Google Pixel Fold is a real thing and not just a concept – and it might even arrive this year.
This is according to the spill noticed Jon Prosserat least, and that confirms a story earlier this week that Google asked Samsung to develop a 7.6-inch OLED panel for use in a foldable device.
Prosser’s tweet was not exactly full of details, but it was definitive that Google Pixel Fold is a real thing. And in a reply for a follower’s question, he gave his launch window later this year or early 2022.
We have no doubt that Google is working on a foldable phone, as the rumors date back to the middle of last year. Smartphone screen specialist Ross Young, appearing in responses to Prosser’s first tweet, mentioned that in December, he himself predicted a single Google foldable later this year.
There is not much detail about the specifications of the Pixel Fold. The only thing we know, thanks to a Korean report, is that the phone could use a flexible 7.6-inch display.
Whether Google launches Pixel Fold this fall / winter or next spring, its main rivals are likely to be Samsung’s. Currently, it is the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2 and the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip, which balance a smart design inside and out. Of course, when Pixel Fold comes along, it will probably be against the next Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 and Galaxy Z Flip 3.
The rest of the current folding market does not match Samsung’s standard. There is also the Motorola Razr, but it was disappointed by the disappointing hardware – although the 5G version seems to have been improved. The Huawei Mate X2 was announced earlier this week and has some impressive specs. However, as is done by Huawei, the phone is not available in the U.S. and does not offer the Google applications that Android users use.
This means that as 2021 becomes 2022, the likely best performers in the folding category will remain those of Samsung. A new competitor without technical or software problems, like this supposed Pixel Fold or the iPhone Flip, would be exactly the kind of competition needed to break Samsung’s dominance by default.
Google’s software skills could mean that Pixel Fold will become one of our best foldable phones when it finally arrives. Meanwhile, we have the Google Pixel 6 and Google Pixel 5a ahead, both likely to occupy a place among the best Android phones today.