Google Pixel 7 models
During Google I/O, Google confirmed that we'll see a Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro in the fall. Most people had assumed just those two models make up the Pixel 7 lineup. However, there are hints that a third Pixel 7 version exists.
9to5Google found code that refers to a possible third Pixel 7 model. Like the Pixel 6 Pro (and presumably the Pixel 7 Pro), this phone has a 120Hz display, but its listed height and width are slightly larger than Google's existing Pro model. Since the Pixel 7 Pro is thought to have the same 6.7-inch screen as the current Pixel 6 Pro, this would be a Pixel with a slightly larger screen.
How likely is this so-called Pixel 7 Ultra? Until we see further evidence that it exists, we'd continue to assume that just two models are on tap for the fall.
Google Pixel 7 design
Here's where we have the strongest sense of what to expect from the Pixel 7, thanks to that on-stage preview at Google I/O. As noted, Google is keeping the horizontal camera bar introduced with the Pixel 6, but it's making some tweaks. The main camera and ultrawide camera are now bunched together; on the Pixel 7 Pro, there's a separate lens, which we assume is the telephoto shooter.
It's quite a different look from the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro and their more subdued lens design. The Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro have really put the cameras on full blast. Anyone looking at you holding up your phone will see the lenses spread across that aluminum bar.
I'm not sold on this, but I still haven't come around on the new Pixel design. I like my Pixel 6 Pro's hidden camera lenses, and I don't know if I will ever like the Pixel 7's new focus. The camera bar is still a bit awkward looking in my opinion, and the new flashy aluminum bar isn't appealing on first glance. I will have to get the phones in-hand before I draw final conclusions, however.
Another potential design change is that Google could add an under-display selfie camera to the next-gen Pixel. That's based on a patent filed by Google which takes the basic under-display selfie camera technology, currently found on select phones like the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 or the ZTE Axon 30, and improves it by using a mirror system to show either the camera or a portion of display as required.
This is only a patent, and so it could still be some years away from being ready to use, if it materializes at all. However it would make for a great centerpiece feature for a future Pixel.
For colors, the base Pixel 7 has been rumored to come in black, white, coral and blue. No leaks have detailed which colors the Pixel 7 Pro will be offered in, but if the render above is anything to go by, a sky blue option would suit the Pro phone nicely.
Redditor AMC20_(opens in new tab) supposedly bought a prototype Pixel 7 Pro on accident. They said the phone worked fine for about three weeks until it factory reset itself. The theory is that Google did so remotely. AMC20_ says that a screen protector for the Pixel 6 Pro worked on the unit they purchased — the fingerprint sensor even lined up right.
That leads us to believe that the Pixel 7 Pro will be physically identical to the Pixel 6 Pro. From the measurements to the curve of the screen, it seems like the biggest changes will be on the back of the device with the updated camera bar and camera cutout design.
