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Pixel 6 case leak reveals a headache for accessory makers

By JC Torres/

Aside from the very first Pixel phone, Google's smartphones haven't really been notable for their designs. People talk about them a lot, that's for sure, but not always in a positive light. Google seems always to play up the shock factor and the Pixel 6 won't be so different. It might actually appeal better to people's aesthetics this time around, but case and accessory makers will have one hell of a time designing around that unorthodox camera bump.

Gone are the days when case makers only needed to leave a cutout for the cameras on smartphones' backs. As those cameras became more sophisticated, so, too, did their designs. Samsung may have kicked off a trend where camera bumps no longer conformed to simple geometric shapes and Google may be eager to follow suit with the Pixel 6.

Based on renders and leaks, the Pixel 6's camera bump is almost trapezoidal, though the top and bottom edges are flat while the sides slope off to a curve. It definitely makes for a unique visual impact, and some are already either loving it or hating it even without official confirmation. Accessory makers might be of the latter bent as well.

Images of a transparent case for the Pixel 6 were shared by Ice universe, revealing how part of the case rises and wraps around the odd camera bump. Of course, once you got the final design finished, it would be easy to have molds made. It's that initial design part that will probably thwart designers of cases, skins, and other accessories that will have to consider that unique design.

The Pixel 6 case also shows the few holes and buttons present around the edges of the phone. Sadly, there is no space for a 3.5mm headphone jack, though the top hole does look a tad too big for a mic. So far, not much has been leaked about the Pixel 6 itself aside from the much-awaited "Whitechapel" processor reportedly designed by Google itself.

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