Google’s decision to tease its new Pixel 4 and Pixel 4 XL design months ahead of the phones’ official announcement was bizarre, to say the least. Perhaps part of the idea behind the move was to diminish interest in any further Pixel 4 leaks since the company’s new flagship smartphone design would be a matter of record. Well, if that was the intention then Google failed miserably because the leaks are still flowing, and Android fans are still very interested in them. After all, Google’s official Pixel 4 teaser did little more than confirm the design of the rear camera array that we first saw leaked in renders based on stolen Pixel 4 design files. Google’s shadowy teaser also didn’t give us a look at the front of the phone, so all we have to go on are the various rumors and reports we’ve seen thus far.
The most recent information out there suggests that the Pixel 4 and Pixel 4 XL will feature a slightly better screen-to-body ratio than earlier Pixel phones, but they still won’t even come close to approaching other top flagship phones out there. According to rumors, the new Google phones will still have pretty thick bezels both above and below the screen, at least by today’s standards. Of course, it’s also possible that Google could use a notch design like the one we currently see on the Pixel 3 XL, and a new set of leaked renders suggest that’s exactly what the company decided to do with its upcoming next-generation Pixel smartphones.
After Apple introduced its wide notch on the iPhone X in 2017, just about every Android phone maker on the planet rushed to steal the design. It was embarrassing, to say the least. Fast-forward to 2019, however, and Apple still plans to use the same old design on its upcoming iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Max, and iPhone 11R (or whatever Apple ends up calling them). Meanwhile, Android phone makers have long since moved on, having developed new ways to achieve an even better all-screen design. Apple can’t dump the old notch design so easily since it has the TrueDepth camera system to worry about, but Android phones don’t have the same sophisticated 3D face recognition system — they copied the iPhone X’s notch design solely for the sake of copying Apple.
The same can be said of Google, which used Apple’s notch on its Pixel 3 XL phablet last year. Rumor has it the company will go back to a traditional bezel above the screen on the Pixel 4 and Pixel 4 XL, but newly leaked renders suggest otherwise. They were posted to leak aggregator Slashleaks by an anonymous user, and they show multiple views of a very different Pixel design.
Here are a few renders of the Pixel 4 from this new leak on Slashleaks:
And here are some renders of the Pixel 4 XL, also from Slashleaks:
The original source of these renders isn’t specified, but it obviously appears to be a third-party accessory maker since clear cases are featured heavily in the images. It’s unclear if the case maker in question has any inside information about the front design of the Pixel 4 and Pixel 4 XL, or if it’s just riffing based on Google’s current Pixel 3 XL design. We’ll likely find out which is the case soon enough since Pixel 4 leaks will almost certainly continue to flow consistently in the coming weeks and months. It’s only a matter of time before a reliable source spills the beans on Google’s new display design for its upcoming Pixels, and we might even start seeing leaked photos of the actual Pixel 4 and Pixel 4 XL handsets soon. Google’s actual Pixel 4 release, meanwhile, isn’t expected until sometime in October.
