Multiple sources warn Pixel 5 leaks are a ruse, device still in the planning phase

by Anam Hamid

Jul 06, 2020, 3:43 PM

Multiple sources warn Pixel 5 leaks are a ruse, device still in the planning phase

Looks like Google CEO Sundar Pichai really meant it when he said hardware is hard. The Pixel 4a hasn't been released yet and the Pixel 5 leaks have been dubious. According to no less than four people who are apparently in the know, most Pixel 5 rumors that have surfaced so far are not rooted in reality.

Noted tipster Steve H.McFly thinks that the renders that popped up recently look very doubtful. This is seconded by YouTuber M. Brandon Lee who doesn't think that the Pixel 5 will basically be a bigger Pixel 4 with a pinhole screen.

It's like they took that grey pixel 4 XL prototype you have and just slapped a 4a XL screen on the front.
— M. Brandon Lee | This is ABOUT HUMAN RIGHTS Today (@thisistechtoday) July 6, 2020

So, what's happening? Well, according to 9to5 Google's Stephen Hall, because of the pandemic, the Pixel 5 hasn't leaked out, and that's why nothing is known about it yet. AndroidPolice's David Ruddock, on the other hand, claims that Google hasn't settled on anything regarding the Pixel 5 and the hardware team is in total chaos right now, something which seems totally likely, as two key executives who were involved with the Pixel lineup since its inception had reportedly left the company earlier.

the total absence of fresh leaks around Pixel 5 in ages, as @hallstephenj points out, is not about Google doing a better job at locking down leaks.

It's because Google has not decided what it is doing yet. I imagine the hardware team is in total chaos right now.
— David "bury me with my golden arm" Ruddock (@RDRv3) July 6, 2020

Per seemingly credible reports, Pixel 5 was expected to feature a midrange 5G integrated chip and a 120Hz screen. It was also tipped to do away with experimental stuff like the Soli Radar chip that backs the Motion Sense feature and go back to basics.

Apparently, everything that was decided earlier is subject to change and if the company is still stuck in the planning phase, we wonder if the device will be released this year at all.

Google is believed to be developing its own smartphone chip in collaboration with Samsung and it could be that instead of launching a lackluster device, it's sitting out the premium race this year and would be back in 2021 with a true flagship powered by an in-house SoC.

The Pixel 4a is supposedly still happening but the alleged release date has changed so many times that we'd rather wait for Google to make an official announcement than add to all the confusion with speculation.

I can say with near-certainty that

— 'pixel 4a'
— new Nest-branded TV dongle running Android TV
— new Nest-branded smart speaker like Sonos One

are all coming at some point this year.

I wouldn't believe anything about 'Pixel 5' out there quite yet. Little clarity as of yet.
— Stephen Hall (@hallstephenj) July 6, 2020