Google Pixel 5 XL prototype leaked, but we really hope it’s fake

The Pixel 5 XL could look quite different to the Pixel 4 XL, above (Image credit: Future)

We’re not expecting the Google Pixel 5 range to land until October – that’s around 8 months away at the time of writing, yet a high-quality image of the possible Pixel 5 XL design has already leaked.

Shared by Jon Prosser on his Front Page Tech YouTube show, the image is apparently one of three prototypes, so even assuming it is genuine there’s a very high chance this design won’t be used, and we hope it isn’t.

It has a large camera block in the top center of the back, which looks a whole lot like a face and generally seems unnecessarily big. That’s our main issue with the design.

Otherwise it looks fairly standard, with a plain back, and a contrasting power button, like the Google Pixel 4. The texture on the rear is apparently also similar to previous models, and is described as a “soft, matte glass back”.

You can see that the camera is triple-lens, and apparently the bottom lens is a wide-angle one – which is something previous models lacked. We’d assume the other two lenses are the standard/main and a telephoto ones.

The front of the phone isn’t shown, because apparently this is less finalized, but is currently said to be similar to the Pixel 4 range, just with a slightly smaller bezel at the top, which would be another disappointment - we don't want any bezel at all.

As for the other two prototypes, they sound closer to the Google Pixel 4 range, with a more conventional square camera block on the rear.

As ever we’d take all of this with a pinch of salt, but Prosser claims that his source is “extremely reliable” and that he’s 99.9% sure the image shown is of a Pixel 5 XL prototype.

Apparently Google will be deciding which design to go with in the next couple of months, so if you hate this one – or love it for that matter – it could be worth posting about it, because Google might be listening.

Via OnLeaks

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James is a freelance phones, tablets and wearables writer and sub-editor at TechRadar. He has a love for everything ‘smart’, from watches to lights, and can often be found arguing with AI assistants or drowning in the latest apps. James also contributes to 3G.co.uk, 4G.co.uk and 5G.co.uk and has written for T3, Digital Camera World, Clarity Media and others, with work on the web, in print and on TV.

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