Will the Pixel Fold ever exist? Rumors are growing that the world’s first foldable Google phone will be unveiled at the Google I/O conference in May. The latest rumor comes from CNBC’s Jennifer Elias, who says the device will be announced at I/O and will go on sale sometime in June for “over $1,700”. An earlier report by WinFuture also listed a June release date for the Pixel Fold.
The report is based on internal photos and documents seen by CNBC and details many of the specs we’ve seen in previous rumors: there’s a 7.6-inch internal display, a 5.8-inch external display, and a Google Tensor G2 chip. The phone is reported to weigh 10 ounces or 283g, which is heavier than the Galaxy Fold 4. One of the unexpected features is water resistance, which no foldable device manufacturer other than Samsung has ever tried.
The report cited an internal document saying the phone has “the strongest hinge of any foldable device.”Durability is a major concern with foldable devices, but the display is the biggest concern, so focusing on the hinges would be an interesting marketing strategy. Samsung , which is releasing the fourth generation of these devices, cannot prevent the display from dying out right along the display’s creases, however complaints about the hinges do exist. 50 percent of complaints about broken displays and 10 percent of reports of broken hinges.
OnLeaks did a render of the device in December, and there were some interesting details on it. Of course, the render had a camera-panel design motif from earlier Pixels, though it was tweaked slightly to not go edge-to-edge on the back of the phone. To the left of the camera handle was a very visible cluster of holes with an unknown purpose. They appear to be part of the speaker grille, but that would be an odd location for the speaker, and the accompanying report has the speakers in the usual location. There is usually one microphone hole next to the rear camera array, but it has to be one hole – that’s 19. Why?
Another cool thing about OnLeaks renders is the return of our old friend, the display bezel. Inside the foldable device, there are large empty areas above and below the display. At the top is the inner camera, and the rest of the bezel just takes up space. Samsung’s usual design will include a punch-hole camera and a much better internal display.
The Pixel Fold has been rumored for years and several different models are mentioned in the Android code but never saw the light of day. Google is generally not afraid to hide its devices; It’s normal to see detailed hands-on reports of unreleased prototype Pixel devices that have been left in a bar, listed for sale on eBay, or “borrowed” from a test facility. We haven’t seen a single shot of the Pixel Fold in real life, while images of other Google I/O devices, the Pixel 7a and the Pixel Tablet have been leaked multiple times. If the release date is indeed June, we expect someone to start taking pictures any day now.