Hopefully, the Pixel 2 will arrive sooner than later.