- Google has just received a design patent that indicates that a Pixel phone of the future may feature a design never seen on the iPhone or Galaxy S.
- Google may be working on camera technology on display, like many other players in the industry. This should be an exciting prospect for iPhone users who expect a similar design from Apple.
- What sets Google’s effort apart from others is the computer photography algorithms that have turned the Pixel into one of the best camera phones on the market.
I have explained many times why it is unlikely to switch from iPhone to Android. I’m very ingrained in the Apple ecosystem, and everything “just * works”. Yes, there will be hiccups here and there, but the iPhone-Mac combination is unbeatable. It is not just Apple hardware. It is the Apple hardware and software for these products and the way they are interconnected. Not to mention all the premium apps for iPhone and / or Mac that I would have to leave behind. Add other elements to the mix, if you have them, like Apple Watch, AirPods, iPad and Apple TV, and switching to Android will be even more difficult.
With all this in mind, iPhone, iOS, Mac and macOS cannot evolve and remain competitive without any pressure from Google and Microsoft. The better the hardware on Android and Windows, and the more sophisticated and reliable Android and Windows 10 become, the better the Apple experience will have to be. That’s why I love this Pixel innovation and I hope Google finds a way to make it happen on Pixel 6 or 7.
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Google’s Pixel was never the variant of the iPhone’s Android ecosystem. Google has been a fast follower in most cases, looking for inspiration in Cupertino. The design and features of the iPhone have been adapted year after year, although Google criticized them first. Removing the headphone connector and rear cameras with multiple lenses are some examples. Unfortunately, the result was not a phone as good as the iPhone. Google encountered hardware or software problems with each generation of Pixel or both. Some were correctable. Some led to collective action agreements.
The Pixel 5 is the culmination of disappointments. Many praise the affordable price and state-of-the-art features, but the Pixel 5 is not the type of phone it could have been. It is not a flagship that can put any real pressure on Apple.
This brings us to the following images of a future Pixel of Christmas. They are from a design patent that Google registered in mid-March 2019 with the USPTO. The agency just granted the patent to the Pixel maker in early December.
What the images show is a device that looks a lot like the current Pixel 5. It features an entire screen, a much better screen design choice than the terrible Pixel 4. At the back, we have a camera system dual lens, but it’s not the back panel that interests me.
Absent from the screen is a punctured camera. This is the design that Google used for the Pixel 5 and Pixel 4a this year. The implication seems to be that Google is already working on selfie camera technology under the screen. The design shows the top speaker and the placement of the buttons, so it should definitely feature the punch camera.
“It’s not a surprise”, smartphone fans will say, considering that all the main players in the business are developing one. In fact, ZTE is the first device supplier to launch a device with a camera under the screen. It is not widely available and is not a flagship, but it is the first in the world.
The problem with the cameras under the screen is the quality of the photos and videos of selfies. Smartphone makers need to find a way for light to reach the sensor through the screen that covers the camera. They need algorithms that can compensate for the problems that arise and ensure that the selfie experience is not inferior. After all, selfies are still one thing.
You may have already figured out why this Pixel patent is exciting. If Google wants to launch a Pixel phone with a camera under the screen, then Google is also developing its own algorithms for this technology. And Google knows how to make computer photography work. Pixel phones may have had a number of problems, but Google has turned them into amazing cameras, rivaling and outperforming other Androids and the iPhone. The Night Vision mode was jaw-dropping and forced everyone else to come up with an answer.
Google could do the same thing with camera algorithms under the screen and force everyone to adapt quickly. It is not that companies, including Apple and Samsung, are not looking at the same technology. But it’s one thing to have only one ZTE phone and Xiaomi and Oppo concepts featuring the technology. It’s quite another to make Google launch a Pixel 6 or 7 with a camera under the screen.
That said, there is no guarantee that Google will actually be more successful than its rivals or that it will launch a Pixel phone with a perfect screen design this year. Still, the fact that he filed the patent last year shows that he is studying the technology.
Apple should keep the iPhone’s groove in place for at least a year. Putting the camera under the screen is one thing. Doing the same thing with Face ID is quite another. But Apple is certainly looking to offer buyers the same perfect iPhone for all screens. We have seen many Apple patents and rumors over the years to support this.
Chris Smith started writing about gadgets as a hobby and, before he knew it, was sharing his views on technology with readers around the world. Whenever he’s not writing about gadgets, he fails miserably to stay away from them, although he tries desperately. But this is not necessarily a bad thing.