Fold is Gold!
Most smartphone companies try to keep their flagship products (or any product really) under wraps in the hopes of a big reveal on the day of its launch. Not Google. If you politely ask them, they’ll just leak their own design to you like they did with the Pixel 4 back in 2019. Or maybe they’ll pre-emptively announce phones 6 months too soon like they did with the Pixel 7’s design during last year’s I/O. This time, it seems Google didn’t even WAIT for I/O, and decided to just casually drop the Pixel Fold announcement on Twitter. Set for a May 10 release, the Fold is Google’s first foray into the foldables market, following mostly Asian companies like Samsung, Huawei, Oppo, Xiaomi, and Motorola. The design is exactly what we’re expecting, following the book-shaped folding format seen on the Galaxy Z Fold series from Samsung. There’s no official word on any of the details and specs, although this short 8-second video tells us a lot about what to expect. It’s got over 200K views so far, although whether that translates to sales is an entirely different argument.
Designer: Google
✨May The Fold Be With You✨https://t.co/g6NUd1DcOJ#GoogleIO #PixelFold
May 10 pic.twitter.com/K8Gk21nmo8— Made by Google (@madebygoogle) May 4, 2023
Images of the Pixel Fold leaked earlier this week as prominent leakster Evan Blass shared them on Twitter. While these renders gave a pretty detailed view of the Pixel Fold’s design and even its screen layout and software elements, the confirmation finally came from Google’s team today as they shared the most comprehensive look at the phone yet. The 8-second video above shows a stunning-looking foldable with a dual-screen, 3-lens camera bump, and what feels like the slimmest hinge on any foldable yet.
The Pixel Fold’s interior screen features a slim black bezel, rather than an edge-to-edge display. The folding screen appears to have Android widgets and user interface elements that have been optimized for the larger screen size. It’s likely that the adaptive Android elements will be showcased during the Pixel Fold’s reveal.
It’s important to note, however, that foldable phones typically come with a higher price point than traditional smartphones. While Google has yet to release any official information on the price or specs of this device, it’s safe to assume that it will be significantly more expensive than their non-folding Pixel models.
While the public response to foldables in general has been incredibly tepid globally (folding phones seem to have only truly breached Asian markets), the reactions on Twitter seem overwhelmingly positive, as users are falling in love with the short snippet. Fair warning, though… rendered videos are never an indication of what a product will actually look like. The Pixel 7, although glamorous online, has shown signs of wear and tear with parts of the metallic casing of the camera bump being subject to scuffs, scratches, and even dents. At the end of 2022, some Pixel 7 users also reported that the glass in front of their camera lens randomly shattered without any warning. We’re yet to see what the Pixel Fold turns out like – so far we have no details aside from a launch date and a sign-up page on Google’s store webfront.
