The Google Pixel came out late last year. It was the Mountain View company's first full smartphone and it was immediately sold out. Some even argue that it was the best smartphone of 2016.
As great as the rave reviews about the smartphone were, many would argue that it was far from perfect. According to a report by 9 to 5 Google, the Pixel has been plagued with microphone issues. Apparently, "a hairline crack in the solder connection on the audio codec" is enough to cause all three of the microphones to fail. This will result in several audio issues that will come and go.
The report went on to state that a European model with the name "Rev. B" was noticed by several users. The site stated that this could have the minor hardware revisions that could fix the microphone issues. However, Google has already clarified that no revisions were made and that the "Rev. B" has nothing to do with the device. It is only an identifier for the packing.
While the new box doesn't mean anything, Google did clarify that they have made "small improvements" to the manufacturing process of the Google Pixel. These processes serve to reduce "the likelihood of an audio codec failure," according to the Mountain View tech company.
In a report by BGR, Google has officially stated that smartphones that were manufactured within the last month would not have this problem. However, Pixels that were manufactured before then could be affected but only around 1% of them.
In other news, a recent leak revealed that two Pixel 2 smartphones are in the works at Google. The high-end premium handsets will get successors later this year. Currently, they have an internal codename of "walleye" and "muskie," according to sources.
The report further stated that Google's Nexus and Pixel smartphones are known to use fish names. Moreover, these codenames are usually leaked months before their release. Does this mean the Google Pixel 2 and Pixel XL 2 are right around the corner? The website noted that they expect it to be available in around October which is also when the first generation Pixel smartphones were launched.
The "new" Google Pixel available at stores will have the small improvements that will reduce the likelihood of the microphone issues. It is important to ensure that the manufacturing period was sometime last month or later. Smartphones that were manufactured before that will still be affected by the microphone issues.
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