Pixel Notepad foldable phone could cost much less than the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3
And land this year
We’ve heard whispers of a Google Pixel Fold for a while now, but finally we’re starting to get some real information about the phone, with the latest being the possible price.
This comes from 9to5Google, which also recently revealed that the phone might be called the Pixel Notepad. According to two independent sources “familiar with Google’s ongoing planning”, the Pixel Notepad will apparently cost around $1,400 (roughly £1,040 / AU$1,960).
As ever, conversions won’t be accurate, but that US price would make it substantially cheaper than the $1,799 / £1,599 / AU$2,499 starting price of the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3. Though it would still be significantly more expensive than the Google Pixel 6 Pro or the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3.
The site also claims that the Pixel Fold will be available internationally by the end of 2022. However, there will apparently be a gap between the US and international launches. We’d assume that the US launch would come first in that case, so you might not have to wait until the end of the year to get Google’s foldable there, or to see it announced.
Finally, the site reiterates previous claims about the specs, including that the Pixel Notepad will have the same 12.2MP camera as the Pixel 5 (rather than the 50MP one from the Pixel 6), as the latter snapper is a thicker component, so less well suited to a foldable.
This will apparently be joined by a 12MP ultra-wide camera, along with two 8MP selfie cameras (likely one for each screen). The phone is said to be powered by a Google Tensor chipset (like the Pixel 6 range), and to sport a design closer to the Oppo Find N than the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 – meaning it’s short and wide rather than tall and narrow.
We’d take all of this with an appropriate amount of salt though, especially as it sounds like the Pixel foldable might not land for many months yet – so there’s lots of time for details to change.
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Analysis: The Pixel Notepad will be competing with the Galaxy Z Fold 4, not the Fold 3
While a lower price than the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 is promising, that probably won’t be the Google Pixel Notepad’s main competition. Rather, it will probably be competing with the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4.
This device hasn’t been announced yet either, but is likely to land around August or September, and is rumored to have either one or two under-display cameras, a durable design, and a camera setup similar to the Samsung Galaxy S22.
We haven’t heard much else yet, but this is sure to be a flagship phone, and it too might cost less than the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 did at launch, so it could prove a tough rival.
- These are the best foldable phones
James is a freelance phones, tablets and wearables writer and sub-editor at TechRadar. He has a love for everything ‘smart’, from watches to lights, and can often be found arguing with AI assistants or drowning in the latest apps. James also contributes to 3G.co.uk, 4G.co.uk and 5G.co.uk and has written for T3, Digital Camera World, Clarity Media and others, with work on the web, in print and on TV.