What you need to know
- A vendor has ostensibly shipped a prototype of the Google Pixel 7 Pro by mistake.
- The leaked photos appear to be legitimate, but the story of how an unreleased unit ended up in someone’s hands is completely questionable.
- Since then, Google has rendered the unit useless, and left it in a loaded state.
During the I/O 2022 event, Google revealed some promotional images for its next flagship series of phones, but realistic images of the device were rare until recently. Thanks to an allegedly negligent seller, we now have our best look yet at real-world images of the Google Pixel 7 Pro.
Here’s the story: A couple of months ago, a Facebook user placed an order for Google Pixel 6 Pro via Facebook Marketplace. Instead, the seller allegedly shipped a prototype of what appears to be a Pixel 7 Pro by mistake. Does this seem reasonable? Believe it at your own risk.
Photos shared by Twitter user (Opens in a new tab) from Ghana. However, the story of how the prototype ended up in the hands of the respective user is quite dubious. Earlier last month, the same set of photos surfaced slash lex (Opens in a new tab). However, the images offer our best look yet at Google’s next contender for the best Android phones in real life.
No matter how the user gets the prototype, it seems legitimate. As you can see in the images below, there is a prototype Google logo on the back. You can also see the entire back panel, consistent with what Google teased last May.
The prototype software also provides some details, confirming that we are indeed looking at the Pixel 7 Pro unit. It’s codenamed “Cubot Cheetah 2” and runs Android 13.
However, Google likely wiped the prototype clean via a remote command shortly after it shipped. According to the leaker, the unit is now stuck in an endless load loop.
This is not the first time that live images of the upcoming phone have surfaced on the internet. A month ago, a Pixel 7 prototype appeared on eBay as well.
The prototype came out a few days after the broken Pixel 7 Pro unit appeared online, spilling grain on the phone’s display and its upcoming chipset. More leaks like this are likely to surface in the lead up to the phone’s official launch.