Google bumped off the Nexus smartphone line in 2016 and released instead the Pixel flagship phones. This 2017, the Nexus 7 is rumored to get a replacement too, likely the device said to be codenamed Taimen and tipped to soon roll out as the Pixel XXL.

As the name implies, the Pixel XXL will sport a supersized display that likely will breach the 6-inch mark or an inch short of the Nexus 7 screen real estate. The latest leaks suggested that Taimen is essentially a hybrid device - a tablet with the basic phone functionalities. If the leaked specs so far are to go by, the Pixel XXL is Google's answer to mid-range handsets launched by Android device makers such as the Samsung Galaxy A9 Pro and the Xiaomi Mi Mix.

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The Pixel XXL would serve as the third model on the rumored Pixel device upgrades that Google will deploy later in the year. Per WCCFTech, work on the Pixel 2 2017 devices appears to be already underway as hinted by the Android AOSP commit codes apparently leaked by a Google engineer.

Specifically, reference codes on Walleye have been mentioned by David Zuethen, WCCFTech reported. Walleye is said to be the immediate successor to the regular Pixel phone while the Pixel XL will be followed by Muskie.

Now apart from the leaked AOSP codes, no other details on the Pixel 2017 handsets have been provided. But looking back on Google's hardware release model in the past years, the Pixel 2 handsets are likely to get the best available components such as the Snapdragon 835 chip with the possibility of up to 6GB of RAM support.

However, if the Pixel XXL is indeed the next Nexus 7 tablet, the hardware packed with the jumbo phablet will likely be watered down a bit. Instead of SD 835, the Pixel XXL will make do with the Snapdragon 820 or 821 with the RAM provision probably limited to 4GB. The component downgrade is designed to make the Pixel XXL accessible or affordable, which was a signature of the Nexus 7 tab.

And as the Pixel 2 models are expected to be launched no later than October 2017, there is a chance that Google will use the Nexus 7 release template with the Pixel XXL. That means the supersized tablet could be unveiled immediately after the Google I/O 2017 gathering this May with the actual release date to follow shortly. All devices will run on Android 8.0 Oreo.