With the Pixel 6 smartphones, Google introduced a new design that stands out overall from other smartphone manufacturers and will also be retained with the Pixel 7 smartphones. What was still a talking point during the first leaks was a clever decision that is unlikely to require a design change even with future technologies.
The design of the Pixel 6 smartphones is not really exceptional, but it has introduced an element that is only found in a few other manufacturers in this form: In the upper third of the smartphones there is a camera bar that stretches over the entire width of the device and is rounded off to the side. With the first leaks in spring 2021, this was still a topic of conversation, but that died down very quickly. If you compare it to the backs of other devices, it’s an elegant solution.
But this solution is not only elegant, but it also ensures a more or less secure position on the back without the device tilting too much in one direction. This design will be continued with the Pixel 7 smartphones and it can be assumed that the Pixel 8, Pixel 9, and perhaps other generations will also use this feature. Because that is exactly what it has become: a design feature.
With this element, Google has left open the possibility of accommodating further camera sensors in the future, because even with the Pro model there is still room for further elements. This can be implemented without having to change the design so that this element can remain a distinguishing feature in the future.
They did it quite cleverly: Not only can the design be left as it is, but the technical architecture has probably also been adapted so that everything does not have to be thrown overboard with a new sensor. Of course, camera technology has a certain amount of lead time, but nobody can say today what will be possible in three years and which technologies may have gone wrong. The pixel smartphones can handle this flexibly.
Google’s designers only have a “problem” when the camera sensors can suddenly be miraculously shrunk and no longer have to protrude from the housing. But that is not foreseeable for the next few years and even if it should be the case, you can still “paint” this stripe or at least make it much flatter. From my point of view, there is currently hardly a better signature design that interested users can clearly associate with a smartphone brand.
And with that, the Pixel 6 smartphones, already rated as a reboot of the series in 2021, will also be remembered as the generation that introduced this design in the longer term.