Max Yoshimoto, director of Industrial Design on the Consumer Hardware team at Google. Google
When Apple unveiled its latest phones — the iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 11 Pro Max — the design caused a bit of a stir. Namely, the camera design invoked several people’s trypophobia, which is a fear of clusters of holes. Now that Google’s Pixel 4 has finally been unveiled with a similar camera module, the Pixel phone’s designer shared a few of his thoughts about Apple’s approach.
Unlike previous iPhones, the cameras aren’t neatly packaged into a vertical module on the iPhone 11 Pro models. Because there are now three cameras, they’re placed in a triangular fashion in a squarish, transparent module and no effort has been made to mask them. Instead, they easily stick out from the back of the iPhone, so everyone knows exactly what phone you have.
Speaking to Digital Trends about the Pixel 4’s design process, Max Yoshimoto, director of Industrial Design on the Consumer Hardware team at Google, said he understood what Apple’s designers were trying to put behind the shape of the camera module.
“You know it’s clear what they did as a designer; I understand what they’re trying to put behind that shape,” he said. “Do I think ours is more simple and more iconic? Yeah, I do. I mean I know I’m supposed to say that, but I kind of really believe that too.”
Google’s Pixel 4 has a similar square camera module that houses two cameras — a first for Google — but the company has opted to mask the lenses a little by applying a black filter over the module. This way, your eye focuses on the shape of the “Pixel square,” as Yoshimoto calls it, and it adds strong contrast to the backdrop of the white or orange Pixel models.
It’s not the only spot of contrast on the Pixel 4 — there’s a black band outlining the edges of the phone, which makes the rear design more pronounced, especially on the white and orange versions more so than the black. Google’s using glossy glass on the black Pixel 4, whereas it’s opting for matte glass on the other options. Matte glass is a new addition on the latest iPhone as well, allowing for a smudge-free experience.
Whether the iPhone’s camera design or the Pixel square is more iconic is purely subjective, but these remain the most exciting phones of the year. You can read more about how Google designed the Pixel 4 in our exclusive interview, where the designers talk about the new changes as well as alternatives that could have been.