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Google Pixel Fold Release Date: June 2023 is Looking Likely
The Google Pixel Fold will get a release date in June, according to reports – here’s everything you need to know…
The Google Pixel Fold launch is getting closer and closer. The phone itself was initially reported to be coming in 2022, as you can see below in our original reporting, but that date has now been and gone.
Why there has been such a delay in getting the Pixel Fold to market is unclear. It is an entirely new phone for Google and new phones – especially ones that fold – come with their own, specific set of engineering problems.
Google has likely had to work its way through myriad issues with the prototypes of this phone which, of course, takes time and money. R&D can be a very slow process, even when you have Google’s near-infinite resources.
But… things are now picking up with respect to the Pixel Fold. Nearly all insiders and leakers agree that the Pixel Fold will get a release in 2023 and it could well undercut Samsung when it eventually arrives on market with a $1300 to $1500 price point.
Google Pixel Fold Release Date
According to the latest leaked information, the Pixel Fold will get a launch and release date inside June 2023. This date is odd for a couple of reasons, though:
- It is before the release of the Android 14
- It means the phone WILL NOT run on Tensor 3And, finally, it’ll leave the phone – at least from a specs perspective – in worse shape than the Pixel 8 Pro.
Again, nothing is yet officially known about Google’s first foldable phone but the Pixel Fold leaks we’ve seen so far paint a picture of a phone with very few USPs, save for the fact it will cost less than Samsung’s foldable phones and run a bespoke version of Android designed specifically for foldables.
Below is our original report from 2021 – told you this phone has been in development for AGES…
The Current Foldable Pixel Rumors…
According to multiple leaks online, Google is prepping a foldable Pixel phone for release during 2022. Codenamed “Passport”, this foldable Pixel phone is now believed to be in active testing inside Google’s skunkworks.
Additional reports claim Google is now also procuring foldable displays from Samsung ahead of the foldable Pixel phone’s launch and release date later this year.
Foldable Pixel Phone Release Date Speculation
- The Elec – The oft-reliable tech blog broke the news that Google was buying foldable displays from Samsung. It believes the foldable Pixel phone will launch between October and December.
- Jon Prosser – The occasionally-right leaker believes the foldable Pixel phone is happening and that it could either launch in Q4 or early Q1 2022.
As it stands right now, early-Q1 seems to be the consensus. In addition to this, the foldable Pixel phone will not replace the Pixel 6 – it will be a separate device in its own right.
Google Pixel Fold Design
Nothing is yet official about Google’s first foldable Pixel phone. But we do know that work is now actively underway on the phone. Google might even have the design locked in too if recent leaks from inside the Android 12L beta are anything to go by.
Spotted deep inside the Android 12L beta, Google included a slew of animations about how to insert a SIM card inside its Pixel Fold device. The animations in question, while not evidence that a foldable Pixel phone is coming to market, show a design that is closer to the OPPO Fold N than the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3.
How so? Well, for starters the Google Pixel Fold has a completely different aspect ratio to Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold. Unlike the Galaxy Z Fold, the Google Pixel Fold is almost completely square with what appears to be an aspect ratio of 7:8 for its inner display. The display itself is believed to measure 7.8in when unfolded, making it larger than the OPPO Find N which has a 7.1in screen.
The benefit of this style of screen is that it is wider and gives the user – as well as applications – more room on the display. It feels more like a tablet, essentially. This is why OPPO used a similar design on its first foldable Android phone. Given how positive the reception to that phone has been, it should come as no surprise that Google has “borrowed” some design elements from it.
The difference in design between the Pixel Fold and the Galaxy Z Fold is also significant. Google would not want to release a “me too” product. It will need something completely new and fresh. Choosing this aspect ratio allows Google to do just that. Add in the fact that Google can customize Android however it likes and the Pixel Fold could quickly go on to become the first truly useful foldable Android phone.
Analysis – Will We See A Foldable Pixel in 2022?
Google is almost certainly working on a foldable Pixel phone. But that doesn’t mean we’ll see it launched in 2022 – or ever for that matter.
Google’s R&D budget is enormous; it’s likely experimenting with all kinds of things that will never see the light of day.
Over the years there have been plenty of secrets, code-named phones outed that never saw the light of day.
Just because Google is experimenting with foldable phones does not mean we’ll see one released. There are just so many variables to consider, for one, and then Google would have to nail the design as well.
The other big question relates to demand: is there even enough demand for this kind of phone from Google? Samsung isn’t exactly shifting millions of units of its foldable devices.
This is likely why we haven’t seen a foldable device from Apple; the demand and desire for foldable phones is just too low, too niche.
I just cannot see Google “doing better” than Samsung on its first swing at the ball. That’s too big an ask – even for a company with the resources and expertise of Google.
The only possible way Google could do something disruptive with its foldable Pixel phone is to make it way cheaper than all the other current options. But how likely is that?
The phone would be a brand new concept. Brand new concepts require tens of millions of dollars of R&D investment. Google likes making money, so it isn’t going to take a loss on the phone in order to gain market share.
Whatever happens, if the foldable Pixel phone does launch it will almost certainly cost around the same as all current foldable Android phones which is to say it will be very expensive, too expensive for 99.9% of users.
The Google Pixel “Passport” – What’s In A Name?
Let’s pretend Google is making a foldable phone and that it will get a release date inside 2022. What will that phone be like? According to reports, the foldable Pixel phone is codenamed Passport.
A passport is a fairly unique shape, so there’s no doubt about the reasoning behind the name: the foldable Pixel will look like a passport.
Google is said to be closely following the design of Samsung’s Galaxy Fold devices. Google will use Samsung OLED for the display, apparently, so I’d imagine the foldable Pixel will look more or less the same as Samsung’s current Galaxy Fold phones.
There has also been talk of an under-the-screen camera on the front, although that has also been rumored for the Pixel 6 too. Aside from this, not much else is known about the phone.
How Much Will The Foldable Pixel Phone Cost?
All current foldable Android phones are just too expensive; this is why no one is buying them. If Google wanted to shake the market up, the easiest way to do this would be to release a sub-$800 foldable Pixel phone.
It could do this by using cheaper components and existent camera tech, the one from the Pixel 5, for instance. If Google did indeed focus on value for money over specs with its foldable Pixel phone, this would do wonders for its adoption.
It’d be like the Pixel 3a all over again, only this time with a foldable phone.
How likely is this to happen, though? On a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being extremely likely, I’d say around 1.5.
Foldable phones are expensive to make and, therefore, are expensive to own. Once the production costs come down, things will change. But we’re a ways off from this at the moment.
And check out Will Apple Make A Flip Phone? And be sure to check out Pixel 6a Camera Specs: What You Get…
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