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In 2021, with the launch of Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro, Google debuted a dramatically improved camera. The design process was a labor of love between the design and engineering teams \u2014 one that\u2019s greatly paid off.<\/p>\n
Since its debut on Pixel 6, the camera bar has become a trademark of the lineup \u2014 so much so that today, when you think Pixel, you probably automatically think of that sleek bar spanning the back of the phone. But moving away from the formerly boxy home for Pixel camera sensors and lenses was a big departure for the team and the product, and required a lot of creative collaboration and experimentation to get right. Here\u2019s how the team worked together to design and build the Pixel Camera Bar \u2014 and how it keeps getting better over time.<\/p>\n
The teams building the Pixel 6 lineup had big goals for the new camera. The kind of image quality they wanted to accomplish would require more light, and bigger lenses. But they didn\u2019t want those much bigger lenses to mean a much bigger phone. \u201cIf you look back at Pixel 5 all the sensors were all grouped into this little square \u2014 so when we knew the camera would be greatly improved, we wanted to do something different,\u201d says industrial designer Sangsoo Park. \u201cWe didn\u2019t want the phone to be bigger, and wanted to really maintain everything being contained and streamlined, but also celebrated in a way.\u201d<\/p>\n
Plus, they didn\u2019t want Pixel 6 to have its larger lenses sticking too far out, which would make the phone lie unevenly when placed screen-up. And then there was Pixel 6 Pro. \u201cPixel 6 Pro also included three rear cameras for the first time, too,\u201d says Pixel product manager Stephanie Scott. \u201cWe wanted to bring the capability to zoom both in and out of a scene for more creative control.\u201d<\/p>\n
Both the engineering and design teams were ready to try something new. \u201cWe all wanted to create a camera design that was completely different, something we hadn\u2019t seen,\u201d Sangsoo says. \u201cWe wanted to take the design to a new level.\u201d Taking the Pixel 6 series to a new level meant the designers wanted to package it in something that felt like a step up. That required a lot of work, of course. \u201cIt\u2019s a massive undertaking to rearrange an entire camera system,\u201d Sangsoo says. Designers wanted the new look to be bold, eye-catching and surrounded by the soft surface of the phone\u2019s exterior. \u201cWe created a very precisely sculpted metal chassis to house the new camera system,\u201d says Sangsoo. \u201cThe camera glass organized the new camera system into one single element.\u201d This design added a simple, functional structure \u2014 the team describes it as being \u201cvisually clean.\u201d<\/p>\n
Physically putting it all together wasn\u2019t so simple, though. \u201cOne of the biggest challenges was how many \u2018hidden\u2019 constraints there were,\u201d says Stephanie. \u201cSome of our engineers likened arranging the phone to Tetris \u2014 finding a spot for everything. I think it was more like chess, because the design is so interdependent.\u201d For example, the main and ultra wide cameras couldn\u2019t just go anywhere; they needed to be next to each other for features like portrait mode to work. But in the end, multiple teams worked together through manufacturing challenges to bring the camera to life.<\/p>\n
Oh, and the name? It felt like a natural choice. \u201c\u2018Camera bar\u2019 is a nod to Search bar,\u201d Stephanie says.<\/p>\n
The Pixel Camera Bar has continued to evolve since its initial release. \u201cWe really wanted to mature the camera bar\u2019s design from Pixel 6 to the 7 and bring more emphasis to the camera,\u201d says industrial designer Jaeun Park. They did this by more fluidly integrating the bar with a metal frame. \u201cWe took inspiration from liquid metal surfaces to create this look,\u201d Jaeun says. Pixel 7 and 7 Pro\u2019s metal surface surrounds the cameras with pill and circle shapes, which are also found in Google\u2019s Material You UI, bringing cohesiveness between software and hardware.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n