Google is planning to upset Apple and Samsung’s applecart with the new Pixel 2. After reports emerged last week of Google’s code names of the two new models of the Pixel 2 range, ‘walleye’ and ‘muskie’, with the ‘muskie’ codenamed phone said to be the bigger Pixel 2 XL, a third Pixel 2 phone is now said to be in the works as well. This new phone will be substantially bigger than the two siblings and be Google’s biggest phone to date. This third Pixel 2 has been codenamed ‘taimen.’
The Google Pixel 6P was the last phone in Google’s arsenal which was noticeably smaller than the previous entry. That tradition has been done away with, as the new Google Pixel 2 is set to be substantially bigger than the predecessors. The new Google Pixel 2’s code name, the ‘taimen’ is named after the huge freshwater fish which is substantially bigger than the two marine life-themed phones mentioned earlier. While the muskie, which is also a freshwater fish, is bigger than the walleye, the new taimen, if the rumours are true, is bigger than the both of them. In the wild, the taimen is hunted for game and can easily weigh in at 100 kgs.
All of Google‘s smartphones have been named after marine animals and this year’s Google Pixel 2 phones are no different. However, with the taimen set to be bigger than any of the previous Google Pixel or Nexus phones, one question which is on everybody’s minds is how big is too big. For comparison, the 2012 Google Nexus 4 was codenamed the Mako, after the shark. The Pixel 4 had a 4.7-inch screen and it was a big phone. With the new Samsung Galaxy S8 releasing within 15 days, the screen size has rocketed up along with customers’ anticipations. A bigger Google Pixel 2, should it be offered, will be a difficult thing to carry about. Another factor to consider is the price, as these new Google phones will be extremely expensive, to begin with.