We’re only a week out from Google I/O 2023, folks, and that means the flood gates have fully opened up. Though leaks have run rampant already surrounding the Pixel Tablet, Pixel Fold, and the Pixel 7a, we’ve only seen press renders leak out for the Pixel Fold and Pixel Tablet at this point. As the Pixel Tablet was largely unveiled at Google’s fall hardware event, the more noteworthy leaks have been for the 7a and Fold up to this point, and with the Fold press renders already being out on the internet for a few days now, it was only a matter of time before the 7a followed suit.
Thanks to noted leaker Roland Quandt over on Twitter, we’re now seeing basically everything we need regarding the Pixel 7a. In previous years, this may have been a blockbuster reveal, but these days I saw this info and simply shrugged a shoulder. With the quality of leaks we now get months ahead of a release, it becomes easier and easier to trust that these early looks at devices are likely spot-on. It’s crazy, but all this info was on full display nearly 6 months ago:
Clearly, in the case of the Pixel 7a, all the early info was definitely correct. Nothing in these press renders is new information, and that’s a fairly odd thing when I step back and think about it for a second. There was a time when press render leaks were the main leaks that we all waited for, and now they almost feel like old news. And that’s not to knock anyone who gets this stuff and shares it; it’s more so an observation of the strange reality we now find ourselves in.
Google needs to follow its own lead
And in some ways, it feels like leak culture might be close to jumping the shark. If devices are accurately revealed by leakers months before they actually arrive, it might be time for manufacturers to embrace this new reality and adjust the way they talk about their wares. As Google did with the Pixel phone lineup last year, perhaps a quick peek at devices a few months in advance takes away some of the awkwardness that is now part of new device launches.
By taking hold of the narrative, companies like Google, Apple or Samsung could leverage some of the leak hype by controlling their own stories a bit. And then when it comes time to launch a device, they wouldn’t have to stand on stage and act as if they don’t know the device they are holding has been outed on the internet for months beforehand.
Again, the way Google handled the Pixel 7 and Pixel Watch launch was perfect, so why not replicate that with everything? It would do a lot to tame leak culture a bit and it would save us all the weirdness of what we’ll experience next week as Google attempts to wow us all with new hardware that every tech-minded person on the internet has already been privy to.
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