This week’s top stories: Real-life photos of the Pixel 3 XL, Android P Developer Preview 3, more

In this week’s top stories: Two sets of in-hand Pixel 3 XL photos, official rollout of Android P Developer Preview 3, Google Assistant’s visual redesign.

First up, we had two different sets of photos showing off the Pixel 3 XL in-person. The set that first leaked showed that Google decided to keep the overall design language that they used with the Pixel 2 XL. The main difference is the fact that the two-toned back is now going to be made entirely out of glass. These images also confirmed several other details:

As you can see in the photos below, the back of the device looks a lot like an iterative upgrade on the Pixel 2 XL at first glance. The camera, flash, and sensor placement on the back is pretty identical to this year’s model, and its general aesthetic seems to be the same.

But when you look closer, you’ll notice a few changes. It’s hard to tell, but it looks like this might be an all-glass phone we’re looking at with polished glass up top and some kind of brushed glass finish on the bottom. Where they meet, it looks like Google’s putting a nice curve on the edges.

And yes, these images do seem to confirm a few other details. For one, last week’s reports said that there would be a dual-camera system on the front and a single camera on the back, which it what we see here. There’s also a fingerprint sensor on the back just like the current model.

Following this, another set of photos appeared online which showed off the alleged Pixel 3 XL from every angle. With these, we could see a glossy/shiny edge, a new location for the SIM card tray, and confirmation that Google won’t be bringing back the headphone jack.

Going back to products that are currently available, Google rolled out the Android P Developer Preview Preview 3 (Beta 2) to every available Pixel smartphone. With this, we mainly got bug fixes, but it did introduce several UI adjustments, 157 new emoji, and the addition of a “Clear all” button in the multitasking menu.

And in the world of apps, our APK Teardown of the latest Google app gave us another look at the upcoming Assistant visual redesign.

The latest version in 8.7 shows some minor tweaks to the color of icons, and adds various introductory prompts for the first launch experience when it rolls out. Up top, we see a centered, personalized greeting and weather that is very inline with Google’s Material Theme. Directly below that we see the first of many carousel to various actions.

“Coming up for you” notes your upcoming reminders and calendar events, while stocks are listed below that. Another set of suggestion chips lets you “Explore using the Assistant” with popular third-party Actions on Google below.

Lastly, we had Lenovo until the Z5 and BlackBerry release the Key2.

These and the rest of this week’s top stories below:

Android | 

• Alleged Google Pixel 3 XL in-the-flesh images leak, showing notch, design, and more
• More alleged Google Pixel 3 XL leaked images show off every angle
• Yes, the mystery logo on leaked Pixel 3 XL prototype’s backside is Google’s
• Google Pixel 3 XL renders based on latest leaks are likely pretty close to the real deal
• With the current leaks in mind, will you be buying the Pixel 3 or Pixel 3 XL? [Poll]
• Android P Developer Preview 3 rolling out w/ final APIs, SDK, Play Store publishing
• Here’s everything new in Android P Developer Preview 3 [Gallery]
• Android P DP3: Multitasking screen gets notable design tweaks, haptic feedback
• Android P DP3: Google Pixel 2’s color adjustment menu shows a new picture for reference
• Android P DP3: 157 new emoji added, including revamped characters, more diversity
• How to sideload the Android P Developer Preview 3 OTA file on Pixel, Pixel XL, Pixel 2, Pixel 2 XL
• Early Galaxy Note 9 leaks show the Galaxy Note 8 with a less awkward fingerprint sensor
• Google’s Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL may have only marginally bigger screens
• Here’s every Pixel 3 & 3 XL codename mention in AOSP: crosshatch, albacore, and blueline
• Lenovo’s ‘all-screen’ Z5 was basically a huge lie, packs notch and chin, but also affordable price
• Best Android phones you can buy [June 2018]
• Best affordable Android phones you can buy [June 2018]
• June security patch rolling out to Pixel/Nexus devices, factory images and OTAs live
• Some users are seeing slow wake-up times on Pixel 2 XL after June OTA
• Even with a locked bootloader, anyone w/ physical access can boot a modified image on the OnePlus 6

Accessories |

• The Pixelbook’s power button can double as a U2F security key
• Chrome OS 67 rolling out w/ ‘Touchable material 2.0’ design & split screen for tablets, Progressive Web Apps, ADB, more
• WWDC 2018 roundup: Apple does wellbeing, mimics Android notifs & Google Photos, iOS apps to go cross-platform, more
• Lenovo’s Google Assistant smart displays are now available for pre-order

Apps |

• Here’s the latest look at Google Assistant’s visual redesign, Material Theme for Podcasts [Gallery]
• ‘Google Podcasts’ app for Android to debut on Play Store soon
• Gboard 7.3 beta preps battery saver theme/mode, OCR tool, and more [APK Insight]
• Google releases new shortcut app to directly launch Google Lens
• Snapseed adds dark theme, adaptive icon in first Android update since last year
• Google Keep for Android, web now supports subtasks in lists
• Google Feed rolling out new dedicated topic pages with related articles

Subscribe to get all 9to5Google’s stories delivered to your inbox daily. And to 9to5Toys for the best deals from around the web.

Check out 9to5Google on YouTube for more news: