Read some of last year’s Pixel 5 reviews and you’ll discover that many people praised the phone’s features. Most of them said that the Pixel 5 is the kind of 5G phone some buyers will appreciate, especially during the economic uncertainties of the pandemic. But reviews pointed out that Google did not go all the way last year. Google did not offer customers the chance of buying the very best Pixel phone it could have made, even if that device would have been a more expensive handset.
The Pixel 5 remains an underwhelming handset in terms of performance, but the Pixel 6 might change all of that. A recent leak from YouTuber Jon Prosser offered us the first look at the radical Pixel 6 design that Google plans for this year. We learned that the Pixel 6 series will include two devices and that the “XL” branding will be replaced by “Pro.” The Pixel 6 Pro name already teases that Google is making the best flagship Android phone it can make this year. Brand new leaks give us an even better look at the two devices, highlighting the various differences between them.
Well-known leaker @OnLeaks obtained CAD renders for both Pixel 6 handsets, partnering with digit.in and 91mobiles to give Pixel fans an early look at the Pixel 6 Pro and Pixel 6, respectively.
The two phones will “speak” the same general design language, featuring the same hole-punch display on the front, which will probably incorporate an under-display fingerprint sensor. On the back, there’s a dual-color theme, similar to what Google did with previous Pixels. But the colors are separated by a massive camera bump that runs across the phone’s width. The fact there’s no fingerprint sensor on the rear is a strong suggestion that the sensor has been moved under the screen.
The renders also suggest the phones will be made of glass, which means they’ll support wireless charging.
But the handsets aren’t identical. The Pixel 6 Pro features a 6.67-inch screen with curved edges, and the rear camera incorporates three distinct sensors. This would be a first for Google, which stuck with dual cameras on its Pixel handsets for a few years. The Pixel 6 Pro’s third sensor is of the periscope variety, the leak says. This indicates Google is looking to improve the optical zoom capabilities of the handset.
The Pixel 6 has a smaller 6.4-inch flat display and a dual-lens camera setup. It’s likely that the two handsets will share the same camera hardware for the two cameras, with the Pro getting the additional telephoto lens.
As always with leaks and renders, there’s no way to verify the authenticity of these designs. But they match Prosser’s renders. Also, let’s not forget that Google can’t keep Pixel secrets. The final designs are bound to leak sooner than later, and we’ll see images of the actual devices in the wild soon enough.
