Alleged Pixel 7 prototype hits eBay months ahead of the phone’s official release

It’s our first look at the Pixel 7 in the wild

A photo of the Pixel 7 prototype. Image: eBay listing

An alleged prototype of Google’s upcoming Pixel 7 smartphone has been posted on eBay, giving us our first look at the new phone in the wild months ahead of its scheduled fall release (via Android guru Mishaal Rahman).

Google just revealed the phone a few weeks ago at Google I/O, and what we can see in the prototype matches up with what Google has already shown. The distinctive camera bar is back, and this year it’s an aluminum bar with cutouts for the cameras. And the alleged prototype’s casing is a deep black that looks just like one of the colors Google showed off at I/O.

One of Google’s official Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro images — including that deep black. Image: Google

The eBay listing includes a few photos of the front, back, and sides of the device, though there’s not much to see that you can’t already spot on Google’s official renders. A photo of the phone turned on shows it has 128GB of storage, which suggests Google will once again be offering a 128GB model as an option for the final phone. A screenshot says that the phone’s model is GVU6C. And one photo indicates that this eBay seller may have gotten their hands on a Pixel 7 Pro as well, as you can catch the reflection of what looks to be the Pixel 7 Pro’s camera bar on the back of the Pixel 7 prototype.

We’ve collected images from the eBay listing into the gallery below, if you want to scrutinize them for yourself:

In messages with The Verge, the seller claims they bought the Pixel 7 prototype from a wholesaler without knowing what it was. The seller says they realized it was a Pixel 7 after doing research and seeing pictures that seemed like the phone they had. They also say they had a Pixel 7 Pro, but sold it already.

The listing has been closed, so you won’t be able to snap up this device for your collection. There were no bids for the prototype, and the starting bid was $450. Google didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment.

This Pixel 7 listing is just the latest major pre-release leak of a Pixel device, which has a history of surprise appearances dating back to the very first phone to carry the name. A prototype of a Pixel Watch was apparently found at a restaurant shortly before the smartwatch’s announcement at I/O. A mention of the Pixel 6A appeared in a coloring book all the way back in January. Somebody filmed what appeared to be a Pixel 6 Pro test unit a few weeks before Google officially launched the device. I could go on.

Unfortunately, we’ll likely be waiting a few months before Google shares more about the Pixel 7. The phones aren’t set to arrive until the fall, and if past years are any indication, we should expect some kind of launch event in October. Until then, these photos from eBay might be our best look at the upcoming phone... well, until it inevitably leaks again.

Alleged Pixel 7 prototype hits eBay months ahead of the phone’s official release