Google definitely had a long laugh. With the launch of the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL, Google has assured users that they have embraced the notch culture. While the Pixel 3 XL is the only candidate of the two to reign that flag, it seems like next year’s Pixel 4 could join the party.
Android Central’s, Daniel Bader, chimed in with some details regarding his experience at the Google event. He said that during a chat with Google, they revealed that Google has originally planned to incorporate the notch into the smaller Pixel 3 as well, but failed to do so because they had to incorporate the speaker and dual front-facing camera setup. In a tweet, he said:
Google told me that if they’d been able to put a notch in the smaller Pixel 3 they would have and only didn’t because they didn’t have room for the cameras and the speaker in the narrower hardware. So it’s pretty safe to say this is the last year of notchless Pixels. – Android Central’s Daniel Bader
That’s an interesting point to make and a smart one too. If they had forcibly incorporated a notch on the Pixel 3, they would have been left with little to no screen real estate on the top of the device since the notch would have been that big.
Sure, this wasn’t Google’s best attempt, but these moves are assuring that they’ve been holding back for the launch of the Pixel 4 and Pixel 4 XL. We’d even go as far to say that Google did deliberately enlarge the notch on the Pixel 3 XL to make next year’s offering cheesier. If so, this definitely means that Google has already laid out a ton of their plans for the next Pixel already, given how Google has been acting lately. From leaking the Pixel 3 on purpose to trying to normalize the backlash that’s about to come their way for the notch, it’s all lining up.
For a flagship launched in 2018, the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL come with a rather disappointing array of options and RAM. The Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL feature 4GB RAM, with no upsizes. Flagships launched by Google’s rivals have reached the 6GB to 8GB mark. Next year’s Pixel 4 and Pixel 4 XL would most likely boast an upgrade in the RAM department, most probably in the 6 to 8GB range. Couple that with an SoC upgrade, an even cheesier camera experience, a smaller notch and Google is calling for an upgrade which would eventually entice Google Pixel loyalists.
