Along with a lower price than expected
Google’s supposed foldable device, the Pixel Fold has been in the rumor mill for some time now, but we’re just starting to see more specific information which might indicate that the device is indeed in the works. A few days ago, new animations in the Android 12L beta showed how to insert a SIM card or use an eSIM during the initial setup, with a never-before-seen device illustration used in the demo. Now, the latest rumors hint at a possible new name and a surprisingly low price tag for the foldable.
These new leaks shed some light on Google’s branding intentions for its foldable. As 9to5Google reports, Google intends to brand its next-gen device the Pixel Notepad — though Logbook was also considered — rather than utilizing the Fold moniker. It’s not just the name that might set it apart from Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold3 — it’s also the cost, with rumors suggesting a price tag well below that particular $1,800 top-tier foldable. With the Pixel 6 undercutting most of the competition (including the recently-launched Galaxy S21 FE), this might not be so unbelievable after all. Like other Google hardware, this first foldable might face limited global availability, arriving first in the US before expanding to other regions.
Previous rumors suggest that a foldable Pixel would be powered by its in-house Tensor chipset and sport a display with an 8.4:9 aspect ratio. That size makes it more like the Oppo Find N — a phone many consider the best example of a folding phone to date — than Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold3. That design should help reduce broken app layouts, as we’ve seen on the Z Fold3, all while Android 12L’s enhancements help to iron out most of Oppo’s software fails.
We have a long way to go until we get our hands on any sort of Pixel Fold — or, more likely, Pixel Notepad — which leaves plenty of times for things to change and new information to surface. Still, all of these reports seem to point in the same direction: some exciting new hardware from Google is on its way.
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