It may not be expected to arrive until July 2025 at the earliest, but eight months out from a potential launch, and we have our first look at the likely design of the Pixel 10.
This close look at the external features comes from noted industry leaker Sonny Dickson. In his latest post on X (neé Twitter), he shares pictures of a proposed case for the Pixel 10. These cases will be built around ‘blank’ versions of the handset.
Typically fashioned from aluminium, these blanks are supplied to accessory manufacturers so they can work with hardware that has the correct location of the various buttons, sliders, ports, cameras, and screens without having access to a finished product. As the third-party manufacturers design peripherals, they are provided relatively early in the production phase.
Thanks to the direct angle of the images, the only edge element that can be made out is at the base of the unit with what looks to be the cutout for the USB-C charging and connectivity cable. Given this i where the Pixel range has traditionally located the USB port, this does not come as a surprise.
Neither should it come as a surprise that Google is retaining the camera bar. This arrived with the Pixel 6, and as well as dealing with the physical requirements of a smartphone camera the horizontal bar across the full width of the rear offered a unique and easily recognisable style to the Pixel family. That was tweaked with the Pixel 9, reducing the width of the bar by sculpting curved ends rather than dropping to be flush with the device.
This case suggests that the Pixel 10 will continue this rounded camera bar, in which case it’s safe o assume that the presumptively named Pixel 10 Pro and Pixel 10 Pro XL will follow the same design cue.
The current Pixel 9 family was announced in mid-August 2024. A similar time frame for the Pixel 10 family would not feel out of place. Before then, there’s the small matter of the Pixel 9a, a mid-range variant of the current handsets. Google’s I/O Developer Conference is one potential launch event, which would match the Pixel 8a’s early May release.
Now read more about the Google Pixel, Samsung Galaxy, and OnePlus handsets in Forbes’ weekly Android Circuit news digest…