Your Pixel 9 case definitely won’t fit the Pixel 10

The Pixel 10 series is shaping up to be very similar to the existing Pixel 9 lineup that launched last year, with what seem like mostly minor upgrades wrapped up in a near-identical look. But we’ve also heard that Google’s next-gen smartphones will have proportions that are just a little off from last year’s models, implying that, despite the recycled hardware designs, cases made for Pixel 9 won’t work on Pixel 10.

Android Authority has confirmed our suspicions. Using a Pixel 10 case from manufacturer Thinborne, AA has shown that the two generations are just different enough to mean that their cases aren’t interchangeable.

Android Authority’s C. Scott Brown writes that Thinborne was kind enough to send the publication an early case made to fit the Pixel 10 and Pixel 10 Pro. As with the Pixel 9 series, the Pixel 10 and 10 Pro will share identical dimensions, so cases marketed as being made for the 10 will also fit the 10 Pro and vice versa. But Brown stuck the Pixel 10 case on a Pixel 9 Pro, and while it almost fit, the match isn’t at all precise, and shows that Pixel 10 phones won’t fit inside Pixel 9 cases at all.

Source: Android Authority

As you can see in AA’s photos above, the Pixel 10 case’s port cutouts don’t line up neatly with the top and bottom edges of the Pixel 9. More crucially, there’s a significant gap between the camera bar and the surface of the case. We’ve known since March that the Pixel 10 will be a little thicker than the Pixel 9 was, and the photos published on Android Authority make it clear the added bulk around the camera bar, minor though it may be on paper, will prevent Pixel 10 phones from seating inside Pixel 9 cases. Bummer.

New cases only for the Pixel 10

Of course, it’s not unusual for new devices to require new cases — especially for Google’s phones, which have historically changed pretty drastically year over year. But for the Pixel 10 series, hardware design is nearly unchanged, so it’s a bit annoying that differences of a fraction of a millimeter will make existing cases incompatible.