Renders For Google's Pixel, Pixel XL Leak Showing New User Interface

In just a week, Google will be be holding a hardware event where the company will finally reveal its new Pixel Android smartphones. Now, new renders of the devices have surfaced online, showing off a bit of how its software would look like.

Google will actually be announcing two smartphones, the 5-inch Pixel and the larger 5.5-inch Pixel XL. The leaked renders were first published online by VentureBeat’s Evan Blass. The images only show the front of the devices, but they do give a look at the new Home screen, including the new Pixel Launcher.

Based on the photos, it looks like Google has decided to make the app icons circular. The on-screen navigation buttons also appear to have been slightly redesigned to have a more minimalist look. The navigation buttons are no longer hollow and are now white. However, the Home button sets itself apart by being a solid circle that's outlined by a white border, as pointed out by Android Police.

Although there’s no confirmation yet, the new user interface is believed to be exclusively available on the Pixel and Pixel XL, so it won’t be available to other smartphones running Android 7.1 Nougat. This is a way for Google to deliver a UI experience that can only be found on the new Pixel smartphones. The new software is also believed to have been built to maximize the usability of Google Assistant, the company's own voice-activated assistant.

That being said, the hardware design of both the Pixel and Pixel XL is pretty simplistic and does not really stray away from the Nexus line. That’s only fitting considering that the Pixel phones will be replacing the Nexus line altogether.

As for specs, there have been numerous leaks on what the Pixel and Pixel XL will be packing. Both handsets will have Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 820 processor, 4GB of RAM and storage options from 32GB all the way up to 128GB. The Pixel and Pixel XL will also be sharing the same 12-megapixel and 8-megapixel cameras as well.

The only real difference between the new Google smartphones will be their screen sizes and resolutions. The Pixel will have a 5-inch full HD 1080p display, while the Pixel XL will have a 5.5-inch quad-HD 1440p display. A previous rumor has indicated that the potential starting price of the Pixel will be $649 — a far cry from the more affordable starting price of the Nexus smartphones.