If Samsung or Apple can’t sustain a market for ultra-thin phones, Google is certainly not entering the space. I find that a real shame, but if the Pixel needs an aspirational design direction, might I suggest the flat Pixel 9a.
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I’ve been dual-wielding the iPhone Air (and Pixel 10 Pro) since launch. Without hyperbole, it feels like the future every time I hold this 5.64 mm device. Specifically, a future where technology is near invisible and weightless. I’m wowed every time I take it out of my pocket and grip the front/back with my thumb and forefinger.
It just feels different from any other piece of technology I interact with on a daily basis. While it’s only been a few weeks, I don’t think I’ll lose the sense of wonder that is a thin slab of glass and an expansive screen. One thing that surprised me as a longtime iPhone 13 mini user is that I don’t mind the big display if other dimensions shrink.
I fully admit that thinness is not something people are really asking for, but I sure hope we get to a point where technology advances and there are no usability tradeoffs with this class of devices.
In an ideal world, something this thin would be running the Pixel version of Android that I prefer. However, even I can say that Google would be better served by focusing its engineering resources elsewhere.
As for where, I’d suggest getting rid of the camera bump on the main series so that all Google phones one day look like the Pixel 9a.
After the iPhone Air, this year’s Pixel mid-ranger is my favorite phone design in a long time. If you haven’t spent any time with the Pixel 9a in day-to-day life, it might look like the most generic brick-style phone.
However, it’s much more than that. The lack of a bump is a trait that bucks modern phone design and feeling. It’s another way to feel like you’re just holding a screen, and that ends up being quite novel.
Your finger laying flush on the rear’s top-right corner instead of being at an angle due to the camera bar just feels clean, and I think a shortcut to the phone feeling thinner than it actually is.
There’s nothing wrong with the camera bar, and Google’s take is the absolute best way to do it compared to Apple’s wobbly plateau where the lenses aren’t arranged in a row. However, it’s still a non-insignificant protrusion that at worst is a magnet for pocket dust.
People were bothered by the 9a not looking like a Pixel given the lack of a distinctive bar/trait. To that, I say what you feel is absolutely more important than the visual brand in day-to-day usage. My continued use of the Pixel 9a officially makes me like it more than the Pixel 8, which was the most mature version of that rounded and comfy design language.
If it wasn’t my job to live with Google’s latest and greatest, which is AI right now, I’d use the Pixel 9a as a daily driver. I chose it over the 9 Pro’s superior camera because I liked the design so much. (As such, it’s disappointing how the current rumors point to a Pixel 10a without the Tensor G5 needed to power the latest on-device features.)
If everyone ends up flocking to the camera bar design (following the iPhone), I think Google’s next look being flat would set it apart.
I’m specifically imagining a phone with no protrusion, or one so minimal that the device does not wobble when you’re using it flat on a desk, which is the case with the 9a today.
Google shouldn’t sacrifice camera quality to get there, but it should do everything it can to make the sensors and lenses as thin as possible and then occupy the remaining space with the phone body/chassis. This hopefully gives more room to the battery, with a flat design that explicitly allows for longer usage being quite a good selling point. It’s the opposite of the iPhone Air in that regard, but another way to feel like you’re just using a piece of glass.
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