If that is the Pixel 9a, then Google ruined its most iconic design function

Earlier in August, some real-world photographs confirmed a purported Pixel 9a with a brand new digicam housing. On the time, we have been skeptical of these photographs as a result of, although the flat sides appeared similar to the brand new Pixel 9 collection design language, the rear digicam was such a departure that it simply didn’t look all that believable.

Effectively, lo and behold, famend leaker OnLeaks has launched some renders that affirm this surprising new Pixel 9a design. In them, you see a Pixel 9a that appears, to me, like an affordable iPhone knock-off. I’m sorry, however the flat edges and symmetrical bezels, as trendy as they might appear, don’t deter away from the one function that makes Pixels Pixels — the enduring digicam bar. With out it, this new A collection Pixel can (and can) simply and inevitably get misplaced in a sea of funds Android telephones. Google could be killing its most iconic Pixel design trait and in favor of what, precisely?

Google debuted the digicam bar with the massive Pixel 6 design revamp in 2021 and has improved on it since then with the 6a, 7, 7a, 8, 8a, and Pixel 9 collection. Whereas different Android telephones caught with a aspect digicam bump in a sq. or rectangular form, the Pixel digicam bar stood out. It appeared like a visor on the again of the telephone, it highlighted the digicam element of the Pixel line-up, and it made Pixels distinctive.

The design is a dialog starter, too. I can’t inform you what number of instances individuals have requested me, “Oh, what telephone is that?” as a result of they’d by no means seen this distinctive digicam configuration on different telephones. Even in a case, a Pixel appears like a Pixel and is well recognizable as a result of most circumstances let that digicam bar shine by way of.

During the last three years and 4 generations of Pixels, the digicam visor has grow to be synonymous with the Pixel id. I spot Pixels in individuals’s arms in public due to that digicam bar, identical to I spot iPhones due to the top-left sq. digicam bump and Nothing Telephones due to their lights. Barring foldables, the a whole lot of different Android telephones and types simply mash in a single amorphous form for me. After they’re in circumstances, which is how most individuals carry their telephones, all of them look the identical. A $1000 telephone appears just about the identical as a $200 telephone. Pixels stood out as a result of they didn’t combine in with the lots.

With that in thoughts, I have a look at this leaked Pixel 9a render and assume: What on earth was Google pondering? This telephone appears as amorphous, insipid, and boring as a mid-ranger from 2019. Sure, the flat edges and the symmetrical bezels are a pleasant departure from the Pixel 8a‘s very rounded corners and big chin, however most of that will likely be hidden in a case. And what stays will likely be a small, unremarkable, oval-shaped digicam opening that appears like 1,000,000 different digicam openings on different Android telephones.

Ever because the introduction of the Pixel A collection, Google has made some extent of designing these telephones very equally to their costly counterparts. The Pixel 3a appeared very very like a Pixel 3, the 4a like a 4, the 5a like a 5, the 6a like a 6, the 7a like a 7, and the 8a like an 8. You’ll be able to see all of them within the picture gallery above.

The Pixel 9a would be the first A collection mannequin to eschew this. It received’t appear to be a Pixel 9, save from the corners and edges, perhaps. And I believe that units a priority for your entire Pixel line-up. As if Google was telling us there’s a transparent distinction now between its top-tier telephones and its budget-minded mannequin — one thing it appeared to have labored fairly exhausting to unify because the Pixel 3a — and that cheaper telephones don’t need to look as distinctive because the costlier ones. This jogs my memory of Apple’s strategy with the iPhone 16 fashions: It, too, determined to “downgrade” them to a small digicam bump, leaving the massive sq. bump for the Professional line-up.

Probably, although, this isn’t only a sign of a design distinction however an omen of extra downgrades. Till now, the Pixel A collection has been a superb instance of how you can drop the value and invoice of supplies with out taking away from the core expertise of a flagship telephone. Bang in your buck, you have been at all times sure to get a really high-end Pixel expertise together with your A collection — digicam, efficiency, options — at a fraction of the associated fee. However now, the digicam is flatter, making me marvel if the sensors have been demoted or not. And we all know the telephone may have a downgraded Tensor G4 with final yr’s modem.

This makes me fear that the Pixel 9a is not going to simply be misplaced in a sea of similar-looking Android telephones, however it would additionally lose its core proposition of bringing one of the best of Google at a cheaper price.