We’ve previously heard both from sources and a regulatory filing that the Pixel 2 will have squeezable sides like the HTC U11, and now more evidence of the feature has turned up in the latest Google app beta.
In a teardown of the app, 9to5Google has found several mentions of something called “Active Edge”, most notably one that reads “To change settings for the squeeze gesture, go to your phone’s Active Edge settings.”
That sounds a lot like the HTC U11’s Edge Sense feature, which lets you squeeze the sides of the phone to open the camera or launch an app or function of your choice.
Getting a sense of Active Edge
Whether the Pixel 2’s version will be as customizable, and whether it will do different things depending on whether you give a short or long squeeze like on the U11, remains to be seen, but one thing it will seemingly be able to do is launch Google Assistant, as the same teardown found text reading “Squeeze for your Assistant.”
While we can’t be certain that this is indeed Edge Sense in all but name, or that it’s coming to the Pixel 2, both are looking very likely at this point.
And we’ll know for sure soon, as the Pixel 2, likely along with a larger phone called the Pixel 2 XL, will be announced on October 4.
