Google Pixel 2 devices will reportedly arrive with Snapdragon 835 chip

Google is set to spawn sequels to its popular Pixel and Pixel XL smartphones later this year. We’ve already seen what is believed to be their codenames, “Walleye” and “Muskie”, pop up, and now they’ve been spotted alongside a reference to Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 835 chip.

German tech site WinFuture.de recently found the Pixel codenames connected with CPU model number MSM8998 (the Snapdragon 835) in the Android Open Source Project (AOSP) code. Further, the “Taimen” codename was also linked to Qualcomm’s latest processor.

While it’s believed that Walleye and Muskie will represent direct successors to the Pixel and Pixel XL, current speculation suggests Taimen would be a new Pixel tablet (or a very large phone).

While you might expect that the latest Google flagships would house the latest Qualcomm processor, this news suggests that they will launch before a new premium arrival from the US chip manufacturer. The original Pixel and Pixel XL were equipped with a Snapdragon 821, a higher performing product than the Snapdragon 820 that appeared on the earlier flagships of 2016. This year, the new Snapdragon appeared only in the last few weeks with the Galaxy S8 after rumors of production delays; it looks like Google’s new Pixels won’t have the edge in the processor department.

Nothing is confirmed at this point and things may change in the run-up to the devices’ release. Regardless, Google has already confirmed that it is once again going down the “premium” route for its new Pixels this year, so I wouldn’t worry about performance.