A new video from the YouTube channel DBS Designing demonstrates a Google Pixel 3 concept that gives us a sense of what we might be able to expect from the upcoming phone.
The handset was designed by a team of artists, and it’s important to reiterate that this is simply a Google Pixel 3 concept rather than an actual video of the phone. With the phone yet to be announced, many creative people are looking forward to what we might see from the latest flagship – prompting them to come up with their own version of what the Google Pixel 3 concept might look like.
Just from a quick look at the Google Pixel 3 concept video, it’s clear that DBS Designing believes that Google will take a massive departure from what we saw with the Google Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL handsets – at least in terms of design. Apple has proven with the release of the iPhone X that sometimes big changes in design can come with big payoffs. If the phone looks like it does in this Google Pixel 3 concept video, it’s clear that it will be offering something different than what we’ve come to expect from Google – though, with only two generations of phones under their belt, there isn’t necessarily a formula that they’re departing from. While shaking things up so early in the lifetime of their Pixel product family might be a risk, it’s possible that the new design we’re seeing in the Google Pixel 3 concept video may be just the draw the company needs to attract customers who are currently enamored with the likes of Samsung or Apple.
The handset in the Google Pixel 3 concept video sports a dual camera setup on the rear of the device, with both of the cameras being horizontally angled. As is expected, we see some Google branding on the rear as well. Physical keys in order to control the power and volume of the phone are located on the right hand of the device, with the power and lock key placed directly above the volume up and volume down buttons – with the keys sporting a red color.
The audio of the Google Pixel 3 concept will come from two front-facing speakers – just as we saw with the predecessors. While the Google Pixel 3 concept is a massive departure from what we saw previously from Google, it does keep in line with the trend of shrinking bezels. As people demand larger screens while retaining a phone that is still easy to hold, companies are resorting to shrinking bezels down to near nothingness – and in some cases, not even leaving enough room for a fingerprint scanner. The Google Pixel 3 concept addresses this issue by including an in-display fingerprint scanner under the QHD+ display – allowing the company to get rid of those bezels while retaining the functionality that people have come to expect from high-end smartphones. While companies like Samsung have tried to solve the issue by moving the scanner to the rear of the device, it’s a much less elegant solution than what we may see from Google – and it’s likely we’ll see the technology implemented in pretty much every high-end flagship in the generations to come.
The phone will likely ship with Android P – the operating system currently in development by Google, despite the fact that only a fraction of flagships are currently running on Android Oreo. We’ll also see some impressive technical specifications, with 8GB of RAM as well as 256GB of native storage. Whether that storage will be expandable with a microSD card remains to be seen.
In order to get a better look at the phone, take a look at the video below. We shouldn’t expect to see whether this Google Pixel 3 concept is anywhere close to correct until Q4 of this year. Expect a Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL near the end of the year – likely with the latest Snapdragon chip giving us some substantial power to compete with flagships from the likes of Samsung. Rumors and leaks should start coming soon, and smartphone releases are the industry’s worst kept secret, so expect to learn more about what we’ll actually see from the Google Pixel 3 in the coming months.