Google Pixel and Pixel XL flagship phones were built by HTC as part of its two-year contract deal with the search engine giant. However, a recent report suggested that Google would scrap the Pixel XL 2.
Now, the successors to Pixel and Pixel XL are speculated to be built by HTC as the system files of HTC U11 flagship phone have references to S2 and M2. This claim is further strengthened by the fact that Pixel and Pixel XL are denoted by the code names 'S1' and 'M1' respectively.
According to XDA Developers citing HTCSoku, the M2 listing could be old and the reference placed long before Google decided to drop Pixel XL 2 from its roadmap. Another report suggests that LG is still working on a larger sized Pixel phablet, which is touted to be the successor to Pixel XL.
If the LG theory is true, it is almost certain that HTC will be working on the Google Pixel 2 alone. However, if the LG rumour turns out to be false, then we could be seeing both Pixel 2 and Pixel XL 2 built by HTC.
Check out the various device codenames that have been allegedly leaked via HTC U11 system files:
- OCEAN_WHL
- OCEAN_UL
- OCEAN_DUGL
- OCEAN_DTWL
- OCEAN_UHL
- OCEAN_UHL_JAPAN
- OCEAN_A
- S2
- M2
We could just wait for Google's formal announcement on the upcoming Pixel phones in the next few weeks while more leaks are expected to keep us engaged ahead of the launch.
