Quick Summary
Google has shown off the existence of Pixel Glow on the rear of its forthcoming Pixel 11 phone.
The new feature appears to be integrated into the camera flash.
Google has now officially started talking about its Made By Google event, with an official teaser on the Google Store that shows off a brief glimpse at Google's new Pixel phones.
The image shows what we assume in the Pixel 11 Pro with its gold frame and camera surround on the rear which points out a difference in design to the previous device. It also shows off a new feature.
The big difference is that the Pixel 10 Pro isn't glass all the way across the camera bar, only the area surrounding the three lenses is glass, with the LED flash and temperature sensor sitting within a metal surround.
Now the whole thing is glass and where we'd expect to see the flash, we are instead treated to something new – the Pixel Glow array on the back of the phone. There's a colourful glow as it dances through Google's favourite red, green, yellow and blue colours that make up its brand identity.
The existence of Pixel Glow was first spotted in Android 17 beta code in relation to laptops as well as phones. It's thought, like Alexa's blue light or Siri's coloured swirls, that this is going to some sort of interactive notification feature.
Indeed, in the original leak of Pixel Glow, the description said it "uses subtle light and colour on the back of your device to inform you of important activity when it’s face down".
So this appearance in Google's official tease suggests that it's very much part of the plan for the Pixel 11. We're assuming that what Google has done is change the flash from white LEDs into coloured LEDs, so it's dual purpose. There's no sign of the temperature sensor, but I'm not sure anyone will miss that.
Exactly what you'll be able to do with Pixel Glow remains to be seen. It's a much more subtle indicator than something like Nothing's Glyph Matrix, but potentially suffers from the same problem: when you place your phone face down to avoid distraction, it's going to be there to distract you.
LED indicators have long been a hallmark of mobile devices. From the first BlackBerry phones with a red flashing indicator through to the flashing sides of the screen – especially on devices with curved edges – phones always seem to want to tell us that something is happening, even when on silent.
That might make sure you don't miss that important message, but whether it does anything else remains to be seen.
