We all know that the era of Android 7.0 Nougat will come to an end eventually, sooner or later. After all, this is but the inevitable sign of progress. However, much speculation has come and gone concerning the next version of Android. The one thing that we do know about Android 8.0 is, it will be known as Android O as well. Why O? It makes perfect sense, since Google is set in their ways to continue with the letter of the alphabet in naming their mobile operating system versions, but good luck when they run out of alphabets eventually with just 26 of these lying around, and more than half have already been taken. In true Google tradition, Android 8.0 O has also been widely tipped to be known as Android 8.0 Oreo or Android Oreo, which is one of the most common desserts around. It makes plenty of sense, really, as there aren’t too many other notable options left lying around. Another big question is, which Google device will be first out of the blocks that will carry Android O as the operating system of choice?
The quick and easy answer would be Google Taimen, for one very simple reason. It has already shown up on Geekbench’s benchmark. The benchmark listing has been dated May 11, but not too many details are forthcoming. However, there are some interesting observations made about this particular list, and the main one is this: the Google Taimen has been listed to run on Android O as the operating system version. Do take note that Android O is right now available only as part of a developer preview, and nothing more than that. Other hardware specifications that the Google Taimen exhibited include carrying 4GB of RAM, a Qualcomm Snapdragon processor with eight cores while running at 1.90 GHz which remains unnamed (although many would think that this is the Snapdragon 835), as well as its single-core and multi-core scores of 1804 and 6248, respectively. These scores can be said to be reasonably high where Geekbench results are concerned, which does point to the Google Taimen being a powerhouse, or at the very least, a device that would occupy the higher echelons of the Android-powered smartphone market.
Apart from that, the Google Taimen remains as a relative unknown, and until something official comes about, this will remain as a rumor. There is hope that the Google Taimen will be a device that Google rolls out some time later this year that will be part of the 2017 Pixel range, although it is virtually impossible to consider that to be a given. Apart from that, we do not know for sure whether the Google Taimen will arrive as a Pixel brand or otherwise.
All in all, it does seem as though the folks over at Google are currently working to roll out a trio of Google-branded smartphones before 2017 comes to a close. Apart from the alleged Google Taimen, there is also the possibility of the Walleye and Muskie. The other two could very well be the next generation Pixel devices, and if that were to be the case, then one of them would most probably carry the Google Pixel 2 moniker.
Word on the street has it that the Muskie will be the smaller of the two devices, where it will be a direct “descendant”, if you will, of the standard issue Google Pixel. As for the Walleye, that will succeed the Pixel XL. Where does the Google Taimen fit in then? Only time will be able to tell, and is Google about to embark on an even larger form factor, perhaps a Pixel XXL?
