Recently, Google's next generation phones are in the air due to some leaks and other information. This year's Pixel XL successor widely rumored to be made by LG and the smaller one will be made by HTC. And last year, on August 15, HTC-made Google Pixel and Pixel XL arrived at the FCC (Fun fact: They were still “Nexus” phones then), confirming reports of HTC making the phones while also revealing some specs.
And now, history repeats itself, HTC has once again returned to show off their latest creation, a phone we believe to be the Google Pixel 2. Thanks to these FCC filing we are sure that this is the next Google Pixel phone.
First of all, you will sse that there is this e-label for FCC filed by HTC with numerous documentation from the Taiwanese company, today’s listing (NM8G011A) includes numerous test reports discussing cellular connectivity.
Also, there is this screenshot now which shows the new Android O Settings app which is running Android 8.0.1, running August security patch. It might be the final release of Android O, and there is this specific set of screenshots shows us more. Look in the center screenshot under the “Languages” section – see anything fun there? That’s right, we have a confirmation on the Pixel 2 having an “Active Edge” that allows you to “squeeze for your Assistant.” Yep, the rumors of the Pixel 2 having a squeezable edge were correct.
For those who are wondering about the storage space of the phone, we got you. This phone in particular has 64GB storage. Notice the “21% used” storage amount with 50.66GB free? A little math gets us to the 64GB, which has to have you wondering if 64GB storage is the base storage amount for the next Pixel line. The original Pixel and Pixel XL shipped with either 32GB or 128GB – no 64GB model of either existed. The FCC is calling this a “Production unit.”
Next up, you’ll notice the baseband showing “mw8998,” which should be a reference to the Qualcomm chipset the phone is running. For example, the Pixel shows a baseband with number “8996” attached and the Pixel happens to run the Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 or MSM8996. There are rumors suggesting the Pixel 2 and Pixel XL 2 run the Snapdragon 835 (or 836?), which happens to be the MSM8998. Just keep in mind that the Snapdragon 820 and 821 both fall under the MSM8996 range, but are somewhat different. So we know that the Pixel 2 runs at least a Snapdragon 835.
Since this is an FCC listing, here are all of the supported bands for all of the major US carriers:
Finally, here is what the phone’s label looks like, just for fun. You’ll see the FCC ID is NM8G011A. Last year, the Pixel and Pixel XL were NM8G-2PW2100 and NM8G-2PW4100, respectively. The break down here is “NM8” is HTC’s FCC grantee code, leaving us with G011A as the possible model number of the Pixel 2. “G” here meaning Google, of course.
Recent leaks points to the Pixel 2 sporting the same design as the original. Fortunately, the thick bottom bezel is at least now home to a speaker grill for dual front-facing audio. Of course, this is coming at the expense of a 3.5mm audio jack. Design-wise, the glass window on the rear has been shortened and no longer surrounds the fingerprint sensor.
