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If there was ever any doubt that Google would release a successor to the Pixel and Pixel XL, its best smartphones ever, you can now lay those fears to rest and sleep easy at night.

Speaking with Android Pit, Rick Osterloh, Google's Senior Vice President of Hardware, confirmed the company will release a new Pixel smartphone this year.

"There is an annual rhythm in the industry. So, you can count on us to follow it," Osterloh said. "You can count on a successor this year, even if you don't hear a date from me now."

He also reaffirmed the Pixel will remain a premium device with a premium price, which means it likely won't start at a price that's lower than the current $650 for the 32GB Pixel (a 128GB version sells for $100 more). In other words, Google's really done with selling premium phones at affordable prices, like it did for years with the Nexus devices.

And assuming Osterloh's comments don't change from now until launch, we can probably expect the Pixel to arrive sometime this fall, which would be a year from when the original Pixel launched.

As for what to expect from the Pixel 2... that's still mostly unknown. The only clue we have is this report from January that claims Google's working on several versions of the second-gen Pixel.

Early rumblings suggest the phone will be powered by Qualcomm's latest Snapdragon 835 processor, sport waterproofing, and the cameras will be improved in a big way.

Last month, Google's Krishna Kumar, product lead on the Pixel, asked on the Pixel User Community board for thoughts on the existing Pixel and how it could be improved.

Whatever form the Pixel 2 takes on this year, it'll have to be more than just high-end specs. Samsung and Apple are both expected to launch flagship phones with curved edge-to-edge screens that'll make current phones look downright ugly. If Google wants to compete, it'll need to really bring it with a killer design, too.

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