It’s mid-February, but the first rumors detailing Google’s 2022 flagship phone are already here. After a Pixel 7 leak offered the first notable details for the upcoming handsets, we now have leaked schematics showing the purported design changes planned for the next-gen series. It might seem early, but new Pixel rumors do tend to drop early in the year, just like new iPhone rumors. The difference is that the Pixel leaks are often highly accurate, as Google struggles to keep secrets.
That said, there’s no way to verify this first Pixel 7 design leak, so you should treat it as an unconfirmed rumor. However, the phone you’ll see in the following schematics certainly looks like what you’d expect from a Pixel 6 successor.
The legacy of the Pixel 6
The Pixel 6 represented a massive shift in Google’s strategy. The company decided to return to making flagships after the disappointment of the Pixel 5.
The Pixel 6 received a significant design makeover, with Google opting for an original look to give the phone its own identity. The company also started promoting the phone heavily. Ads came out well before the Pixel 6 launch event. And Google had its first retail store ready for the Pixel 6 release.
Aside from the unique design, the Pixel 6 is also the first Google phone to ship with a Tensor System-on-Chip. That’s Google’s custom processor, a successor of which will power the Pixel 7. The Pixel 6 also introduced a triple-lens camera for the Pro model. And both phones came with hole-punch displays featuring in-screen fingerprint sensors.
That’s all to say we wouldn’t expect major Pixel 7 design changes this year. If anything, Google will want to preserve the newfound Pixel identity by refining last year’s design. And if the new Pixel 7 leak is accurate, that’s precisely what Google is doing.
The images you see in this post come from ChooseBestTech, which partnered with @xleaks7 to publish the leaked renders. We’re looking at CAD renders for the Pixel 7 that indicate Google will keep the Pixel 6 design in place for one more year.
The first Pixel 7 design leak
The horizontal camera module is here to stay, complete with the massive bump. Since the handset in the renders has two rear cameras, it can only be the Pixel 7.
What’s interesting about the bump is that it seems to blend into the frame. It’s unclear if it’s made of metal, like the chassis. But the source speculates that it might have the same color as the frame. The two camera lenses seem to pierce through the bump’s material.
Comparatively, the Pixel 6 camera modules are black and made of glass.
Since we’ll inevitably compare the Pixel 7 to the Pixel 6 design, there’s one more interesting detail in this leak. We have the actual dimensions of the Pixel 7: 155.6 x 73.1 x 8.7 mm. The thickness doesn’t account for the camera bump — you get to 11.5 mm when you add it in. But the dimensions indicate the Pixel 7 will be slightly more compact than its predecessor, which measures 158.6 x 74.8 x 8.9 mm.
Finally, the Pixel 7 CAD design files indicate the phone will have a 5G antenna at the top. As for the screen, expect it to feature a hole-punch camera and an under-display fingerprint sensor. Google is already studying technology that will let it place the camera under the screen, but there’s no saying when it’ll be ready.
