I imagine I'm in the minority but I'd rather have a phone a fraction of a millimeter thicker that has a flush back. At this point it's getting out of hand.
I'm the opposite. I'm happy to have a camera bulge if that means better optics and images. I think the idea is that this phone will have the same thickness for most people who use a case.
What's the useful advantage to a flush back? I don't really see any. As long as I can hold the phone, and it can lie on a table or stand without wobbling, it seems to do what it needs to.
It's not like you're stacking phones on top of each other the way you do books or magazines. (And heck if you work in repair or provisioning and actually do stack phones, it's easy enough to turn every other one 180°.)
Also I don't know where you're getting "fraction of a millimeter" from. Camera bumps are significantly more than a whole millimeter. And their function is depth, not volume -- you can't redistribute it across the whole case or anything. You'd have to make the entire phone thicker, and then heavier as well if you're putting anything into the new extra space.
I just think it's nicer honestly. There's no rational thought behind it, it just feels cleaner. I don't really mind extra weight or thickness, it's not like I'm struggling to pick up my phone. I actually have exceptionally large hands so if anything a bigger phone might be better, though I'm not terribly concerned about it.
If that extra millimeter went to extra battery capacity, it would give an extra day of life to the phone. I would appreciate it more than just a flush back.
I had an early Nexus phone (I forget exactly which one) that had a seemingly physics-defying ability to slooooowly (over the course of minutes) slide off apparently-flat-but-actually-slightly-not surfaces, when laid on its back. Not due to alert vibrations, either, but when entirely idle, or even turned off. I think Google accidentally made the back out of some kind of sci-fi ultraslick material or something.
The current generation of smartphones is designed with the expectation that people will use a case. Pixel 6 cases will no doubt account for the camera shape, like all the rest.
I actually hadn't considered that. I don't usually use cases because they make buttons too mushy and take away from the look and feel of the phone and I (so far) don't drop it anyway. I might look for a good thin case or something.
Probably not the minority. I know I would appreciate a flush back but lets be real consumers really don't have a ton of influence on a design choice like this.
Can't phone cases 'mind the gap' though? I suppose they might still leave a little notch across the top of the camera bulge, but I would think that wouldn't bother people too much.