Google Pixel 6 is likely to use a centered hole camera

Over the weekend, Google released an update of their Pixel series ‘Camera app’, in which our team discovered some interesting things about the likely Pixel 6 and Pixel 5a, especially about the leading cameras used on the two phones word.

About APK Insight: In this “APK Insight” position, we have decompiled the latest version of an application that Google has uploaded to the Play Store. When we decompose these files (called APKs, in the case of Android apps), we can see different code rules that indicate possible future features. Please keep in mind that Google may or may not send these features, and that our interpretation of what they are may be imperfect. We will try to enable those who are closer to finishing to show you what they will look like in the event that they are shipped. Read on with that in mind.

Pixel 5a cameras

The next phone on Google is presumably the Pixel 5a, the version of which leaked and pointed to a phone almost identical to the Pixel 4a 5G. Specifically, the Pixel 5a will reportedly have almost exactly the same shape and size and have the same hole in the screen and the rear camera shape.

In the Google Camera app, we found code related to how the app handles the location of the hole punch for the front camera on different Pixel devices. From what we can see, the hole of the Pixel 5a should be a bit smaller than what is seen today on other Pixel phones – a radius of 55 pixels instead of 65 pixels. As the Pixel 4a starts with the trend of slim edges and a high screen-to-body ratio for the Pixel series, the Pixel 5a’s smaller hole punch should further increase this trend.

Pixel 6 cameras

Meanwhile, further into the future, we currently expect Google to release a handful of devices this fall, the code of which leaked in the middle of last year. We have now confirmed that two of these codenames, “Oriole” and “Raven”, are definitely included in the code as of Google Camera 8.2, albeit in an encrypted manner.

Along with the codename confirmations, we found some interesting things about the device codenamed Oriole, which we are currently likely to be the Pixel 6. that this supposed Pixel 6 will actually move the front camera from the top left corner to the top center of the screen. Similar to the Pixel 5a, the hole radius for the alleged Pixel 6’s front camera will also decrease a bit.

This slider places the time and notification indicators on the far left of the screen, which reflects the position of the battery indicator. To see what it might look like, we took a simple mockup screenshot of where the hole punch on this supposed Pixel 6 should go and how it affects the status bar.

Along with the move, this potential Pixel 6 gives the front camera an upgrade, with support for 4K video recording. On today’s Pixel 5, the rear camera offers a switch between 1080p and 4K video recording, while the only setting for the front of the video is selfie lighting, which closes recordings at 1080p / 30fps. We found in the Google Camera app code that this restriction is removed, which enables the supposed Pixel 6 to record selfie videos in 4K. It is unknown whether the selfie video frame rate will also get a boost with this change.

For now, we have not found any other significant details about the specifications of Pixel 5a or Pixel 6 in the Google Camera app, but our team continues to search for more information.

Dylan Roussel contributed to this article

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