Google Pixel 2 Tipped to Be First Smartphone With Snapdragon 836 SoC

HIGHLIGHTS

• Google Pixel 2 expected to sport Snapdragon 836 SoC
• Past reports suggest a near bezel-less design
• Samsung’s Galaxy Note 8 also tipped to sport Snapdragon 836 SoC

The past few weeks have seen a few rumours doing the rounds regarding Google's next set of Pixel smartphones, the Pixel 2 and Pixel XL 2. So far, it has been tipped that this year's flagships will sport a near bezel-less design similar to the LG G6, along with features like an Always On display mode, and "squeezable" frames similar to the HTC U11. Now, a fresh report suggests that the upcoming Pixel smartphones will be the first to sport Qualcomm's Snapdragon 836 SoCs.

Google's upcoming Pixel 2 and Pixel XL 2 are already being tipped to look quite different in terms of design compared to their predecessors. The bezel-less design that is being rumoured is perhaps Google's bid to take on the LG G6, Samsung's Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+, and Apple's upcoming iPhone 8 which is also rumoured to go bezel-less. While past reports have tipped a Snapdragon 835 SoC for the Pixel 2 and Pixel XL 2, Android Headlines tips a newer Snapdragon 836 SoCs for Google's flagship, which could give them a bit of an edge over its competitors.

The publication claims the Snapdragon 836 SoC will be similar to the Snapdragon 835 in terms of hardware, but will get higher peak CPU and GPU clock speeds compared to the latter. Similar hardware suggests that the Snapdragon 836 SoC will also be based on 10nm fabrication process with eight Kryo 280 cores clocked at a maximum frequency of 2.45GHz, and also sport an Adreno 540 GPU. This means that the new processor will be as energy efficient, but a bit stronger on performance compared to the Snapdragon 835.

The latest report is particularly interesting when considering a report in June that pegged Samsung's Galaxy Note 8 to be the first to sport the Snapdragon 836 SoC. And seeing as how the Galaxy Note 8 is likely be unveiled ahead of the Google Pixel 2, it will be interesting to see whether Google indeed has dibs on the Snapdragon 836 chips. Notably, Samsung's Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ were the first to come with Snapdragon 835 SoCs, so the likelihood of Galaxy Note 8 beating Google to the punch with the Snapdragon 836 is much higher.