Google's likely ditching HTC for LG when it comes to the next Pixel

Are you paying attention, Pixelheads? A small but important change may be coming to your smartphone of choice.

Reports suggest that the next iteration of the Pixel is going to be manufactured by an entirely different company.

The Google Pixel has long been made by Taiwanese-based HTC, but according to a smattering of reports across the Pixelverse, that will likely soon change. And what company will dethrone HTC as the maker of the next Google phone?

That would allegedly be LG.

Follow along as we chase this trail of breadcrumbs to its South Korean terminus. Android Police reported on June 12 that the next generation Pixel XL is likely codenamed "taimen."

What is a taimen, you ask? It's a type of salmon.

Next, we learned via 9to5Google that someone working for LG reported a “USB PD Compliance Failure” in the Android Issue Tracker. But the rabbit hole goes even deeper: A "Googler" then asked that this report be moved to "Android > Partner > External > LGE > Taimen > power."

Ergo, LG is working on the next generation Pixel XL.

Oh, also, an Android Police editor claimed LG is manufacturing the taimen.

See how neatly the pixelated pieces fit together?

The next version of the Pixel XL is expected to be unveiled in the fall of 2017, so true fans are surely already lining up at participating retail stores.