After the recent leaks and reports surrounding the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 XL/Pro, you might be wondering what’s next for Google. Apart from the Pixel Fold and the Pixel 6a, there is a lot the company is working on in the background.
If we look at the apps included in the current version of the Android 12 Beta, we find a couple of codenames that do not seem to belong to any of these phones. According to 9to5Google, they are codenames for the upcoming Pixel devices since they were placed alongside the known Pixel codenames such as “Oriole” for the Pixel 6 and “Redfin” for the Pixel 5.
The new codenames are “Whitefin,” “Bluejay,” and “Pipit.” The interesting part here is that the two of these names are birds, which fits in with the codename “Raven” and “Oriole” for Pixel 6, whereas “Whitefin” is obviously a type of fish.
Having said that, let us take a look at what the fuss is all about and what these codenames mean.
Whitefin
Since it is the only one that isn’t a bird, let us speculate why Google is changing the codenames for Pixel lineup from bird names to fish.
Some people think that the company is making the switch because they are ditching the Qualcomm Snapdragon processor in favor of the upcoming in-house designed Whitechapel chip. But we have no idea if Whitefin is a Snapdragon processor or not.
Considering Google’s record, the company usually pairs up similar Pixel devices with similar codenames. This year, the company seems to be working on four devices.
Another possibility is that Whitefin is nothing but a test device that allowed Google to look at the hardware capabilities of the new Pixel 6 series on Snapdragon-based processors.
Bluejay
Coming to the birds, Bluejay just made one appearance in the Android 12 Beta. It will supposedly be powered by Google’s own Whitechapel line of processors.
Google has also worked on a device named “Passport” that points to a folding phone in the works. Moreover, Google has also worked on a phone codenamed “Blueport,” which means that the company has tested the combination of the devices.
If this is true, Bluejay might be the upcoming Pixel Fold. Whatever the case might be, “Blueport” will surely run on the Whitechapel GS101 chip.
Pipit
Last but not least, we have “Pipit.” While there is not much information on what Pipit might be, we expect it to be a Google phone since it has also made an appearance in the Google Camera app. While Whitefin is mentioned along with a couple of devices, Pipit is included separately.
It is similar to how Google has referred to the Pixel 3a, 4a, and 5a in the past. Rumors indicate that Pipit might be the Pixel 6a.
