Google plans to give the Pixel 4 this 2018 Apple iPhone feature

According to information found in an Android Open Source Project web page by XDA Developers, it appears that the Google Pixel 4 and Pixel 4 XL will feature an improved dual SIM functionality. As many of you already know, the "subscriber identity module" or SIM allows your carrier to verify your identity. An eSIM, or embedded SIM, is a chip placed inside the phone that takes the place of a SIM card. Currently, the Pixel 2 and Pixel 3 series phones carry both an eSIM and a SIM card slot.

However, the 2017 and 2018 Pixel models are Dual SIM, Single Standby. This means that both the eSIM and the SIM card slot cannot be both active at the same time. While you can have the settings on the eSIM and an installed SIM card from two different carriers, the one that is inactive cannot receive calls or texts.

That is different than the Dual SIM, Dual Standby system found in the 2018 iPhone models. With this feature, both the SIM card slot and the eSIM inside the iPhone (except for China, where the iPhone has a Dual SIM tray) can be active at the same time, allowing you to engage in a voice call on one, and a text on the other. You cannot use Dual SIM, Dual Standby to be on two calls at the same time, or have two text messages going on simultaneously. That would require a third option, Dual SIM, Dual Active.

Based on the Commit found on the AOSP page (see image at the bottom of this article), a Google employee says that Android Q will support Dual SIM, Dual Standby or even Dual SIM, Dual Active if the device and the carrier support it as well. The Googler also points out that Dual SIM, Dual Standby is being tested internally on the Pixel 3 in preparation for use with the Pixel 4 models.

The bottom line is that Dual SIM, Dual Standby could be added to the Pixel 2 and Pixel 3 series if Google so desired. We should see this available on the Pixel 4 models, and it is a possibility for the Pixel 3 Lite and Pixel 3 Lite XL. The latter two phones are expected to be offered by Verizon early this year.

Returning to the Pixel 4, a recent patent awarded to Google shows a full-screen, edge-to-edge display with no chin and no notch. A fingerprint button still appears on the back of the illustration (see image at the top of this article). And there is talk that Android Q will support "secure facial recognition hardware" like Face ID. We could also see the Pixel 4 get a bump in RAM; both the Pixel 2 and Pixel 3 handsets carry 4GB of the stuff, so 6GB or 8GB of RAM could wind up on the fourth-generation Pixels. And we'd expect nothing less than the Snapdragon 855 Mobile Platform to be powering both models. The Pixel 4 XL could wind up equipped with a hefty 4000mAh battery.

As we told you yesterday, Strategy Analytics says that Pixel is the fastest growing smartphone brand in the U.S. Since the Pixel line gets first crack at the latest build of Android, and gets the latest improvements and features available for Google Assistant, Android fanatics will inevitably head toward the Pixels first. It also comes with one of the best cameras found on a smartphone. If Google does bring the specs more in line with other top shelf models and uses the bezel-less design seen on the aforementioned patent, the Pixel brand will continue to grow rapidly in the U.S.