Google’s Pixel 4 renders surface and all anyone can do is stare at that top bezel

This time last month, Google took the surprise (and anticlimactic) move of tweeting out images of the Pixel 4 well ahead of its October launch. Of course, that glimpse just focused on the rear of the device. Not only was the company looking to nip leaks in the bud, they were almost certainly attempting to show off their camera array before Apple got the jump on them.

New 3D renders from OnLeaks may reveal why Google wasn’t in a rush to show off the front of the phone. The 6.25-inch phone appears to maintain the company’s staunch indifference to the war of notch attrition, forgoing the hole-punch camera from what appears to be a sizable top bezel (forehead).

Perhaps there’s something to be said for the company sitting this out while the competition battles things out with all sorts of solutions, from pop-up cameras to jamming them into displays. Besides, the Pixel XL got dinged for its giant notch, so you’re damned if you do, etc.

As always, take these early renders with a grain of salt, but the source has a pretty good track record with this stuff.

Questionable aesthetics aside, the latest batch of rumors do reveal a fair number of features coming to the phone three or so months out. The handset appears to ditch the rear fingerprint sensor, leading to speculation that the tech has been ditched for face unlock or Google is doing fingerprint readings through the screen, perhaps using Qualcomm tech.

The device its said to sport two selfie cameras and perhaps some matter of gesture detection up top (that last bit seems to be largely speculation), which could account for that additional bezel real estate. On the back is a triple camera array, maintaining the company’s standard camera innovations.