Google has launched two iterations of its Pixel smartphones and both have been aimed at the premium segment of the market. If recent reports are to be believed, the company is going to complete the Pixel smartphone lineup this year with new models. A report last week claimed that there’s going to be a mid-range Pixel smartphone later this year and now a new rumor out of China claims that there’s even going to be an entry-level Google Pixel smartphone that will be powered by Android Go.
It was first reported last week that Google is developing a mid-range Pixel smartphone for price-sensitive markets like India where it will launch the handset to gain market share in the lucrative mid-range segment.
The latest rumor out of China suggests that this entry-level Pixel smartphone will have low-end specifications and that it’s going to be powered by Android Go, the lightweight iteration of Google’s mobile platform that was launched last year. The device is said to be codenamed “Desire.”
The exact specifications of this rumored handset haven’t been revealed as yet but it’s speculated that the entry-level Pixel is going to feature a plastic body which is just going to be one of the ways that Google makes this device affordable.
Google hasn’t commented on its plans for the Pixel lineup so none of this can be taken at face value so far. We’ll have to wait and see if more concrete evidence surfaces which suggest that the Pixel lineup will be moving beyond the flagship segment in 2018.