The bizarre series of events started with a Pixel 7 prototype appearing for sale on eBay (after reportedly showing up on Facebook Marketplace first). The listing didn’t reveal any new surprising details, but it’s not every day that a phone that won’t be officially released for several months (an October launch is likely) shows up for sale. Even better, the reflection in the eBay photos revealed a Pixel 7 Pro was used as the camera. The listing was taken down after a few hours — presumably when someone at Google noticed.
Not long after, someone on Reddit with the username AMC20_ claimed they bought a Pixel 7 Pro from Facebook Marketplace, after it was apparently listed as a Pixel 6 Pro. The owner reportedly used the phone normally for three weeks, until it was remotely wiped (possibly by Google) and would no longer boot up.
The fun doesn’t end there. Nils Ahrensmeier pointed out on Twitter that another Pixel 6a was being sold on Facebook Marketplace, seemingly from the same person who published an unboxing of the phone on TikTok. Again, there’s no new information here compared to what Google has already confirmed, but the whole situation is pretty funny.
— Nils Ahrensmeier (@NilsAhrDE) June 4, 2022
Google has historically had a difficult time cracking down on leaks for its Pixel phones, and this year appears to be no different. At the very least, Google has now learned to get ahead of the leaks with early announcements, like we saw with the Pixel 6a and 7 series in May.
Pre-orders for the Pixel 6a start on July 21, and the phone should be generally available starting on July 28. Google hasn’t confirmed a release date for the Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro yet.
Source: 9to5Google (Pixel 7 eBay, Pixel 7 Pro, Pixel 6a TikTok), This Is Tech Today
