A popular tech tipster with a good track record is saying that Google is actually working on three Pixel 3 smartphones, not two as we expected. 

Roland Quandt, of WinFuture, dropped the teaser on his Twitter account  in a post that also claimed the device would be "mid-range" and drop some time after 2018. 

And not only that, Quandt said the device would come powered by the Snapdragon 710 processor that was recently announced by Qualcomm for mid-range devices.

"Google is working on a "mobile" device based on the Snapdragon 710 currently scheduled for launch in the 1st half of 2019. Sounds like this might be the (or one of them) upcoming mid-range Pixel phone," he tweeted.

If his tip turns out to be true, that will be great news for Pixel smartphone lovers who can't afford the pricey premium handsets.

Mid-range devices offer consumers a more affordable price tag but it will be interesting to see which features Google shaves off the premium devices to keep the price down on the mid-range option, if it really does exist. 

Quandt isn't offering any insights into that just yet and claims not to know the release date or anything more about the specs.

"No I do not know if there is one planned for this year. No I do not know any specifics in this device, only the CPU. Hardware dev work in this only just started about a month ago," he tweeted.

Forbes magazine said there was a possibility the device could even release this year, noting that the original Pixel was developed in around six months.

It also notes that the mid-range price tag would move the device closer to the popular Nexus territory and offer a challenge to the budget iPhone that Apple is planning to launch in September.

We'll have to wait and see for now what Google really has up its sleeve.