The best things about the Google Pixel 9 are its fantastic build and arresting aesthetics. Yes, the camera bump is big, but it’s a signature element, and that two-tone metallic sheen is quite alluring. Now, imagine shrinking the camera island and flattening it so the whole assembly sits flush with the rear glass shell.
It doesn’t sound half-bad, right? Well, wait until you see the idea in the flesh. It looks like a half-baked wannabe that was abandoned midway through the design process. Earlier today, a fan page on Facebook shared alleged images of the upcoming Google Pixel 9a, and I’m almost distressed by what I saw.
A closer look at the rear panel reveals a unique logo reminiscent of the prototype or design candidate models that Google has used in the past. The device, which looks like a preproduction unit or one of the design candidates, has a camera island reminiscent of the Google Pixel 6a, but without the raised horizontal bar stretching across the phone’s rear panel.
Pixel 9a
Source: some random post on Facebook pic.twitter.com/y8jwaQM6Z8— ShrimpApplePro 🍤 ずっと真夜中でいいのに (@VNchocoTaco) August 26, 2024
There’s only a slightly raised pill-shaped outline, supposedly to protect the camera lenses from getting scratched. Some might say it looks clean, but to my eyes, the aesthetics are as generic as it gets. FAbandoning the signature Pixel design formula is sorely amiss here.
The rest of the hardware inspiration seems to have been lifted straight from the Pixel 9 — down to its flat sides, metallic frame, and rounded corners.
Now, should you trust this leak? It originated in a Vietnamese social media group. Earlier this year, leaked images of the Google Pixel 8a retail package also originated in Vietnam months before the phone’s release.
Vietnam is a recurring theme and lends extra credibility to the leak for another reason. According to The New York Times, Google shifted a part of the Pixel smartphone production to the Southeast Asian nation, following in the footsteps of Apple and Microsoft.
I appreciate the major redesign that Google seems to be planning for its next Pixel-A phone. However, the absence of that contrasting Pixel camera bar looks odd, and the naked look of the pill-shaped camera outline looks lazy and downright shoddy.
If the launch timeline of Google’s Pixel 8a is anything to go by, the Pixel 9a won’t be hitting the shelves until May next year. It’s quite plausible that Google may change the design, or maybe what we see is just a dummy unit.
Given the lengthy process of concept sketching, validation, and actual assembly, it seems this leak could be the real deal.
Google Pixel 9a Concept
Based on my personal predictions. pic.twitter.com/vUxV8vgoPt
— Tech God (@tgod34748) August 16, 2024
If that turns out to be true, I certainly am not going anywhere near the phone, even though I absolutely loved the charming looks and fantastic value of the Pixel 8a. Meanwhile, if you need some inspiration, dear Google folks, maybe look at this lovely Pixel 9a concept someone shared on X (above).