Dreams of a matte glass back on the Pixel 7 have been shattered
If you were hoping that Google was going to fix the “mistake” of thePixel 6andPixel 6 Proby offering a matte finish for the rear glass rather than a glossy one, you’re out of luck. According toMarques Brownlee(MKBHD),the Pixel 7 serieswill have a glossy finish on its rear glass components again.
Although Android Police wasn’t initially provided with any information regarding the sort of finish on the back of the Pixel 7 series, MKBHD says he was told that the 7 series would have a “soft touch” (read: matte) finish that resembled prior Pixel models. Starting with the Pixel 3, Google tried to emulate the two-tone color of the Pixel 2 with a two-texture finish on the rear panel. Some Pixel 4 colors were also offered with a frosted matte glass back. While the Pixel 5 swapped glass for “bioresin” covered aluminum, the Pixel 6 series again marked a return to glass — this time, fully glossy in all colorways.
While most people putting their new phones in a case likely don’t care, some don’t enjoy the glossy finish as it can be slippery and show fingerprints more easily than a matte finish. Istronglyprefer matte-textured glass on my devices.
Almost all high-end Android phones now follow the same sort of material design as a glass-and-aluminum sandwich with minor variations on that theme. There are a lot of reasons for preciselywhy those specific materials are used, but it means smartphone makers have to differentiate more with design and finishes than substances.
Renders provided by Google for the Pixel 7 yesterday appeared to show a glossy finish based on reflections, and that has now been confirmed by Brownlee, who says this is a contradiction from information provided to him earlier. Last year Brownlee also claimed to be told by Google that the Pixel 6 Pro would have a stainless steel frame, though Google told Android Police in embargo materials and briefings that the phone would use polished aluminum. Whether Google is making mistakes in telling different people different things or not, these sorts of mix-ups have happened previously.
We reached out to Google to doubly confirm, and we’re told that matte glass is off the menu for the Pixel 7.
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