Google Pixel 3 XL Leaked Photos Confirm Notch, Glass Back

Photos of an alleged prototype of Google’s Pixel 3 XL were leaked yesterday, and they appear to confirm that the phone will have a notch on its display. Additional hands-on photos of the handset were also leaked, showing the Pixel 3 XL from all angles.

The first two photos of the Pixel 3 XL prototype were published by a user named meraz9000 on the XDA forums site. The photos show that the handset will have a single camera on its back, a rear-mounted fingerprint scanner and a notch on top of its display. The single camera may disappoint some users, but Google has proven that its camera software is able to produce fantastic photos even with just one lens.

One of the photos also shows the front of the device and the device’s firmware information confirms some of its specs. The prototype comes with 4GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, which is the the same specs of the Pixel 2 XL. This is just a prototype and it’s possible that Google might bump up the specs, but at the same time Google may have already finalized its design at this point, according to Engadget.

XDA reached out to the leaker and was also able to get additional hands-on photos of the prototype showcasing it from all angles. The additional photos seem to confirm that the Pixel 3 XL will have a glass back. This could possibly mean that the handset will arrive with wireless charging support. However, having a glass back doesn’t really guarantee that it will have that feature. For example, the OnePlus 6 comes with a glass back, but OnePlus didn’t adopt wireless charging as it prefers to stick to its wired Dash Charge fast charging solution.

Based on the photos, the top edge of the handset is clean and it only has a small hole for the microphone. The right-hand side of the prototype features the same button layout that can be seen on the current Pixel 2 phones. The left edge of the handset doesn’t feature any buttons, while the bottom edge of the handset features a single USB Type-C port and the SIM card tray. The 3.5mm headphone jack is nowhere to be seen.

Last week, it was reported that the Pixel 3 XL’s display notch will house dual cameras, while the regular Pixel 3 will only have a single front-facing camera. Google is also expected to announce its 2018 Pixel phones sometime in October, which would be a month after Apple announced its new iPhones.