Google Pixel

Google just trademarked a signature Pixel design trait

Kyle Bradshaw | Mar 15 2024 - 1:22 pm PT

While quite a few things have changed about Pixel phones over the years, one key part of the design has remained the same, and now Google has filed a US trademark for it.

If you set the 2016 Pixel and Pixel XL alongside the 2023 Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro, you’d hardly believe they were part of the same product line. Of course, the same can be said when comparing the first iPhone to the iPhone 15.

Through the many iterations of the shape and size of the phones and especially their camera bumps, the one thing that hasn’t changed about the Pixel is the “G” logo on the rear. Similar to the distinctive Apple logo on the back of iPhones and Macbooks, all Pixel phones, tablets, and laptops since 2016 have featured Google’s stylized “G” on their backsides. Many of Google’s official cases even emblazon that same logo in the same spot, allowing it to shine through.

Unsurprisingly, it seems Google has no intention of moving away from its signature “G” logo on its phones in the foreseeable future, as the company has recently filed to trademark the Pixel’s “G” design in the US. In the included image, you can see the logo placed on a phone resembling the Pixel 8. Notably, the paperwork explicitly notes that the outline depicts a generic device as an example of where the “G” would typically be placed.

Image: Google / USPTO

The mark consists of a stylized G on the back of a mobile device. The broken lines represent the outline of the mobile device, are not a part of the mark nor claimed as a feature of the mark and serve only to indicate the placement of the mark on the goods.

G™ trademark registration is intended to cover the categories of phones, namely, telephones, mobile phones, cellular phones, and smartphones.

It’s noteworthy to us that the trademark solely covers use on smartphones and not other devices like tablets or laptops. While it’s been nearly five years since the last Pixelbook was released (with many cancelations along the way), we’ve already seen early signs of a Pixel Tablet 2 in the works.

Meanwhile, on the phone side, we’ve already seen the first renders of the Pixel 9 and Pixel 9 Pro, both of which are expected to carry the same “G” logo, even as the camera bump once again changes from a bar to a pill shape.