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These Pixel 4 renders give us our best look yet at Google's next flagship

By Joshua Swingle

Updated: Jun 13, 2019, 8:51 AM

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Android Google

Last year's Pixel 3 XL

UPDATE: Google has just confirmed the rear design of the Pixel 4 and Pixel 4 XL. We have updated this article with newer concept renders.

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There’s quite a lot of conflicting Pixel 4 information floating around at the moment making it quite hard to visualize what the flagship duo will look like. But following some seemingly-credible leaks recently, designers Ben Geskin and Jonas Daehnert have put together some neat concept renders that show what the Pixel 4 and Pixel 4 XL could look like.

A rather large 'forehead' with lots of tech inside

Kicking things off with a look at the front of these two smartphones, recent reports suggest the devices will adopt razor-thin side bezels and an impressively-thin chin. Towards the top, though, Google is said to be embracing a rather large ‘forehead’ because it has plans to include quite a bit of technology.

If the renders turn out to be accurate, the Pixel 4 series will feature a primary front-facing camera towards the right side of the bezel in addition to a wide-angle alternative, much like last year’s Pixel 3. In the middle there will once again be an in-ear speaker and on the right side should sit three very important sensors.

From the look of things, Google is completely ditching the fingerprint scanner this year in favor of a 3D facial recognition system that’ll rival Apple’s Face ID. A detailed analysis of what Google has planned is yet to be released, but the feature will presumably rely on an infrared camera, flood illuminator, and dot projector much like the iPhone’s alternative.

Google Pixel 4 concept render courtesy of Ben Geskin

Although not visible, the upper bezel should also be home to a proximity sensor and an ambient light sensor, the latter of which may permit a new automatic white balance adjustment feature similar to Apple’s True Tone and Samsung’s Adaptive Display.

A diamond-like camera layout inside a square bump

Moving over to the rear, today's concept renders embrace the square-shaped camera module that is now said to be a part of the flagship devices. However, unlike Steve Hemmerstoffer’s renders that didn’t show the cameras themselves, these ones envision a new diamond-like layout that’s based on the most recent information.

The bottom of the camera area, as clearly shown, is set to house the company’s usual dual-LED flash. This should be accompanied by a small microphone hole that’s barely noticeable and two cameras slightly higher up that sit on either side of the module.

Per yesterday’s information, one of these will be Google’s usual primary sensor while another will be a secondary camera that’ll presumably be paired with either a telephoto or super-wide-angle lens. Like many other flagship smartphones these days, Google is also reportedly planning a third sensor that, in this case, will sit towards the top of the setup. But unlike any other smartphone before, the Pixel 4 series is set to adopt an all-new ‘spectral sensor.’

The benefits of this technology remain unclear at the moment but these sensors are typically capable of registering information that isn’t visible to the human eye such as x-rays, ultraviolet, and infrared. In practice, all of this could mean improved low-light shots thanks to the added data in conditions where standard RGB sensors can’t see much. Additionally, spectral sensors are often capable of capturing depth data for each pixel and differentiating materials, meaning that better portrait images with a more natural and accurate blur could be on the cards.