Google Pixel 6 and 6 Pro users are not impressed with Google’s first-rate covers of $ 30. Looking at Reddit and reviews on Amazon, there are dozens of people complaining about the transparent plastic that shows extreme yellowing, distortion or just does not fit the phone from the factory. Some users have posted some gnarled pictures of their cases, saying they deteriorated in anywhere from several months to just two or three weeks. An editor here at The edge says their case is also starting to look “a little dingy.”
Although there are plenty of positive reviews of the cases, it is hard to ignore the number of complaints. It also seems unlikely that this is only from a bad group of cases. There’s a Reddit thread complaining about the issue from January, and one with almost the same complaints from just a few hours ago. Some reviews also mention that the cases are starting to change shape around the buttons or the bottom, which would personally make me worry about its ability to protect my phone. Google did not immediately respond The edge‘s request for comment on whether there were any known issues.
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Anyone who has bought a transparent phone cover for $ 10 is likely to very familiar with this kind of rapid discoloration. For the most part, it’s just a fact with translucent plastic. Even many of the negative reviews admit that they expected the discoloration to happen at some point; they just did not expect it to happen within a matter of weeks or months, nor did they expect it to look quite as rough as it did. Personally, I do not think I have seen it so bad since the early 2010s.
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Again, however, this is not a good trade without a name; it is one that is sold and branded by the same company that makes the phones. There is also the added sting that this is a problem that Google has solved in the past. A couple of my colleagues had fond memories of the fabric covers the company made for phones like the Pixel 4A and Pixel 5, as did a couple of Reddit commentators (although there were quite a few complaints, too). Obviously, they did not have the same yellowing problem, and if they got dirty, you could clean them relatively easily.
Thankfully, there are plenty of third-party Pixel cases these days, but it’s a little disappointing that it’s such a gamble to get the official one. At least those reports started to show up Before Pixel 6A was released; if Google offers similar cases for its more budget-conscious phone, it may be best to steer clear unless the company announces that it has resolved the issue.