Google Pixel XE: A new Google device in the works or just a Redmi Note 9 Pro hoax?

Google released the Pixel 4a, Pixel 4a 5G, and Pixel 5 this year. That doesn't appear to be all the company has in stock, however; new reports heavily point towards the existence of yet another device in the works for Google.

This new device, seemingly branded as the Pixel XE, is mostly an unknown quantity at this point. The first source of the reports came in the form of a screenshot of the device info menu showing a device with the Pixel XE model name and running on Android 11. A live image also claimed to be of the device surfaced on Slashleaks, with the phone running some form of vanilla Android.

However, there are a few notable issues. For one, the shown CPU frequencies in the screenshot heavily indicate that the phone isn't powered by a flagship SoC. Would Google release another budget phone so quickly after the Pixel 4a? The live image depicts the phone with a centered hole punch. Interestingly, the hole punch has something of a halo around it—usually an issue with LCDs. The display itself doesn't appear to have the contrast levels one would expect from an OLED either. Google hasn't made a Pixel with an LCD so far, and that's unlikely to change.

What this device does remind us of is the Redmi Note 9 Pro. Yesterday, a Geekbench listing surfaced with the phone listed as the Google Pixel XE but with the motherboard "Miatoll". Miatoll is a codename used by devs for custom ROM development of phones in the Snapdragon 720G-powered branch of the Redmi Note 9 family. Coincidentally, the Redmi Note 9 Pro also has a centered hole punch and an LCD, with volume rockers that match up to the ones in the leaked live image. 

With all of that in mind, we lean towards the Google Pixel XE being a hoax. At the very least, the veracity of existing information at the moment leaves a lot to be desired.