Interesting… 
Lets wait and see how this new concept will work with Qi wireless charging.
Google's aluminum Pixel 5 has a hole in the back for wireless charging
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I bet phone case manf’s are going to have fun with this one.
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I like the idea, but really wish they could stick to a single material and stay away from glass and plastic. Its always just asking for trouble, like a weakened structural bond right where the cutout holes are. Fiberglass or another durable heat resistant material seems like a better choice than many use at the moment.
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Jerryrigeverything will have fun with this in his durability test!
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Good workaround, now let’s wait and see if users report anything wrong
A round hole in metal is not weak. It is one of the more rigid shapes.
It is how they make it which is the challenge, if they bonded two semi-circles, then it will snap at the join.
Personally I’d just like a ceramic back which is easily replaced with a few screws, or a plastic pull-off back you can buy replacement when scratched, along with an easily replaceable front screen and an easily replaceable battery, an SD slot, dual-SIM.
Bring 2014 back, all was fine then.
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A round hole in rather thin aluminum is actually extremely malleable if the opening is large enough. Think an aluminum can thickness, because much more and the weight/size would be undesirable to a consumer. Add in a hole which might be somewhere around 2 inches in diameter or so on a phone that is 3 inches wide and you have introduced a very sensitive area being held in place by resin and about a half inch of material on both sides. Having worked in aviation grade electronics in the past, aluminum will work well provided you are careful, but there is a lot of weakness around the opening simply due to the material choices. Steel is much more rigid if using the same setup, but aluminum just doesnt have that kind of rigidity. Now if Google reinforced around the opening with some kind of spacer that reduces flex it might hold up well, but there are always risks.
That said, I still always liked that plastic back, but I would take fiberglass instead for increased durability, it would hold up better and even cracking would not necessarily shatter it when dropped, but still easy to replace.
A plastic filled hole in metal is more rigid that all plastic.
Yes steel is preferred for rigidity.
Yes if they placed the Qi ring outside of an all metal back then it would be more rigid but then phone is a little thicker.
We all look forward to Jerryrigeverything review.
May be this was done to get the phone an IPX-1 standerd. 