Highly anticipated: Google's Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL devices are nearing launch and are allegedly being leaked intentionally. The latest leak shows the phones in cases that may have been designed by Google.
Google may end up not having anything new to share at its October 9 launch event for the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL. New pictures show both phones in cases with a charcoal cloth appearance similar to that found on the Google Home mini.
There is still the pronounced notch on the Pixel 3 XL's 6.2-inch display and the smaller 5.4-inch display on the Pixel 3 still looks a lot more appealing sans-notch. Even though the launch event date is already confirmed, its worth pointing out the date on the home screen is also October 9.
Unlike other versions of Android 9, Google has added a search bar at the bottom of the screen with a shortcut to Google Assistant at the right of the search box. Perhaps following in the footsteps of Samsung, Google may try to make Assistant even more prominent on its latest devices. If that is the case, at least Google Assistant is fairly capable, especially compared to Bixby.
The back of the cases does not show anything unexpected. There is a single camera with LED flash on the rear of both devices that is believed to only have minor changes compared to the Pixel 2.
At the bottom of the case, there is a fairly large cutout for the USB-C port that appears to lack a dust cover. Whether there are actually any accessories that have a wide plug requiring such clearance is questionable, but nonetheless it should prevent any potential problems when using over sized USB-C cables.