The Google Pixel 7 may be slightly smaller than last year's model, but is apparently scheduled to have its displays shipping earlier than the Pixel 6, meaning we could see it arrive sooner than October.
Ross Young, CEO of Display Supply Chain Consultants and one of the most accurate smartphone tipsters around, made these claims in a recent tweet, as well as noted some design changes could be coming.
The Google Pixel 6 is a 6.4-inch phone, but Young says that the equivalent Pixel 7 will measure 6.3 inches instead. We'd heard from earlier rumors that the base Pixel 7 could be getting smaller, but it wasn't clear from those if the display would change size. 6.3 inches would still make the Pixel 7 a mid-sized phone, but it could be more comfortable to use for buyers with smaller hands.
However, Young has the Pixel 7 Pro tipped to keep the Pixel 6 Pro's 6.7-inch size. He also mentions in a reply to his first tweet that Google will also keep using LTPO display technology on the Pro model, allowing for a highly scaleable refresh rate once again.
Ross' other claim is that display parts for the Pixel 7 series will start shipping in May, which is a month earlier than they did for the Pixel 6 series last year. This sounds like a good thing since it could mean that Google will be able to reveal and launch the phone earlier than the Pixel 6's October debut.
Alternatively, if Google wants to keep that October launch window, the extra month will give the company and its manufacturing partners more time to fine-tune the display. There were several Pixel 6 problems discovered with both models' hardware at launch, including a flickering display issue and in some extreme cases a second unintended punch-hole in the display. More time between the screens arriving and the phone launching means more opportunities to discover and iron out these problems.
There are only limited rumors available for the Pixel 7 series available right now. However, there is evidence of Google developing a second-gen Tensor chipset to follow up the original Google Tensor chip that was in the Pixel 6, and is also rumored to power the Pixel 6a. This is a widely expected upgrade for the Pixel 7 that could build on the computing strength of the original chip, particularly when it comes to GPU performance.
As we mentioned before, it's over six months until the Pixel 7's expected launch period. If we're lucky though, Google will again hold an extended campaign of teasers for its new flagship phone starting before that. The Pixel 6 series was first shown in August of last year, with Google slowly revealing key specs and other details up to launch day.
