From Pixel 7 to Pixel foldable: Upcoming Pixel cameras may have leaked

We already know the Pixel 7 series is coming later this year, and we’re expecting a quality camera experience once again. There’s no official word on camera hardware though, but a developer has dug into Google’s code and discovered details for the Pixel 7 series and a few more devices.

Developer Kuba Wojciechowski posted a Twitter thread detailing the camera hardware for various upcoming Pixel devices. Starting with the Pixel 7 series, Wojciechowski said the two phones maintain the same 50MP Isocell GN1 main sensor and 12MP IMX381 ultrawide sensor seen on the Pixel 6 phones. However, the Pixel 7 phones apparently share the same 11MP selfie camera (Samsung 3J1). This represents a change from the standard Pixel 6, which stuck with an 8MP sensor while the Pixel 6 Pro got an 11MP sensor.

The developer also says the Pixel 7 Pro is ditching the 48MP Sony IMX586 telephoto sensor seen on the Pixel 6 Pro in favor of Samsung’s 48MP GM1 sensor. This could potentially represent a downgrade for the Pixel 7 Pro as the GM1 was considered by some to be inferior to the IMX586 at the time of their commercial releases in 2019. But Wojciechowski speculates that using more camera sensors from the same manufacturer should offer more consistent image processing results across lenses.

Pixel 7 Ultra or a test device?

Wojciechowski also discovered a new device code-named Lynx, saying it could be a third high-end (and unannounced) Pixel phone in 2022. The developer also suggests this could simply be a device meant for internal testing only. Nevertheless, the Lynx phone is said to be equipped with the 50MP Isocell GN1 camera and an IMX787 sensor for the secondary rear camera. The IMX787 is a 64MP sensor most recently seen on the ZTE Axon 40 Ultra. Otherwise, a 13MP IMX712 sensor is purportedly handling selfies.

Google previously announced the Pixel Tablet back in May, set for a 2023 release. We already know it has a single rear camera and a selfie shooter, but Wojciechowski discovered that the two cameras are 8MP IMX355 cameras. This is the same sensor used as the selfie camera on most Pixels for a few years now.

More Pixel coverage: Why I’m (reluctantly) ditching my Pixel 6 Pro 

Finally, the developer discovered camera details for an upcoming foldable (likely the rumored Pipit or Passport device). We’ve got a 50MP GN1 camera, 12MP IMX363, and 12MP IMX386. Meanwhile, the front camera is that familiar 8MP IMX355 sensor. It’s unclear whether the device has a selfie camera for each screen though.

Either way, it looks like Sony’s GN1 camera could be a fixture on flagship Pixel phones for a while. This wouldn’t be a surprise given Google’s historical insistence on using the same main camera sensor for several generations (i.e. the 12MP IMX363).