What comes to your mind when you hear Pixel? Flagship devices from Google? Now that is set to change with the upcoming Google Pixel 5 series. The series is likely to come with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 765G, breaking Google’s tradition of including the latest flagship chipset in its Pixel devices.
Google Pixel 5 series
Google’s Pixel series was all about flagship smartphones until last year. Google introduced Google Pixel 3a and Google Pixel 3a XL as cheaper alternatives to devices under the original Google Pixel 3 series. Google Pixel 4 and Pixel 4XL followed and we expected Google to launch the successor to Pixel 3a and Pixel 3a XL. The focus, now, should have been on the upcoming Pixel 4a; however, mining for the device’s specs has shed some light upon the upcoming Pixel 5 series which will leave the Pixel fans disappointed.
9To5Google’s Analysis
Guys from 9To5Google dived deep into the Google Camera app’s source code from a prototype of the upcoming Pixel 4a. Inside the source code, they found out different code names referencing to Pixel device of both past and future. From the snippet of the code shared by @Cstark_27, one can easily figure out that the “sunfish” is the only midrange (or the ‘a’ edition device) that Google will launch this year. We assume sunfish refers to Pixel 4a which is making headlines these days. This would mean that we won’t be seeing the Pixel 4a XL.
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Just below the sunfish, we see the bramble and redfin being referenced as the Pixel devices of 2020. And looking at the way the coral and flames (code names for Pixel 4XL and Pixel 4 respectively) are referenced, we believe bramble and redfin to be devices under the Pixel 5 series.
Bramble/Redfin and Needlefish
That is disheartening as we already know that the bramble and redfin are devices powered by Snapdragon 765G. Snapdragon 765G is a competitive mid-range processor but by no means can it replicate the performance of the flagship processor such as the Snapdragon 865. If this analysis seems to be true, the Pixel series will certainly lose a part of its charm.
This particular explanation can solve another mystery of needlefish. Needlefish first appeared as a codename for an unreleased Pixel device last year. People believed it to be the first-ever Pixel Ultra device. But Google hasn’t released it yet. Needlefish also features on the code snippet form the 4a’s Camera app. What it means is that Google first hesitated to launch an Ultra device then and is now planning to ditch the flagship processor on Pixel 5 and Pixel 5XL. Many believe Google is doing so to prevent the price of its Pixel devices from skyrocketing. While Snapdragon made 5G more accessible to the flagship devices, it added extra cost to the manufacturers and processor’s price since the SD 845 has remained pretty high – one of the reasons we haven’t seen any other device like the Poco F1.
However, it is just an analysis and nothing has been made official. However, if it proves to be true we would witness an entirely new era of Pixel devices.
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