Google Pixel 3 XL leaks: everything we know so far

Surely you remember the fateful week when Google’s big day was spoiled — when Russian bloggers revealed the Pixel 3 phone to the world in all its glorious detail? We still don’t know how, exactly, a batch of phones fell into their hands, but it may have just happened again: Russian tech blog Rozetked claims that you’re looking at the first images of the “Pixel 3 Lite.”

And unless our eyes deceive us, this phone comes with a bona fide headphone jack.

When Google hardware chief Rick Osterloh introduced the Pixel 3 last week, he didn’t utter the word “Android” a single time. The Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL are Google phones. They swim in a sea of Google data and promise to use Google’s machine learning to make everything better: photos, annoying spam calls, even your “digital wellbeing.”

Google’s hardware division isn’t three years old yet, but the Pixel 3 is the third revision of its own smartphone. Google making its own hardware is no longer a novelty, and at this point, there’s been enough time for us to get a sense of its priorities and design.

In the weeks leading up to today’s Made by Google event, leaks of the latest Chromecast model surfaced pretty much... everywhere. At Best Buy and Walmart, customers were able to pick them off the shelves and walk out before the device was even officially announced. Just hours before today’s event, an online retailer in the UK listed the device as up for purchase, allowing you to add it to your basket and check out. The item is listed at £29.99.

The listing has since been updated to say it is “unavailable,” but the link to the product page is still active if you want to spend the rest of your morning refreshing and waiting for the message to switch back to “in stock.” There’s nearly nothing left to leak at this point, so maybe you should just join us on The Verge’s live blog coverage of the Made by Google event to see if the company has any surprises left in store.

Google just can’t catch a break with the Pixel 3. A Verizon promotional page suggests that the handset will start at a price of $799.99 for its 64GB model. If true, this would would make it $150 more expensive than the Pixel 2 was at launch.

The deal advertises that consumers can get a second 64GB Pixel 3 for free with the purchase of one of the phones, with the $800 upfront cost of the free device being refunded over the course of a 24 month contract. The deal doesn’t always display on the Verizon Wireless site (we had to refresh a few times and use incognito mode).

Google’s Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL have already leaked pretty much in their entirety, as have a vast majority of the company’s other hardware announcements slated for its New York City event tomorrow. But the leakers aren’t done yet. With less 24 hours to go until the event kicks off at 11AM ET, we have a round of fresh leaks that shed light on the Pixel 3’s new artificial intelligence-powered camera features and give us another glimpse at the available color schemes.

From VentureBeat’s Evan Blass, we now have some more photos showing off the Pixel 3 and its larger variant in all three available colors. That includes the white, black, and new pink “sand” option, which first leaked last week:

We’re just a few days away from Google officially announcing the Pixel 3, but that doesn’t mean we’re out of leaks yet. The latest from Android Headlines shows off renders for an as-yet-unseen “sand” (read: pink) color, joining the previously leaked black and white models.

But what’s interesting about this leak (aside from its almost uncomfortably flesh-toned appearance in these renders) is that an earlier hint from Google had previously indicated that the third Pixel 3 color would be a green-toned mint (which would also match its latest Google Home Mini color option). That said, unlike the pink sand model, there’s still no sign (either in render or leaked hardware) of a mint model.

The Pixel 3 XL may have the honor of being the most leaked smartphone in history. So with just days to go before Google formally introduces the phone at its New York City event, it seems like we know nearly everything that’ll be announced.

We’ve rounded up all the details that have leaked so far about the Pixel 3 XL and the smaller Pixel 3, along with all the details that are still rumored and a couple of the unknowns that we’re waiting to find out about on Tuesday. The event is happening on October 9th at 11AM ET, and we’ll be there to cover the news.

A leaked promotional video from the Pixel 3 has shown off the phone’s ability to quickly scan an email address from a business card without even having to take a photograph. The video, posted by MySmartPrice, also appears to confirm the return of Active Edge functionality and gesture controls.

This business card scanning functionality is already available as part of Google Lens, where it’s able to create a new contact based on the information on a photograph of a business card. The difference here is that the Pixel 3 appears to be able to scan details using the native camera app without needing to take a photo first and then open your email app directly.

Just about everything you might want to know about what Google’s upcoming Pixel 3 looks like has been leaked, and we still have two weeks to go until the official unveiling event. Today brings a little something on the software side: an updated Google Wallpapers app for the Pixel 3. The animated “live” wallpapers dynamically change as you tilt your device, play music, or unlock the phone. Some also passively shift as the day progresses to match the time.

The leaks come from MySmartPrice, and you can download the wallpapers through this Google Drive link. There’s even an APK to download the new Wallpapers app, but it seems like the download limit has been reached. Even if you’re able to get it, you’ll need a Pixel 2 phone running Android Pie. Those outside of this limitation can just browse through the 28 wallpapers and use them as static backgrounds. Now we can all pretend we have the new Pixel 3 on hand until the actual event on October 9th.

Google’s upcoming Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL smartphones may be among the most leaked devices in modern consumer electronics history. With just two weeks to go until the official October 9th press event, where both devices will be unveiled presumably alongside some other Google-made hardware products, we’re getting yet another visual leak of the handsets, courtesy of WinFuture.

This comes after a torrent of leaks revealing what the devices look like and what the specs are, in addition to a look at a test device out in the wild when it was left in the backseat of a cab. This new leak, which includes a bunch of renders of the front and back of the devices, doesn’t tell us anything we don’t already know or have been almost certain of for quite some time now, thanks to prior leaks. The new set of images does, however, confirm the existence of white and black color options. (We kind of assumed that would be the case, as it has been with past Pixel devices, but better to know for sure.)

It’s been the subject of creepshots on public transit. It’s reportedly been stolen and sold for thousands on the black market a full two months before its official announcement. And in the latest leak of Google’s upcoming Pixel 3 XL, well, someone accidentally left the thing in their Lyft. It happens to the best of us, right? It’s understandable that people with test units might be letting their guard down a bit since this phone has already been so thoroughly leaked.

The driver, a Pixel 2 XL owner himself, quickly realized that he was handling the latest Pixel; there’s no mistaking that notch. After shooting a few photos and sending them to Android Police, he returned the pre-production Pixel 3 XL to its rightful (and probably enormously thankful) owner. The phone was in a case, which will probably be a must-have accessory now that the entire back is all glass.

Google will unveil its Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL smartphones on October 9th, according to Bloomberg, with the event scheduled to take place in New York City. (The date and location were mentioned in Mark Gurman’s report on the upcoming 2019 iPhones.) The Pixel and Pixel 2 were both announced on October 4th in 2016 and 2017, respectively. The launch target and new event location — previous Pixel events were held in California — comes after weeks of thorough leaks, photos, and plenty of video footage of the larger Pixel 3 XL device.

We’ve now seen the phone (and its deep, deep notch), Google’s bundled USB-C earbuds, and even the packaging and included stickers from every angle. Some videos have also poked around the pre-release software for new features like added beauty effects and wide-angle “super selfies” on the front-facing camera. Just a few days ago, someone even put out a 1080p unboxing of the thing, which is embedded below. There is zero mystery left about this phone’s design and hardware, but at least we know it’ll include wireless charging capabilities.

The Pixel 3 and 3 XL leaks keep coming, and today, 9to5Google reports additional details on both devices’ camera setups. The report says that both devices’ rumored dual, front-facing cameras will house one wide-angle sensor, so users can take “Super Selfies.” These cameras would also ship with an improved portrait mode. Google seems to be sticking with the single, rear-facing camera.

Every leak we’ve seen so far shows that Google is leaning into the notch trend with one at the top of both devices, and 9to5Google says that the dual-camera system could be used to create a new facial recognition system, but the publication’s source didn’t give much in the way of confirmation. This source also tells 9to5Google that the phones will ship with a new Visual Core chip that’ll allow for additional functionality. But again, there are no details provided.

We’ve been seeing a steady stream of Pixel 3 leaks since June, and even more photos and videos have surfaced today, including purported sample photos taken with the Pixel 3 XL camera. The images appeared on Russian tech blog Rozetked, which reveals basically everything about the phone before the Pixel’s official launch. The leaks show everything presumably included in the box, including USB-C Pixel Buds, a charger, and a USB-C headphone dongle.

There’s also multiple shots of the phone itself. The deep notch is still very much a part of the 1440 x 2960 display on the Pixel 3, and it’ll reportedly have a Snapdragon 845 processor and come with Android 9 Pie.

We’re still presumably months away from the official Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL announcement, but that isn’t stopping the leakers. The latest images of Google’s next flagship appear to show finalized production hardware and what seems to be a pair of wired USB-C Pixel Buds.

The pictures come from Russian tech blogger Канал Лучкова’s Telegram channel (via Android Police), and they’re in line with earlier images we saw from other Pixel 3 XL leaks, including the already controversial notch. In these admittedly less-than-ideal shots, it appears to be a bit deeper than some users would like. (The Verge’s resident notch expert, Vlad Savov, commented that he finds it to be “the worst of all the notches so far.”) This time, the engineering emblem on the back seen in prior leaks has been replaced by Google’s G logo, so the phone has seemingly moved much closer to final production.

New images of the Pixel 3 XL have appeared on XDA Forums, courtesy of member dr.guru, and this time, they show off an all-white color scheme for Google’s larger Android smartphone. They also seemingly confirm the deep notch revealed in the first set of Pixel 3 XL leaks in June.

The new white model leaked by dr.guru seems to be almost identical to the black version that leaked earlier. There’s the same prototype logo on the back instead of Google’s usual “G” and with the same notch, chin, stereo speakers, single rear camera, and dual-front facing lenses. The two-tone black-and-white color scheme from last year’s model has been replaced with a totally white back, similar to the original Pixel XL.

Two photos of what looks like an early prototype of Google’s upcoming Pixel 3 XL have been leaked. The images first surfaced over at the XDA forums and were then posted by Android Police. The phone’s external design — notch, chin, stereo speakers, and single rear camera — line up with recent rumors and a report from Bloomberg that revealed some of what Google has in store for consumers this fall. Instead of Google’s signature G, the device has a different emblem on the glass back, which is likely there to designate that it’s non-final prototype hardware.

The dual front-facing cameras inside the phone’s notch were also mentioned in Bloomberg’s report, though we still don’t know what the second sensor will be used for. The pictures also reveal a rear-mounted fingerprint sensor. What’s most peculiar to me about the design is that the Pixel 3 XL seemingly has glossy sides running all around it, whereas the Pixel 2 (particularly in black) had a matte, textured finish aside from the glass section at the top. There’s still a matte portion here, but it almost looks like it’s a specially treated area of a glass rear panel. There’s no obvious line break between the two.