Google I/Ois in full swing, and the company finally took the opportunity to make theGoogle Pixel Foldofficial after first publicly acknowledging its existence a few days ago. Google isn’t shy to go head-to-head with theSamsung Galaxy Z Fold 4, either, with preorders for the Fold starting today at an eye-watering $1,800. At least the company is throwing a freeGoogle Pixel Watchto those who want to get first dibs at the Google Fold.
Google Pixel Fold
Last year’s Google Pixel Fold may not have dazzled us on release, but the company has made many improvements to the device over time. Android 15 has the Pixel Fold running well, and it’s a fantastic deal for sub-$600 if you’re comfortable with a renewed device. It’s an excellent choice for picking up a foldable on a budget.
The Google Pixel Fold has been rumored for so long, so there was basically nothing entirely new left for Google to announce. As expected, the Pixel Fold is a book-style foldable that has a normal smartphone-sized screen on the outside and a bigger tablet-like folding display on the inside. It follows in the footsteps of theOppo Find N2rather than Samsung’s Z Fold 4, with the interior screen offering a landscape orientation by default. This also means that the exterior screen is significantly wider than the Z Fold 4’s, making it a lot more usable. The Z Fold 4 is often criticized for its cramped experience on the outer screen.
The Pixel Fold compromises just a bit on the interior screen, which has bigger bezels at the top and bottom than any other foldable out there right now. The top bezel is big enough to house the front camera, which can be seen as an elegant solution to avoid under-screen camera technology or a punch hole. The bezels might also make it easier to hold, but they definitely look less premium on the renders and demo devices than a full screen design.
When it comes to hardware, the Pixel Fold offers quite some bang — as it should at its high price. It offers the same great hardware as the rest of theGoogle Pixel 7lineup, with the Tensor G2 chip at its core, paired with 12GB of RAM and up to 512GB of storage. Sub6 and mmWave 5G are also on board, and you can look forward to future-proof Wi-Fi 6E support. It’s the first Google phone to come with a side-mounted fingerprint scanner.
In the camera department, you can look forward to a versatile setup that comprises a 48MP primary, a 12MP ultra-wide, and a 12MP 5x telephoto zoom camera. Only tests will tell if these cameras can compare with Google’s other hardware, but it sure is promising.
Google has also shown off some of the software features on stage. The Pixel Fold comes with the usual tricks you know from other Pixel phones, like an always-on display and song recognition in the background, live transcribe, Google Recorder, the At a Glance widget, and so much more. On top of this, the company gave us a look at some special folding features, like the option to use split screen on the big screen, a taskbar that makes navigating the software easier, a selfie feature that lets you use the main cameras, and more.
The Pixel Fold will start shipping on June 27. You can preorder it right now, with a free Pixel Watch included as a goodie. If you’re not ready to pull the trigger just based on the promises made on stage, we got you. Stay tuned for our review.
Google’s first foldable has arrived with a wider aspect ratio — inside and out — as well as the Tensor G2’s AI finesse to help squeeze every pixel out of the cameras and every iota of productivity out of your day.
