Capping off months of anticipation Google unveiled its latest Pixel devices, Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro, at its Pixel Fall Launch event on Tuesday, October 19th. The new devices are considerably more powerful than last year’s offering, Pixel 5, and are poised to take the fight to the flagship devices on the market. 

Both devices come with Google’s very own SoC Tensor, offer a completely new design with a gigantic camera hump at the back, and provide IP68 dust and water resistance. The smaller Pixel 6 starts at $599 while its bigger sibling, the Pixel 6 Pro, carries a price tag of $899. 

Even if you are a Pixel 5 or Pixel 5 5G user, upgrading to either Pixel 6 or Pixel 6 Pro seems like a sensible decision. Today, we will try to make the transition easier by telling you whether your old Pixel 5 or Pixel 5 5G case would fit Pixel 6 or 6 Pro.

What are the physical dimensions of Pixel 5 and Pixel 6?

Pixel got a lot of heat for not releasing a flagship device in 2021 and only sticking with an upper-midrange offering. So, this time, Google has decided to turn it around by releasing two top-drawer phones that can take the fight to all the existing flagships in the market, including iPhone 13 Pro and Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra. As expected, physical specifications have also changed.

Google Pixel 5, which was released in October 2020, was 144.7 mm tall, 70.4 mm wide, and 8 mm thick. Its 5G variant, Pixel 5 5G, was released about 10 months later, in August 2021. Its dimensions were 154.9 mm x 73.7 mm x 7.6 mm. 

This year’s Pixel 6 duo are considerably different. The smaller Pixel 6 comes in at 158.6 mm x 74.8 mm x 8.9 mm and is taller, wider, and thicker than Pixel 5 devices. Pixel 6 Pro, on the other hand, is even bigger. It measures 163.9 mm x 75.9 mm x 8.9 mm, making it one of the biggest Pixel devices ever created.  

Does the Pixel 5 case fit Pixel 6?

No, both Pixel 6 and Pixel Pro won’t fit inside a Pixel 5 case or that of Pixel 5A, 4, 4A, 4, or any other phone.

As we have demonstrated in the section above, Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro are not only taller, wider, and thicker than Pixel 5 and Pixel 5 5G but also have a completely different design, along with a redesigned horizontal camera module. That alone is enough to make older cases outdated for Pixel 6 and 6 Pro. So, no, if you were hoping to upgrade to the latest Pixel device without throwing the case away, you are sadly out of luck. 

Why new phones can’t fit in old cases?

With every new device, smartphone manufacturers try to push the boundaries of what is possible. They try to fit bigger displays, more powerful cameras, and beefier batteries in the most attractive form factors possible. Google’s Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro are no exceptions. Thanks to a new horizontal camera layout, bigger screens, and wider frames, both devices have a considerably larger footprint than the previous Pixel devices, which is why Pixel 5 or Pixel 5 5G cases are not compatible with Pixel 6 devices.

As a matter of fact, Google does not have a reputation for creating incremental Pixel phones, meaning no Pixel phone supports the cases of its predecessors. And since Google focuses on creating compelling devices — instead of making phones that fit older cases — we are not hopeful of seeing the trend change anytime soon. 

RELATED