Major specs leak suggests Google Pixel XL 2 will be worth the wait

Prolific tipster Roland Quandt recently tweeted about the appearance of Google Pixel XL 2 on GFXBench, wherein several key specifications of the handset were confirmed. It is now almost certain that Google is indeed testing the larger variant of its Pixel XL smartphone, which is expected to be released sometime later this year.

According to the tweet, the Pixel XL 2 is expected to flaunt a 5.6-inch display (presumably with 18:9 aspect ratio) and 2560x1312 pixel resolution. The GFXBench report also confirms that the handset will be powered by the latest Snapdragon 835 processor chipset running at 2.4GHz and paired with 4GB of RAM.

Among other key specifications, the smartphone is expected to ship with 100GB of internal storage, which can be further expanded up to 128GB via microSD slot. On the camera front, the handset is touted to feature an 8MP selfie camera on the front and a 12MP rear camera.

The report also confirms that the handset is capable of running Android 7.1.1 Nougat out-of-the-box. However, a recent Geekbench report suggests that the handset's final release model will ship with Android O.

If there is any truth to these reports, the next-gen Pixel XL phone could indeed ship with Android O (aka Android 8.0) instead of Android 7.1.1 Nougat.

Given Google's intention to add a bunch of feature enhancements and improvements into its upcoming Android iteration, it is almost certain that we could see several camera enhancements on the upcoming Pixel XL phone, besides a unibody metal construction and glass back panels.

Although there is no specific release date for the Pixel XL 2, the handset is likely to get released sometime in the fall of 2017.

Given its power-packed specs and the likelihood of featuring Android O at release, the Pixel XL 2 could indeed be worth the wait, if not as exciting as the iPhone 8.