Google is announcing its new Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL
smartphones at an event on October 4. Today a few renders of the two devices
have been leaked, showing us a number of different color versions. We can only
see their backs in these, but the previously outed design language is confirmed
once more.
Let's start with the Pixel 2. This is shown here in
Kinda Blue, Clearly White, and Just Black - as Google seems set to once more
grace the world with funny marketing names for color versions, following last
year's Quite Black, Very Silver, and Really Blue.
The Pixel 2 will cost US$ 649 with 64GB of storage, and US$ 749 with twice that amount. This is exactly how much its predecessor, the
original Pixel, went for, but you do get 32GB more storage for US$ 649 this time
around.For the Pixel 2 XL, we have the same Just Black hue as for its smaller
sibling, joined by a 'panda' color version that will be called Black &
White.
Here's the bad news. The source of these renders
says the Pixel 2 XL will cost US$ 849 with 64GB of storage, and US$ 949 if you want
128GB. Those are the only storage options that you'll get. The starting price
is US$ 80 north of what Google was charging for the Pixel XL from last year, but
you do get twice the storage (2016's handset had 32GB). There's no such added
bonus for the 128GB iteration - in this case it's a straight-up US$ 80 price hike.
Smartphones are getting more and more expensive
these days, so perhaps we should be thankful that Google hasn't (yet) made it
to the US$ 999 price point that Apple is currently experimenting with.
