As you may know, Sundar Pichai & Co at Google I/O (surprisingly) unpacked the Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro about five months before their official release. While we don’t have any confirmed tech details on the Pixel 7 series yet, it’s certain that the new Pixels will take over last year’s Pixel 6 and bring back the “camera bar” design, which is slowly but steadily becoming Google’s most recognized visual image. is becoming . characteristic. But of course, those of you who like their tech conspiracy theories stretchedwould certainly have noticed something familiar about the design of the Pixel 7 Pro’s camera bar, which houses three camera sensors.
It turns out that the back of the Pixel 7 Pro now looks like a blown-out version of the front of the unannounced iPhone 14 Pro, which will have an i-shaped cutout for the Face ID and camera sensors. Isn’t that ironic?
So let’s take a quick look at why the Google Pixel 7 Pro’s rear camera design looks like this; why the iPhone 14 Pro’s screen cutout will be suspiciously similar, and of course answer the latest (and crucial!) conspiracy theory in the world of smartphone technology…
Did Google copy Apple or did Apple copy Google?
Why the iPhone 14 Pro and Pixel 7 Pro designs are way more important than you thought
For starters, you might be wondering why we’re discussing this little detail, regarding the design of the iPhone 14 Pro and Pixel 7 Pro, and so I’ll start by explaining why there’s a lot more to it than you. thought…
The front of your phone should also be recognizable, and Apple is betting on that
Let’s start with Apple’s iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max and their rumored i-shaped dual punch-hole display cutout.
As you know, Apple likes to do things otherwise† That’s why the company chose the notch on iPhones for five years. It is beautiful? Not really. Does it make the iPhone recognizable from a mile away? Secure. For people with impeccable eyesight.
In 2017, the notch made iPhone X and all subsequent models stand out from the crowd of Android phones that would soon follow the punch-hole trend officially started by Honor and the Honor View 20.
Did Apple’s plan work? Absolute. In fact, I dare say that the iPhone is the only recognizable phone when viewed from the front. This doesn’t mean it looks better than any other device. But you can definitely tell it’s an iPhone, and that’s what matters to Apple.
Cupertino likes devices that market themselves. The old iPhone design (still seen on the iPhone SE) is just as stubbornly and lingered for much longer than it needed to, but there was no other phone with such thick bezels and the iconic Touch ID home button, so it worked for Apple. Respectively, the notch was Apple’s way of continuing the tradition of unique looking iPhones.
Of course, let’s not forget that it also includes a complex array of Face ID sensors, in addition to a 12MP selfie camera that shoots the best 4K selfie videos in the game. So it’s definitely not just for looks…
That said, Apple could have just tucked Touch ID behind the power button and called it a day, giving the iPhone X a smaller cutout for a basic selfie shooter. By failing to do so, Tim Cook & Co deliberately chose to have a huge notch with Face ID, which will likely be around for at least another 2-3 years on future iPhones.
The rear camera design has been changed to a second logo for Apple and Google
Phones are getting ridiculously expensive, which means people keep them in cases, which in turn inspires manufacturers to find alternative ways of branding. It’s that simple!
The camera system on mid-range and flagship phones gets the most attention from phone makers and buyers alike anyway, so why not focus on it? Literally and figuratively.
Apple’s iconic camera triangle, started by the iPhone 11 series, and Google’s new camera bar are about as iconic as it gets. In fact, I’d argue that Google’s design will help the company’s flagships grow into the most recognizable line of phones in the future.
The camera bump design on iPhone 14 Pro serves a functional purpose; Pixel 7 Pro previously corrects wrong camera order from Google
And if you ever thought the camera bump on a phone was just for the sake of aesthetics, think twice!
For starters, if the camera bump is designed symmetrically, it will hold your phone flat when placed on a table. A minor detail, but I can name a few people on our team who find wobbly phones quite annoying. My Pixel 6 Pro just happens to be the best phone for those that do. Modest bragging.
The placement of the camera helps with zooming in and out…
Right! I’ve written about that in the past, but one of the reasons iPhones can zoom more smoothly than most other phones on the market is because the triangular camera design puts all three lenses on the Pro iPhones within the same physical distance of each other. . † So when switching from the ultra-wide to the wide-angle and zoom cameras, you get pretty much the same shift in your field of view, which is inevitable anyway.
Ask Google! For some reason, the search engine giant decided it was a good idea to place the Pixel 6 Pro’s wide lens on the far left side of the camera bar. The ultra-wide angle camera is in the middle, and then we have the 4x periscope zoom on the far right. This results in abrupt jumps in the field of view when switching between lenses. How do we know this was a mistake? Well, I wrote a bit about it (no modest boasting), and Google has now tackled it! You better believe it!
The Pixel 7 Pro has its three cameras positioned in the correct order: ultra wide angle – wide angle – zoom. The wide camera is your default camera, constantly switching back and forth between the other two – left and right, so it makes sense for it to be in the middle. It’s the ideal scenario if you have a radius and not a triangle for your camera design.
iPhone 14 Pro and Pixel 7 Pro design: Did Google copy Apple or did Apple copy Google?
And we get to the question that some Google and Apple fanatics have been asking on Twitter and… Okay, especially Twitter. Did Google copy Apple’s i-shaped double punch or did Apple copy Google’s i-shaped camera bar? Or is it all coincidence?
For starters, as for the iPhone 14 Pro series, the perforated design is rumored to date back to the summer of 2021, when the trusty ShrimpApplePro leak revealed a Huawei Mate 40 Pro display bezel (which has a similarly sized cutout). for its Face ID sensors and selfie shooter), and said this design would be coming to iPhone 14. For the record, yes, that all happened well before the iPhone 13 was announced.
Furthermore, we saw numerous leaked renders of the iPhone 14 Pro long before Google officially announced the Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro. So that debunks the theory that Apple copied the Pixel 7 Pro’s camera bar design nothing but because Google’s phones were officially announced before the iPhone 14 Pro.
So that means Google copied Apple?
Not really. While it’s certainly possible that Google’s Pixel 7 Pro was designed later than the iPhone 14 Pro, we’re not sure factI
And also, what tangible value is there in the i-shaped camera cutout on the back of the Pixel 7 Pro? No. Sure, it looks nice, but the most important thing is that it looks just different enough of the Pixel 6 Pro’s camera bar to allow owners of the Google 2021 flagship to upgrade. It’s basically what Samsung did with the Galaxy S21 Ultra – S22 Ultra camera designs. The hardware is largely the same, but it looks different.
Ultimately, I think both designs will achieve exactly what they set out to achieve. Apple continues its legacy of “weird” but super-recognizable iPhones by replacing the notch with an i-shaped cutout (some think the “i” is for “iPhone”). And Google continues to build its new design language and brand identity (some will say the “i” in the camera bar is for “Pixel”).
As I’ve always said, functional design is far more important than aesthetics, and I’m happy to report that Apple’s odd crop will still feature the same cutting-edge Face ID technology and a brand new selfie camera with autofocus and a larger sensor for better low-light image quality.
On the other hand, Google’s camera visor not only continues the trend of badass-looking Google phones, but it also prevents the Pixel from wobbling when placed on a flat surface and now has the cameras in the correct order, which is a tangible functional improvement.
Win win. Hey, maybe the “i” stands for “win”? I’m on fire. Wait…is it for “fire”?