The Google Pixel 3 is still months away from an official launch – if at all – and there haven’t been any credible leaks about the smartphone’s hardware or new features yet. However, the first tidbit about the upcoming Google flagship has now been spotted in an Android Open Source Project commit, alongside the mention of an improved cellular networking feature on the device.
Discovered by XDA Developers, the AOSP contains a commit titled Cherrypick “Add device config to decide which Auto Selection Network UI to use.” which explicitly mentions the Pixel 3 receiving a new network configuration and an ‘Auto Selection Network UI’.
Details of a test called ‘Basic telephony sanity’ mentioned in the commit states that a new network configuration has been added to the Pixel 3, as the device only supports HAL V_1_2, which is presumably the radio hardware abstraction layer (HAL) that handles cellular connectivity.
Moreover, another commit titled “Use the new scan API for manual network search” contains the mention of a new Network API which supports the updated HAL V_1_2 configuration. As per the XDA Developers Editor-in-chief Mishaal Rahman, the new changes will update the manner in which the network scan feature works on Android devices. This could be part of new telephony features in Android P.
Currently the ‘scan network’ feature on Android shows you a list of available operator networks and their respective network strength but takes some time before it loads up – usually about 30 seconds. With continuous network scanning, this delay will be avoided and phones can presumably switch networks faster. This is amazing news if you are continuously switching networks in your area.
However, all the details are just a part of AOSP commits which highlight the tests being done during the Pixel 3’s development phase, and their arrival in the form of an updated feature on the upcoming device may or may not be certain as it depends upon their efficiency and final outcome.
