A larger version of Google's Pixel XL may be in your future

By Florence Ion
published

What's better than a big smartphone? An even bigger one. And with the Galaxy S8+ and iPhone 7 Plus making waves in their own right, it's possible Google hopes to jump on that bandwagon, too.

According to Android Police, there are rumblings that Google has shelved its plans to release one of its upcoming Pixel smartphones in favor of a larger device.

The device, which was originally codenamed Muskie, was supposed to be the followup to the Pixel XL. Instead, we'll be met with Taimen, according to a rumor put out earlier this year by Droid Life. It's expected to have a larger display and chassis compared to the Muskie.

The Walleye is likely still making its way into your hands later this year, as that's the codename behind the smaller second-generation Pixel device Google will introduce. We'd reported a few months back that the moniker had already been mentioned in the Android Open Source Project's gerrit, or code repository.

For those who aren't aware, Google typically chooses the name of a water-dwelling creature as the alias for any upcoming smartphone and tablet.

Florence Ion
Florence Ion

Florence Ion was formerly an editor and columnist at Android Central. She writes about Android-powered devices of all types and explores their usefulness in her everyday life. You can follow her on Twitter or watch her Tuesday nights on All About Android.

53 Comments
  • As long as its bezels are small so it's similar in size to the current Pixel XL.
  • From the article both the screen and chassis are larger and I don't like that. I hope the regular Pixel has a better screen resolution.
  • Where in the article did you read the chassis is bigger? What I gather they mean the screen is bigger. I read the article again says phone is bigger. I always presume this means screen size. We will see.
  • Well, reread it again, because it does say the chassis and screen are bigger.
  • I'm referring to the AP and Droid Life articles. AC threw that in. Even if the chassis is a little bigger with a 6 to 6.2 in screen I don't see a problem. If the phone is larger than Nexus 6 than yes.
  • The FHD screen resolution is one of the reasons the regular Pixel gets decent battery life with a smaller battery. Move up to QHD resolution and knock about and hour or two of the SOT.
  • Hoping the new processor allows for better screen and similar battery life.
  • I've heard the same sentiment since the original Droid days. Everyone hopes that the new processor makes a huge difference in battery life with newer, more power hungry hardware. And it never happens. The only two things that actually make a significant impact on battery life is either putting in a huge battery, or scaling back screen resolution or display size. And honestly, FHD isn't good enough for a 5" screen but it's fine for a 40-50" TV? I know, I know, VR right? So you want to trade battery​ life for something that you use maybe 5-10% of the time?
  • Completely agree, especially about the annual " but, but, but....... this chipset will have twice the power and twice the battery life as last year's", Sure thing, bud. How's that working out for you? Year after year.
  • Exactly. Every year is the year that these phones are going to get multi day battery life, and every year it falls short. Now if everything else stayed the same, like display size or resolution, or if streaming video or gaming requirements stayed the same, then I might buy it. But like the said above, either those features evolve to take advantage of the more powerful processors, or the the processors have to evolve to better run those features. That's just how it is.
  • Sounds perfect to me
  • I have a feeling that the Taimen device will still be the successor to the Pixel XL with a 5.7/5.8-inch screen (or larger) and the standard Pixel 2 will be 5.2-inches, that's just my guess.
  • Yeah, probably. Bummer. I don't care what they do with the XL, but I would love for them to keep the smaller model at 5" even.
  • Agreed. Shrink the bezels a touch, but keep the screen size. So no, a Pixel XXL won't be in my future. Personally, if I want a bigger screen, I'll grab my SP3.
  • I don't even want them to shrink the bezels by very much. The Pixel definitely isn't the most attractive phone from the front, but I hold my phone in landscape mode a lot, and some bezel is necessary for that.
  • Odd... I hold my phone in landscape and never hold by bezels
  • Agreed!
  • Agreed. The 5" Pixel is the compact flagship I've waited for many years. I would even want a sub 5" Pixel.
  • It should cost only about two thousand dollars. 👍😉
  • lol
  • I love my Pixel XL, BUT, I need a larger screen. The Nexus 6P screen was GREAT and readable for mature eyes. Larger screen please, mature eyes desire them...
  • 👍 Yes... People over 60 do thourghly enjoy and use their phones just as much as the younger crowd does... Having two different sizes is a good idea.. I'm using a 5.5 right now - in which I couldn't go any smaller..
  • Who over 60 uses their phone as much as the "younger crowd"
  • I may not use my phone as much as you, but it is my business and personal phone, and at 74 I am still a techie. Smile. Yes I need a larger screen, N6P has a great screen and larger letters for mature eyes not strain reading as the Pixel XL does.
  • Hey my name is Quentin Wiley I saw your comment on a page from a couple months ago and mentioned buying a computer for your business. I was curious what your business is. Do you mind telling me about it in an email? I don’t have enough reputation to put urls. So my email is my first and last name, then a period, then the letter b, and I use gmail
  • Ehh.. Ok - I've see kids anamored with their phones - I'm not that bad... But I still use it for my work and personal schedule plus traveling... So for me - quite a bit.
  • Nexus 6P still is great 😉.
  • Keep the same size phone and shrink the bezels! If it is made by HTC though I'm not optimistic. Their hardware is fine, but small bezels does not appear to be a strength.
  • Nexus 6 sized?
  • I hope so.
  • The trouble is that they will be taller but thin, I want wider phones...
  • Me too, this S8+ would be perfect if it was a bit wider
  • Oh please be that. Looking for a new 6" phone is so hard. A new 6" and 16:9 screen with clean android will be really sweet.
  • Let's just hope that the phone is as comfortable in the water as its name suggests.
  • Absolutely agree, and it needs to sound a hell of a lot better as well, and no, the two are not in any way mutually exclusive. Summertime is here. I'd like to be able to take my Pixel XL to the pool, water park, etc., with my family, and when I want to play a couple of You Tube videos for myself or my son, they should sound a lot better, and a lot more powerful than they do now on the 1st gen. I've got an iPhone 7 plus that does those things without a problem, but overall, I prefer Android.
    Good thing I can run all my Google apps on iOS, and the kicker is, Google's apps are usually better on iOS. Anyway, release the Pixel 2's with the much improved water resistance and much better speaker(s), and I'm going to try the regular size Pixel this year, otherwise not.
  • I love my 6p speakers. If they could just increase the battery life a little and waterproof it in a slightly smaller package (NOT screen size) I would have my perfect phone. I wouldn't complain if the already stellar camera was also upgraded.
  • I agree. As far as the camera goes, I was hoping for a dual camera setup, preferably with the secondary lens being an optical zoom on the Pixel 2's. I like my Pixel XL a lot, it's fast as hell, extremely smooth, and I won't be wondering where in the hell my update is 8-10 months later, but I'm not taking it to the pool/water park, and every time I play a You Tube video or a movie trailer, it sort of pisses me off.
  • Agreed. I didn't care for the size of the 6P, but damn... those speakers were just fantastic. One if the few phones I've owned that gave a fully enjoyable video watching experience without headphones.
  • I love the speakers too! With ARISE4android it's even better!
  • I just wish they'd change the navigation buttons back. I hate those solid buttons so much.
  • Hear hear
  • I need a moto nexus replacement, a 6" pixel would be a winner in my book
  • So sick of big phones. My favorite phone ever was the One Plus X. Seriously, I loved that phone. Something just like that but with a fingerprint sensor and NFC would be perfect.
  • That thing was gorgeous, and felt great in the hand. A phone with the exact design of the OnePlus X (maybe a tiny bit thicker to accommodate a huge battery) with an SD630 processor would be fantastic.
  • Great! Now maybe I can replace my N6 already.
  • Hope they​get rid of those ugly bezels
  • As long as the bezels are reduced I would be happy. I kinda want FFS like on the 6P but doubt we get it.
  • I hate big smartphones. And glass backs also.
  • You know after using the Pixel XL for 7 months now and having used my girlfriend's normal Pixel, I think I am going to go for the smaller of the Pixel phones next time around. I really miss the one-handed experience of a smaller device.
  • New rumor, device made by LG.
  • Well my wish list includes 1.Better Availability
    2. Better Battery in the non- Xl Version
    3. Headphone jack
    4. Better storage options Don't really care about water resistence. Don't really like bluetooth headphones. I "get" the move away from SD Cards, but 32GB and 128GB are bad options, I would prefer 64GB as base and 128, possible 256 for the storage warriors.
  • "the move away from SD cards"? That happened ages ago for Google, that isn't new. Even the Galaxy Nexus didn't have a card slot.
  • It sounds awesome. 👍 There should be a way of changing the font size in just the notifications curtain