Google Announces New Pixel Fold phone

Last updated: May 10, 2023

Exciting news as the tech giant announces its first foldable phone.

After a long wait and expectation accrued by months of rumors, Google has finally unveiled its new Pixel Fold. The company has made its announcement during its latest I/O conference. Read about the Pixel 7a, another device unveiled at the I/O.

This is Google’s first device with a folding screen, similar to what we’ve seen previously on Samsung’s Z Fold series or the Oppo Find N2, which are highly praised devices because of their screen, design and software.

One of the key features of this new device is its form factor. Google has kept a similar design language to its previous Pixel smartphones, with obvious changes due to its flexible screen. The 7.6in 120Hz OLED screen will open like a book for a large screen experience, but it also features an outer screen which will be used to interact with some apps as well as answer text messages or phone calls without the need to open to a full screen size. The outer screen is a 5.8in display on the outside and it will also feature a fingerprint scanner on the power button.

The Pixel Fold can withstand water at depths of 1.5 meters, thanks to its IPX8 water-resistant rating. It measures 12mm in thickness when closed and 6mm when opened. The hinge is designed to hold the screen at different angles to accommodate different viewing modes. Additionally, it features a rear triple camera setup, which includes a 5x optical zoom, making it the first folding phone to have this feature. In fact, the camera on this smartphone will be the most important of its hardware components, as it has virtually the same setup as the Google Pixel 7 Pro.

The main triple camera features a primary sensor of 48 megapixels, an ultra-wide-angle camera of 10.8 megapixels, and a telephoto sensor of the same resolution.

Inside the Google Pixel Fold there is a dedicated selfie camera. In this case, it is an 8 megapixel camera. This camera, however, is not directly built into the panel, as is the case with other foldables, but is located in the top frame. The Pixel Fold has more pronounced screen bezels than other similar phones.

With its Tensor G2 chip and 256GB of storage, the hardware – except for the camera – doesn’t appear to be anything extraordinary. Actually, it’s the software that makes the Pixel Fold special. Google has added different features to take advantage of the flexible inner screen. One of them is a dock that allows access to different apps without needing to go to the home screen, a split-screen mode to use multiple apps at the same time, or a split keyboard between the two edges of the panel.

Google has made several software modifications to its apps to cater to the folding screen, one of which is live translation that exhibits text on both the internal and external screens simultaneously. The outer screen can also show a preview of the main camera.

The Google Pixel Fold will be available for pre-order in some markets (US, Japan, UK and Germany) starting today at a price of $1,799. The company has confirmed that it will be released for sale on June 2023.