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Google has just announced its very first foldable smartphone, the Pixel Fold. This handset has been rumored and leaked for quite some time now, so it wasn’t exactly a secret. It was a device many highly anticipated, so, here it is.
The Google Pixel Fold is here, and it takes a different approach than the Galaxy Z Fold 4
The Pixel Fold does look like it’s a part of the Pixel family, though it takes a different approach compared to the Galaxy Z Fold 4. It is a book-style foldable, but it leans more towards a horizontal orientation when unfolded, than it does to a vertical one. In other words, it reminds us more of the OPPO Find N2, than it does of the Galaxy Z Fold 4.
There’s a lot to talk about here, when it comes to the design itself. When unfolded, there is no display camera hole included here, but this handset does have thicker bezels than most foldables. Its top and bottom bezels are also thicker than its side bezels. That main display measures 7.6 inches, by the way, and it offers a 6:5 aspect ratio. It has a resolution of 2208 x 1840, and it’s an OLED panel. Yes, it also offers a 120Hz refresh rate.
The cover display gets slightly brighter than the main panel
When folded, you get a 5.8-inch fullHD+ (2092 x 1080) OLED display. It also supports a 120Hz refresh rate, and it’s protected by the Gorilla Glass Victus. This panel gets up to 1,550 nits of peak brightness, it’s a bit brighter than the main display. There is a display camera hole on this panel.
On the back, you’ll notice a camera visor, which does not connect to the frame on the side here, which is completely normal, as this phone folds. Google included three cameras on the back here, and we’ll talk about them soon enough. The phone is made out of metal and glass.
The Google Tensor G2 SoC fuels this phone, which is Google’s processor that fuels the Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro handsets, not to mention the Pixel 7a which also launched today. Google also included 12GB of RAM here, and 256GB/512GB of storage.
The hinge offers “fluid friction across teh full 180-degree range of motion”
The hinge on the device is ‘mirror polished’, and it offers a multi-alloy steel construction. Google used a quad-cam synchronized mechanism here, and the hinge offers fluid friction across the full 180-degree range of motion.
A 4,821mAh battery sits inside of this phone, and Google says you can get “hours of power with minutes of charge”. The company did say that this can be achieved with Google’s 30W charger, but it did not mention if 30W charging is supported. Wireless charging is supported, but the company did not reveal its speed.
Three compelling cameras sit on the back of the device
A 48-megapixel main camera (f/1.7 aperture, 82-degree FoV, OIS) is included here, along with a 10.8-megapixel ultrawide camera (f/2.2 aperture, 121.1-degree FoV). The third camera on the back is a 10.8-megapixel telephoto camera (f/3.05 aperture, 21.9-degree FoV, 5x optical zoom, Super Res Zoom up to 20x). There are two front-facing cameras, a 9.5-megapixel one, and an 8-megapixel one. Both have an 84-degree FoV).
Android 13 comes out of the box here. Google says that over 50 Google apps are optimized for large screens. The company also worked with partners to optimize a number of other apps that you may be interested in, though we don’t know all the details yet. The power/lock button on the right doubles as a fingerprint scanner. Facial scanning is supported via front-facing cameras, and the phone is IPX8 certified for water resistance.
It’s a hefty, short, and wide device
When folded, the Pixel Fold measures 139.7 x 79.5 x 12.1mm. When unfolded, it measures 139.7 x 158.7 x 5.8mm. The device weighs 283 grams. Google guarantees 5 years of security updates, minimum, by the way.
The device comes in Obsidian (black) and Porcelain (white) color options. The Pixel Fold pricing starts at $1,799 in the US, and it’s coming to the UK, Germany, and Japan too. Its availability could expand later on, we don’t know.
