Pixel 4 XL Leak Confirms Big Bezel, No Notch

Google’s track record for Pixel phone secrecy is spotty at best. There are always some leaks here and there, and last year a crate of Pixel 3 XLs “fell off a truck” in Russia. Nothing that informative has happened yet this time around, but there are some new renders of the upcoming Pixel 4 XL.

Unlike in past years, Google isn’t playing dumb with its upcoming phone launch. The company’s Made by Google Twitter account posted a shadowy picture of the phone after the last round of render leaks. That image left a lot to the imagination, but the new leaked render puts it all on display.

This leak comes from OnLeaks, who has been very reliable in the past. OnLeaks gets access to leaked CAD files for phones, and then creates renders based on them. The last Pixel leak featured the smaller Pixel 4, but this time it’s the Pixel 4 XL. This one also includes the screen placement and size, whereas the last leak skipped over that part.

On the front, the Pixel 4 XL reportedly has a 6.25-inch screen that hugs the bottom of the device more closely than the top. There’s no notch, though. The Pixel 3 XL was roundly criticized for the massive notch that ate up about half of the status bar for no good reason — the phone still had a gigantic chin at the bottom. This year, the Pixel avoids that with asymmetrical bezels. Whether that’s an improvement is largely an aesthetic judgment.

The slightly larger top bezel houses two front-facing cameras and two other small sensors of unknown nature. Some combination of cameras or other sensors could form the basis of Google’s rumored 3D face unlock system.

The overall phone body measures 160.4 x 75.2 x 8.2mm. That makes it slightly larger in all dimensions than the Galaxy S10+. So, it’ll be a very big phone. We expect Google to announce the Pixel 4 and 4 XL in October — that’s when all its past Made by Google events have taken place.

Continue reading

Scientists Confirm the Presence of Water on the Moon

Scientists have confirmed the discovery of molecular water on the moon. Is there any of it in a form we can use? That's less clear.

Asteroid Mission Successfully Collected Samples, Japan Confirms

Japan's Hayabusa2 mission wrapped up last week when the sample container parachuted down in Australia. The mission certainly looked like a success at every step along the way, but the true test is whether or not it collected the sample it flew out there to get.

Intel Rocket Lake Desktop CPUs Will Launch in March, Gigabyte Confirms

Gigabyte has announced full PCIe 4.0 support for its Z490 motherboards when paired with 11th Gen Intel CPUs, and confirmed that Rocket Lake will debut at the end of March.

Pretty Sure We’re Prepared This Time: Blizzard Confirms Burning Crusade Classic

Blizzard has confirmed that World of Warcraft Classic is getting a partner. Step through the Dark Portal once again when The Burning Crusade Classic comes online.