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First Google Pixel 3 notice gets spotted in AOSP commit (update: another sighting in AOSP)
- A mention of the Pixel 3 was spotted this week in a commit for the AOSP (Android Open Source Project).
- This is the first real indication of Google’s plans to launch a new Pixel phone generation.
- The next Pixel phones, with Android P installed, are expected to launch later this fall.
Update (5/11):
In news that isn’t really surprising to anyone, it seems that a newly spotted comment in Google’s AOSP code confirms there will be more than one Pixel device.
Also, ensure the concurrency tests run only on Pixel 2018 & above devices (use the existing dbs models supported config param).” – R.P. for Google, in AOSP Gerrit platform/tools/test/connectivity on May 10th, 2018
Original (4/7):
It’s not exactly a major surprise, but it looks like Google is indeed making some plans to launch Pixel 3 phones sometime in the future. A commit mentioning Pixel 3 was found this week as part of the (Android Open Source Project).
The Pixel 3 notice was first reported by XDA-Developers, and was mentioned in this context:
Cherrypick “Add device config to decide which Auto Selection Network UI to use.”This change added the config because the HAL V_1_2 only supports Pixel 3, and the new Auto Selection Network UI is based on HAL V_1_2. So we set the flag to decide which Auto Selection Network UI should be used based in the device type.
So what does all this mean? XDA believes it has something to do with mobile network settings. However, it’s really anyone’s guess at this point as it is way too early to speculate on what all of this code really means.
The mention of the Pixel 3 in AOSP is the first real indication that Google will be making future smartphones with that branding. It’s also almost certain that the Pixel 3 will have the final version of Android P installed out of the box.
The actual release of the next generation of Pixel phones won’t likely happen until sometime in the fall of 2018. Those phones will also likely be the first ones that will be designed and made by a number of former HTCteam members, which Google acquired several months ago in a $1.1 billion deal.