In 2017, Google announced the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL which were made by HTC and LG respectively. However, Google’s plan was to have HTC make the Pixel 2 XL but it canceled it and went with LG instead. There were reports that the HTC U11+ was the canceled Pixel 2 XL but a hands-on video of the HTC-made Pixel 2 XL which was codenamed ‘muskie’ has now appeared on the internet and it looks nothing like the HTC U11+.
The video was posted on the web by the YouTube channel, Calyx Hikari, and it gives us a good look at the phone. As you can see, the phone has pretty huge bezels that are not only thicker than those of the HTC U11+ but also thicker than those of the Pixel 2 XL. HTC’s phone would have gone well with the Pixel 2 as that too had thick bezels and a 16:9 display.
On the back, ”muskie” is shown to have a similar design to that of the Pixel 2 XL – a two-tone finish and a single camera that is on the left side of the phone. It also has a fingerprint scanner just below the upper part of the glass.
The video shows the device is operated with a wireless mouse as it doesn’t respond to touch input. We get to see the ”About Section” of the phone and it confirms the phone is ”muskie”. It is also shown to be running Android Oreo with May 2017’s security patch.
Google probably decided to go with an 18:9 display instead of the 16:9 display of HTC’s phone which is why this phone never got released. It was a wise decision as quite a number of manufacturers had ditched the traditional 16:9 aspect ratio for the trendy 18:9 aspect ratio.
RELATED:
- This might be the design of the upcoming Google Pixel Foldable Smartphone
- Google Pixel 4a 5G in White color to launch in the US on January 28
- Google Pixel 4a 5G users complain about navigation and touch issues
