We’ve been hearing rumors about the Google Pixel Fold for years, and it finally looks like the phone might land soon.
Only a handful of companies are actually making foldable phones right now, with Samsung dominating the market with phones like the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4. But it may soon face some serious competition.
Leaks suggest this could be called the Pixel Fold or the Pixel Notepad, but the name isn’t set in stone, so for now we’re mostly referring to it as the Google Pixel Fold.
We’ve also heard some details about the possible design, screen, camera and other specs, all of which you can find below. We also have information on a possible release date, with most rumors suggesting it could be in early to mid-2023, and information on pricing.
Google Pixel Fold release date and price
Early leaks suggest the Pixel Fold will land in late 2022. It’s something we’ve heard many times, but there was no sign of the phone when the Pixel 7 was announced, and it looks unlikely now.
In fact, a recent leak (from a different source) suggests that the Pixel Fold won’t land until 2023 now, although it’s apparently planned for late 2022. Another release date rumor backs this up, saying the phone could land in the first quarter (between January and March 2023).
That said, recent release date rumors point to May 2023, so we might have to wait a little longer.
We’ve also heard before that the Pixel Fold has been canceled, so there’s a chance it won’t arrive at all. But that claim comes from Ross Young, who recently came back with the aforementioned leak, saying that a release is now planned for Q1 2023 — so presumably he was wrong earlier, or Google has put it back on the table.
Early leaks suggest the Pixel Fold will land in late 2022. It’s something we’ve heard many times, but when the Pixel 7 was announced with no sign of the phone, it now seems unlikely.
In fact, a recent leak (from a different source) suggests that the Pixel Fold won’t land until 2023 now, although it’s apparently scheduled to arrive in late 2022. Another release date rumor backs this up, saying the phone could land in the first quarter (January to March 2023).
That said, recent release date rumors point to May 2023, so we may have to wait a little longer.
We’ve also heard before that the Pixel Fold has been canceled, so there’s a chance it won’t arrive at all. But that claim comes from Ross Young, who recently came back with the aforementioned leak, saying a release is now planned for Q1 2023 – so it’s likely he was wrong earlier, or Google has put it back on the table superior.
Design and display
The main information about the Google Pixel Fold comes in a big leak that includes unofficial renders, some of which you can see below. While not official, these are clearly based on images and information provided by reliable sources.
As you can see, the design here looks a lot like the Pixel 7 series when it’s folded up, but the overall shape is similar to the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold series.
The Pixel Fold is apparently wrapped in metal and glass, and is said to only come in white and black. It’s also obviously heavy, and you can see the large bezels above and below the main screen.
There’s also a report that Google has ordered roughly 7.6-inch foldable OLED panels from Samsung Display — a claim we’ve heard multiple times now.
That’s the same size as the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4’s home screen, and big enough that a Pixel foldable phone could have the same form factor as a Galaxy — that is, a typical phone-sized screen when closed, but Opens up like a book to reveal more of the tablet-sized display. That said, we can’t rule out it having a clamshell design like the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip.
Another leak suggests that the display will have a resolution of 2208 x 1840 pixels, a brightness of up to 1,200 nits, and a refresh rate of up to 120Hz. The same source states that the overall dimensions are 123 x 148mm.
That said, an animation found in Android 12L Beta 2 shows a foldable phone with a design more like the Oppo Find N – so short and wide rather than tall and narrow like the Z Fold 4.
Elsewhere, we’ve heard that the Pixel Fold’s case display (its outer non-foldable screen) could be 5.8 inches.
Alongside these leaks, we’ve also seen a Google patent that shows a screen that opens up to the size of a tablet, but can be stretched a little further, like we’ve seen with a rollable phone concept. However, this looks ambitious for Google’s first foldable phone, so we don’t believe it will adopt this design.
Patently Mobile (opens in a new tab) has also spotted two other Google Pixel foldable phone patents, one of which shows a rather traditional clamshell design, while the other has two hinges that allow it to form a Z-shaped, and go from smartphone size to full tablet size.
As such, Google appears to be experimenting with a number of different foldable designs, but it’s likely that the company has already gone with something similar to the Galaxy Z Fold, as mentioned above.
Specs and features
Code found in the Android 12 beta suggests that the Google Pixel Fold will have the same modem as the Pixel 6 series. This suggests – but by no means guarantees – that it will also have the same chipset, namely Google Tensor.
The chipset also appeared in benchmarks for the Pixel Fold, which also mentioned 12GB of RAM and Android 12, and we’ve heard rumors of a Tensor chipset elsewhere.
Given that the chipset appears to be designed to take full advantage of the Pixel 6 series’ new cameras, that could mean the same cameras will be used as well, but we’re not at all sure about that. If it does have those cameras, then you can expect a dual- or triple-lens setup with a main lens, an ultra-wide-angle lens, and a telephoto lens (4x optical zoom).
However, another leak points to a different snapper, with the Pixel 5’s 12.2MP main camera paired with the Pixel 6’s 12MP ultra-wide lens, and two 8MP selfie cameras (one for each screen). This is something we’ve heard many times now.
According to one source, we’re looking at a 64MP + 12.2MP + 10MP rear camera — so not all leaks and rumors agree on the camera on the back of the Google Pixel Fold right now. As for the selfie cameras, they’re apparently both 9.5MP, while the leaked renders show a triple-lens rear camera.
The phone is also likely to feature an under-display camera, as the technology has been patented by Google. That said, the leaked images don’t suggest this.
Beyond that, we don’t know anything about the specs of Google’s Pixel foldable phone, but we can speculate a bit. For one thing, it might run Android 12, but it will certainly run the latest Android version at launch.
It might still have a decent camera as per the standard Pixel lineup, but it might have fewer lenses than competing phones. We also expect the company’s foldable device to support 5G.
Finally, a small tweak to the Google Camera software suggests that there is indeed a Pixel Fold coming, and that Google is preparing its own software for it.
Leo-nike 
Hazel Yu 
Mike Lee-111 
Iman iman