Pixel 2 Smartphones Rumored To Have Portrait Mode, New Music Recognition Feature

Google will launch the Pixel 2 smartphones next week on Oct. 4, but a few interesting tidbits about the devices’ set of features have already leaked online. The most interesting feature rumored for the Google Pixel 2 is a new Portrait Mode for its Camera app.

Over the weekend, Android Police founder Artem Russakovskii shared unverified rumors on some of the features that will be on the Google Pixel 2 on his Twitter page. He said that he got the information from a “new source” who claims to have had time to play around with the Verizon model of the Pixel 2.

Now, most of those rumors have been corroborated by the XDA Developers website. XDA said that its own source independently corroborates most of Russakovskii’s claims and it now believes that both the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL will have these same features.

First up is the new “Portrait Mode” on the Google Pixel 2. This is said to be available straight from the Google Camera app that’s on the Pixel 2 smartphones. The feature is said to be similar to the Portrait Mode that’s already available on the iPhone 7 Plus and iPhone 8 Plus.

The Portrait Mode on the Pixel 2 will work by blurring the background while making sure that the subject or person is in focus. Russakovskii’s tweets over the weekend claimed that Google will be relying on software to make this feature possible since both of the new Pixel 2 smartphones are expected to only have a single camera setup on their backs. Apple’s iPhone 7 Plus and 8 Plus utilizes two cameras, one wide and one telephoto, to help in making Portrait Mode possible.

No further information was given on how well Google’s software solution will be for the Pixel 2 Portrait Mode, but the company is already pushing the boundaries of what software can do to improve mobile photography.

The next rumored feature for the Pixel 2 smartphones is what’s currently being called as “Music Recognition.” When music is playing in the background, the Pixel 2 will be able to recognize the song that’s being played and will display the title and artist on the user’s lock screen.

It’s very likely that the smartphone will have an always listening feature to make automatic Google searches. This feature will most likely be optional, so those concerned about privacy should be able to disable this.

The Pixel launcher on the second generation Pixel phones is also said to have been redesigned. The Google search bar will now be found just beneath the app tray on the home screen. This new Pixel launcher was actually first spotted back in May during Google’s I/O conference by 9To5Google.

The new Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL are both expected to have a squeezable frame feature that’s similar to the HTC U11. Several leaks may have already outed this feature long ago. With this featue, users will be able to squeeze the phone’s frame to trigger Google Assistant. Russakovskii said that this will also work even when the device is asleep and squeeze intensity can also be adjusted like the HTC U11.

The Pixel 2 smartphones are both expected to have an Always on Ambient Display mode. This feature isn’t really a big surprise since it’s previously found out that Google has been working on this for some time now. This feature can also be enabled on some existing smartphones running Android Oreo.

Lastly, both the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL will feature dual stereo speakers up front. Russakovskii said on Twitter that the speaker setup will be similar to the Google Nexus 6P.

The Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL will be announced on Oct. 4 and are expected to be available in some new color options. The upcoming smartphones are also expected to be announced alongside the smaller Google Home Mini, the second generation Daydream View VR headset and a new premium Chromebook that will be called the PixelBook.