The breakages are reportedly happening despite phones not being knocked or dropped. Some owners say they’ve discovered the issue after use in cold temperatures.
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Pixel 7 owners are taking to Twitter and Reddit to report that the glass covering the phone’s rear camera is shattering, despite the phone apparently not being knocked or dropped. PhoneArena and Android Police have pulled together photos from numerous owners showing the damage to their handsets, with reports stretching back at least as far as November — just a month after the phone went on general sale.
Photos posted across social media show both $599 Pixel 7 and $899 Pixel 7 Pro phones suffering from the issue. Owners are reporting being quoted anywhere from $200 to over $400 to fix the damage, though others say Google has agreed to conduct repairs under warranty.
There’s no definitive information available as to what’s causing the breakages. But one recurring theme is users saying they discovered the cracked glass after taking the phone from a warm to a cold location. One Twitter user says they found it after going from a 16 degree Celsius room outside where it was -2 degrees, while another owner on Reddit says they found the glass “spontaneously shattered” after taking the phone for a walk in -15 degrees Celsius.
“Was walking the dog during a cold snap last week (below 0F / -15C) and took out my phone to take a picture. Noticed a bunch of glare / reflections, so I went to wipe off the camera lens and the glass was already shattered. I found shards of glass in my pocket,” Redditor u/blazers_n_bowties wrote. “Google Support of course refuses to do anything about it. They say the phone can’t be warrantied because of the ‘physical damage.’”
It’s an unfortunate issue for a pair of handsets that otherwise felt like solid improvements over their predecessors when we reviewed them last October. “The Pixel 7 is a heck of a deal for someone who wants a flagship Android phone without paying flagship prices,” my colleague Allison wrote. “With its extra bit of polish and that telephoto lens, the 7 Pro is a good option for someone who wants the best of what Android offers — without all the excess of the Galaxy S22 Ultra.” There was also no sign of the sluggish fingerprint scanner seen with the Pixel 6.
Google did not immediately respond to The Verge’s request for comment, but we’ll update this article with any response.
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