In this week’s top stories: Alleged screen protectors for the Pixel 3 and 3 XL leak giving us our first potential look at the two new handsets, ‘the1975..com’ gitch shows text messages in Google search results, and much more.
We’re still a handful of months away from Google’s next hardware announcement event, but that hasn’t stopped a slew of new Pixel 3 and 3 XL rumors and leaks from coming out. What started it all is a pair of leaked screen protectors for the two handsets. From those, it appears that both handsets will feature dual front-facing speakers, dual front-facing cameras, and the larger model will sport a display notch.
The Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL, like last year, seem to sport front-facing speakers, as well as standard sensors including the ambient light sensor and front-facing camera. It’s possible that Google is implementing dual front-facing cameras on these devices given the cut-outs present, but it could be some other sensor.
Most notably, it looks like Google is implementing a notched-display design on the Pixel 3 XL, but not the smaller Pixel 3. We’ve heard mixed reports on whether or not there will be a notch on Google’s coming flagships, so this might explain why.
With this leak, we had a bunch of speculation about both Google flagships as well as renders that show off what the devices might look like based off of the screen protectors.
And “who knows” is the takeaway you should have from all this fun, albeit likely pointless, speculation. For now, all we have is a single photo from a random internet user that could be absolutely nothing at all. But regardless, I’m glad to see the Google Pixel 3 leaks and speculation season be kicked off. If nothing else, it’s all fun and games. Hopefully we’ll get solid info soon.
Additionally, we saw a weird glitch pop up when searching for oddly-specific items like ‘the1975..com’ which would bring up the user’s text messages. Google later confirmed that this was a bug, and they were working to remove it.
To be clear, the screen you’ll see because of this glitch isn’t new at all — it’s the same text message summary screen you’ve long been able to invoke intentionally by asking Google to show your text messages. It also requires the proper permissions for the app to get access, which you can disable if you want.
Lastly, we had several new phones announced such as the LG V35 ThinQ, the Xiaomi Mi 8, and several new Android Go and One Nokia handsets.
These and the rest of this week’s top stories below:
Android |
- Alleged Google Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL screen protectors leak w/ front-facing speakers and notch
- Google Pixel 3 & 3 XL speculation runs wild in the wake of alleged screen protector ‘leak’
- These Google Pixel 3 XL renders based on the sketchy screen protector leak are gorgeous
- Google Pixel 3 & 3 XL: Built by Foxconn, notch on XL, Verizon exclusive again, dual front cameras
- Google will reportedly source LG Display for notched Pixel 3 XL OLED panel
- Alleged ‘Motorola One Power’ leaks w/ new design, branding, notch, and Android One
- Motorola One Power leaks out in alleged live image showing off its wide display notch
- Essential reaffirms Pixel-like update policy for PH-1 despite rumors of company sale
- Essential Phone gets updated Android P Beta build w/ cellular and dark mode fixes
- ‘Always-On Display’ mode apparently removed from OnePlus 6 due to ‘battery concerns’
- Google rolling out an updated Android 7.1.1 Nougat build for Nexus 6 owners
- Lenovo will unveil its notch-less, bezel-less Z5 smartphone on June 5th
- Android Oreo update for Nvidia Shield TV paused for ‘a couple of issues,’ fix coming soon
- LG V35 ThinQ goes official w/ Snapdragon 845, exclusive to Project Fi and AT&T
- Xiaomi’s new Mi 8 closely mimics Apple’s iPhone X
- Upcoming OnePlus 6 update will fix some irritating bugs w/ status bar and Do Not Disturb
- Nokia launches more affordable Android Go, One devices w/ promise of Android P updates
Accessories |
- Samsung Gear S3 update lets users answer calls by rotating the bezel [Update]
- Chrome 67 rolling out to Mac, Windows, Linux w/ emoji shortcut, AR/VR APIs, & new favicons
- Huawei Watch 2 (2018) goes official in China w/ eSIM, new color variant
- How to stream the 2018 NBA Finals live on Chromecast, Android, Chrome OS, and Android TV
- Google Pixelbook has had Bluetooth problems since day one, and they still aren’t fixed
- Acer Chromebook 14 quietly launched in new ‘Stellar Blue’ variant
Apps |
- Oddly specific glitch shows your texts when you search ‘the1975..com’ in Google on Android [Update]
- Google app 8.6 preps Assistant contacts & Households as Podcasts updated w/ Material Theme [APK Insight]
- Google Keep updated w/ new grid lines on Chrome OS for stylus users
- Neighbourly is Google’s latest ‘Next Billion Users’ app for getting local, community answers
- Chrome 67 for Android rolling out w/ horizontal tab switcher flag, AR/VR APIs, more
- Google Maps for Android testing floating bar UI for category searches
- Google Pay brings back the ability to sort cards from Android Pay
- Nintendo announces new ‘Pokémon Quest’ game coming to Android next month, more
- Google Maps adds keyword search for filtering location reviews on Android and iOS
Google |
- Google showcasing Assistant & Home this summer w/ ‘Mini Golf’ in 4 cities
- YouTube TV advertising during NBA Finals transitions from ad to live Game 1 [Video]
- Google Lens rolling out to more camera apps as real-time, smart text selection now available
- Google’s Machine Learning Crash Course publishes new image classification practicum
- Google brings ARCore to China, starting with Mi Mix 2S and Xiaomi App Store
- Waymo shows off its self-driving car in first ad with Jimmy Kimmel [Video]
- Google’s upcoming AI rules will ‘preclude’ weapons use as Sergey Brin, DeepMind stances revealed
- Fuchsia Friday: Google is working on two unusual Fuchsia device prototypes
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