This week we learned what the final design of the Pixel 5 and Pixel 4a 5G will be thanks to some leaked renders. But a new photo shows that Google considered going in another direction with its new phones.
A leaked image shows a prototype Google Pixel with a split design. The image from a Vietnamese Facebook page (via 9to5Google) depicts a device with what looks to be a metal material on the top half of the phone and glass on the bottom half, sort of like a reversed version of the original Pixel.
The leaker says this is a Pixel 5, but it could actually be a Pixel 4a 5G prototype. There looks to be a 3.5mm headphone jack on the top of this device and we can see a white power button on the side, and leaks have shown that both of those features are on the Pixel 4a 5G, not the Pixel 5.
This split design is kind of a strange look. It's possible that Google might have experimented with it to help improve the 5G signal strength of the phone, but leaked images of the Pixel 4a 5G have shown that Google ultimately scrapped this look. Instead, we're expecting the Pixel 4a 5G to have a fully polycarbonate shell.
Google will officially reveal the final designs of both the Pixel 5 and Pixel 4a 5G on September 30.
