Google’s Pixel smartphones will reportedly launch running Android 7.1

When it gets unveiled later today, the LG V20 will be the first smartphone to be announced with Android 7.0, but it looks like it won’t be the first phone to make the jump to 7.1.

That distinction will be claimed by the Pixel and the Pixel XL, Google’s upcoming 2016 “Nexus” devices, according to a new report. Google is expected to properly reveal the two devices sometime this fall.

Google's Pixel and Pixel XL to be released with Android 7.1 (NMR1).

— LlabTooFeR (@LlabTooFeR) September 5, 2016

The rumour comes courtesy of a tweet from LlabTooFer, a leaker associated for his/her relationship to HTC. Given that multiple rumours have said HTC is building the two smartphones for Google, there’s a good chance LlabTooFer’s information is correct.

Note also that LlabTooFer refers to the devices as the “Pixel” and “Pixel XL,” corroborating earlier reports from Android Central and Android Police that said Google will drop the Nexus brand this year. In the past, the Pixel brand has been associated with Google’s in-house tablets and Chromebooks, which haven’t sold particularly well.

Pocket-lint speculates Android 7.1 will include software and features exclusive to the two new phones. In particular, Daydream, Google’s new virtual reality platform, is expected to launch on the Pixel and Pixel XL. Current high-end Android smartphones will not be Daydream certified.

We’ll have more on the Pixel and Pixel XL as the date of their reveal gets closer.

[source]Twitter[/source][via]Pocket-lint[/via]