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Maybe Google’s gotten tired of all the leaks about its upcoming Pixel Fold smartphone in recent months, because the company just went ahead and posted a short teaser video showing of the foldable.
While the video is light on details, it confirms the phone’s design and hints that more information will be unveiled when this year’s Google I/O developer conference begins on May 10, 2023.
Overall the Pixel Fold looks like a cross between a Samsung Galaxy Fold and a Google Pixel 7.
Like Google’s Pixel 7 series phones, there’s a camera strip on the back of the phone with multiple cameras, an LED flash, and some other elements that could indicate the presence of a LIDAR scanner.
And like foldables from Samsung and other companies, the Pixel Fold has a large primary display that can be folded in half so the phone takes up less space in your pocket or handbag. You can also use the phone when it’s folded thanks to a smaller cover display.
Rumor has it that the interior display will measure 7.6 inches diagonally, making the phone feel more like a small tablet when unfolded. The cover display is expected to measure 5.8 inches.
The Pixel Fold is expected to be powered by the same Google Tensor G2 processor used in the Pixel 7, Pixel 7 Pro, and upcoming Pixel 7a.
But perhaps the most important feature will be price: Foldables tend to be very pricey. The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold4, for example, has a list price of $1800. Google’s phone is expected to be a little cheaper… but with a rumored $1700 price tag, it’s still going to be one of the company’s most expensive consumer products to date.
I feel like foldables generate very little mainstream interest – tech lovers and brand watchers (and tech journalists that get these things sent to them so they will give them exposure) ok, but otherwise what do foldables improve on or fix for every-day users?
All I could think of was improving your capacity to argue on the internet by seeing more of what you’re trying to type before you post or send it, and do so in places where even a laptop isn’t an option.
And being expensive they’d be a status symbol, if it wasn’t for how none of them are iPhones and the disdain iPhone users have for everyone else.
My Fold 4 has effectively taken the place of my PC. One the go it offers enough real estate to get real work done and makes for a fantastic e-reader and media consumption device, and at home I dock it to a USB-C monitor and fire up DeX.
I can’t go back to a standard slab.
Yeah, the thing is, DeX is not a feature exclusive to foldables, and if Google’s behavior with other pixel phones is any indication, this one might not have video output over usb-c either (I don’t really care to read through all the leaks to find out if that’s been mentioned yet).
Yea, my comment was more so about the larger form factor allowing for actual work to be done on the go, as well as being an excellent e-reader and media device, in responseto the question “what do foldables improve or fix for everydayusers”. DeX is just a bonus. And yeah, I agree it’s unlikely Google will support video out given their track record.