The cycle of leaks in the lead up to a phone announcement has just about become the norm for phone launches. The Google Pixel 4 is hot news with an announcement coming up soon, and we’re starting to see a lot more leaks, so what can we expect?
There have been several leaks of late, the latest of which is a new video leak that shows what appears to be a promo video for the phone.
The video, via ProAndroid, which seems to be recorded off a screen, talks about improved photography on the Pixel 4 including improved low-light photography, and a new feature for night mode: astrophotography.
The astrophotography mode on the Pixel 4 will join a new sports focused option called Motion Mode according to 9to5Google. The new mode will enable users to snap shots of people in motion, keeping them in crisp focus while blurring the background for a nice artistic shot.
Also rumoured for the Pixel 4 is up to 8x zoom. A picture shared on Weibo (now deleted), shows the phone zoomed in at 8x, but whether that’s a combined optical and digital zoom utilising Google’s ‘Super Res Zoom’ technology introduced on the Pixel 3, or an optical zoom is something we’ll have to wait for confirmation on.
The video also confirms the hands-free gestures that Google announced already would be included as part of the integration of the Soli radar chip into the Pixel 4.
The video shows off the White model of the Pixel 4, and we’ve already seen the black in Google’s teaser earlier this year, but a new colour has emerged: Orange, or what Google will eventually call Coral.
The picture originated on Chinese social media site Weibo and shows all three colours of the Pixel 4 and its distinctive square camera bump.
If that’s not enough to get you going, there’s also evidence in the Android 10 source code, found by the folks at XDA-Developers, that the Pixel 4 display will have a 90Hz refresh rate.
Google is apparently referring to the 90Hz display as ‘Smooth Display’ according to 9to5Google, with the higher refresh rate making for smoother transitions on the Android UI, as well as making games look better.
Android has long been one of the most customisable options for mobile users, but Google is set to take it to the next level with a Pixel theming app as well.
The folks over at XDA-Developers managed to find the Pixel Themes ‘app’, which you’ll access by long pressing on the home-screen, which will let you customise the accent color, font, and wallpaper to your personal taste.
The Pixel theming app was rumoured to launch with Android 10, but its absence in the source code leads us to believe it will be launched as a Pixel 4 exclusive at launch.
Another feature possibly coming to the Pixel 4 is the option for Google Assistant to take over the call when you’re placed on hold. According to 9to5Google, Google Assistant would then notify you once a human came on the line.
This feature sounds very much like an extension of Google Duplex which is currently only available in the United States, so the possibility of it launching here in Australia is slim – but we can hope.
There’s a lot to love about Pixel, but most phone fiends love specs and those are taking shape slowly, with the rumoured spec sheet for the phones looking like this:
| Pixel 4 | Pixel 4 XL | |
|---|---|---|
| Display: | 5.7-inchAMOLED Full HD+ 90Hz Refresh Rate |
6.3-inch AMOLED Quad HD+ 90Hz Refresh Rate |
| Processor: | Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 | |
| RAM: | 6GB | |
| Storage: | 64 or 128GB | |
| Rear Camera: | 12MP primary camera 16MP secondary camera (Telephoto) |
|
| Front Camera: | Dual 8MP Front-facing camera | |
| Battery: | 2,800mAh | 3,700mAh |
| Operating System: | Android 10 | |
The Google Pixel 4 is expected to be announced some time in early October. Previously Google has held their ‘Made by Google’ hardware event on October 4th and October 9th, so it’s expected to be around then.
There’s plenty of time for more leaks, and given the high profile of Google Pixel phones, there’s sure to be a lot more coming.
