After years of rumors, all signs point to the Google Pixel Fold being officially unveiled in the next month or two – and in the meantime we’ve got a short leaked video showing the folding mechanism in action.
This comes from well-known tipster Kuba Wojciechowski (opens in new tab) on Twitter (via 9to5Google (opens in new tab)). It’s interesting to see the fold in action, but it’s fair to say we don’t get much of a look at anything else in this particular snippet.
The software interface is blurred out, but we can see the rounded edges of the foldable phone’s frame, as well as an outer display. The foldable hinge looks robust enough, though the video is too short to draw too many conclusions from.
A leak-filled week
Earlier this week we heard that the Pixel Fold would beat the likes of the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 in terms of durability: considering the Samsung device is good for 200,000 folds, it sounds as though Google’s version will push that figure even higher.
As for the actual specs of the device, a huge leak from yesterday revealed that the Pixel Fold would come running a Google Tensor G2 chip, with 12GB of RAM and either 256GB or 512GB of internal storage. White or black are said to be the color options.
The same source suggested the foldable would be teased on April 26 (next Wednesday), before a grand unveiling at the Google IO 2023 event that gets underway on May 10. It may not go on sale until June or July, however.
Analysis: Google’s biggest hardware year yet
It’s going to be a major year for Google’s hardware department. Besides the Pixel Fold, we’re also expecting to see the Google Pixel 7a make an appearance at Google IO, while further down the line there’s the Google Pixel 8 to look forward to.
The previously announced Google Pixel Tablet is going to be launching soon as well, and on top of that might we also see a Pixel Watch 2? The first Pixel smartwatch seems to have gone down well with consumers so a follow-up is surely on the way.
However, those are all successors to existing devices – though admittedly it’s a long time since Google made a tablet. With the Pixel Fold, the company is pushing into uncharted territory, and it’s still relatively early days for foldables in general.
Apple is holding off with foldables for now so it’s going to be interesting to see how well the Pixel Fold does, and if there’s a market for it. Price will of course be a crucial factor – and we don’t think it’s going to be cheap.
