As the Pixel 5 starts to make its way into customers' hands, we've received several reports of a gap between the screen's plastic bumper and the bioresin-coated aluminum frame of the phone. Reports vary, but the area around the front-facing camera appears to be a hotspot for the problem, and customers are concerned this gap could affect the phone's IP-rated water resistance.

Images from Pixel Phone product forum and XDA Forum.

The volume of reports isn't especially large by itself, but we have to assume the limited number of Pixel 5 units in the wild has something to do with that, and the number of new reports is increasing at a consistent rate. Complaints have been picking up over the last two days at venues like the Pixel Phone product forum and XDA Forum, with plenty of photos showing off not just the gap itself, but how much it can vary in location and prominence between units.

AP's Pixel 5 is only slightly affected, many other devices have it worse.

We can confirm that our own Pixel 5 review unit is also affected, though to a lesser degree than some of those pictured above. Most reports show it in the corner closest to the display's camera cutout, along the top of the phone, and above the SIM tray on the left side, but it may also appear in other areas as well. Though most images demonstrate the problem in the Just Black colorway (probably because it's most visible with the stronger contrast), it also affects the Sage Green color.

We do not know if this gap affects the phone's rated water resistance, but we do know it accrues dust, and the irregularity doesn't look too nice on a premium device. Based on recent reports, these gaps are present from the start, so the screen doesn't appear to be separating over time.

As reports continue to pick up, we've reached out to Google for more information regarding this issue, and we'll be sure to update if we hear anything back.

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