There have been whispers of a foldable Pixel – which we’re tending to refer to as the Google Pixel Fold for now – for a long time, but the big question has been when the phone would launch. Now, it’s looking very likely that it will land towards the end of this year.
According to Ross Young (a display supply chain expert and a leaker with a top track record), panel production for the Google Pixel Fold will start in Q3 of 2022 (meaning between July and September), with the phone launching in the final quarter of the year (so between October and December).
In a follow up tweet, Young got more specific, saying that the Pixel Fold will probably launch in October. That’s when we’re also expecting the Pixel 7 to land, so Google could have one big launch event for both of them.
It's back! Looks like Google's foldable Pixel will start panel production in Q3'22 and launch in Q4'22.February 14, 2022
While we’d take these claims with a pinch of salt, we’d think a late 2022 launch is likely. Not only does Young have an excellent track record for leaks, but the only leak that really conflicts with this comes from Young himself, who previously claimed the Pixel Fold had probably been canceled, so presumably either he or Google have changed their minds.
The only other recent release date leak also points to a late 2022 launch for the Pixel Fold. There’s also a leak that points to an early 2022 launch, but that dates back to February 2021, so it’s working off dated information.
Plus, we’re in early 2022 now with not much immediate sign of the Pixel Fold, but there seems to be a consensus at least that it’s coming this year, so late 2022 – possibly October – is our best guess for now.
Analysis: what else we’ve heard about the Google Pixel Fold
Rumors have revealed more than just potential release dates, with the Pixel Fold reportedly set to have a 7.6-inch OLED screen, a 12.2MP main camera, a 12MP ultra-wide one, two 8MP selfie cameras, a Google Tensor chipset (like the Pixel 6), and 12GB of RAM.
The only one of those specs that we’d really question is the Tensor, since if it does land in late 2022 then a Tensor 2 – or whatever the Pixel 7 uses – would seem more appropriate, but we can’t be certain of any of this yet.
The Pixel Fold might also launch as the Pixel Notepad according to one report – a name which could perhaps also hint at the presence of a stylus, though no such accessory has been leaked as yet.
- The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 is also on the way
Via Phone Arena
