In 2016, Google launched two premium handsets, the Google Pixel and the Pixel XL. However, rumors are rife that the company will launch three new Pixel devices in 2017. The Google Pixel 2, Pixel 2 XL, and the Pixel 2 XXL are the tentative names for the upcoming device. The codenames assigned to the three devices are Muskie, Walleye, and Taimen.
On Thursday, May 11, a Geekbench listing appeared which gave vital clues about the Pixel 2 XXL or Taimen device. This listing means that a user in possession of a working Google Taimen model has tested the smartphone on the benchmarking site.
What the listing reveals
In such cases, when a device is tested using Geekbench, the listing reveals the chipset which the smartphone boasts. However, unfortunately, that is not the case this time around. The portion of the listing – where the name of the motherboard is usually listed – does not give any clue as to the SoC in the upcoming Pixel 2 XXL and instead just states “Taimen”.
Even though the exact model of the CPU is unclear, the listing reveals that the smartphone will run on an octa-core Snapdragon processor. Many fans would take this as confirmation that the upcoming device would feature the latest Snapdragon 835 chipset, which powers both the Samsung Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ handsets.
Other information which can be gleaned from the listing includes 4GB of RAM for the impending Google handset. The device used on the benchmark site was reportedly running Android O, the successor to Android Nougat, which has already been announced. Estimates indicate that Android O will release some time during the early fall this year, which also goes to show that Google will likely launch the Taimen device following the release of Android O.
Earlier rumors regarding Taimen
People have speculated for a while now that the first two devices, namely the Google Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL, would be smartphones. On the other hand, the Pixel 2 XXL or Taimen would most likely be a tablet designed by Google. The tablet would be a successor to the Nexus 6 device from the company.
However, for now, this is just speculation and fans should take rumors with a grain of salt.
The results from the benchmark performed for the Taimen device cannot be compared to the other smartphones as the testing on the Google device was performed on Geekbench 4.1, while the tests on the previous devices have been done on the 4.0 version of the tool.
