Google's First Foldable Phone Appears In Leaked Hands-On Video
Google's eagerly-awaited foldable phone has seemingly appeared in the flesh for the first time, weeks ahead of its rumored launch at the I/O developer conference in May. Code sleuth Kuba Wojciechowski has shared a brief hands-on video of a foldable phone, which he confirmed to The Verge was indeed the Pixel Fold. The fundamental design of the foldable phone in the leaked video is eerily similar to the renders that have popped up on the internet in the past few months.
😉😉😉 pic.twitter.com/zTpEo18K4y
— Kuba Wojciechowski :3 (@Za_Raczke) April 22, 2023
What stands out is the phone's rather squarish profile. Instead of a conventionally tall aspect ratio as seen on the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4, the Google foldable takes inspiration from the Oppo Find N2. However, the Google foldable has some unconventionally thick bezels at the bottom of the inner foldable panel.
There is nothing standout about the hinge design either, but unfortunately, we don't get a glimpse at the rear face of the phone in its closed state. According to a CNBC report that cites internal communication material, Google will launch the Pixel Fold on May 10 at its annual developer conference. The device will be sold at $1,799, pushing it in the same ballpark as Samsung's premium foldable offering.
A rather odd entrant to the foldable race
Earlier this week, leakster Jon Prosser claimed that the higher-end 512GB configuration would cost $1,919. However, to mellow down the sting on the buyers' wallets, Google will offer the Pixel Watch as a freebie. The Pixel Watch is a $349 purchase on its own, which might come as some relief to the enthusiasts willing to splurge on Google's foldable device.
As far as the innards go, the Pixel Fold will come armed with a 5.8-inch full-HD+ OLED (2092 x 1080 pixels) external display, while the inner foldable panel will measure 7.6-inches across and will offer a resolution of 2208 x 1840 pixels. Notably, both screens offer a 120Hz refresh rate. Ticking at the phone's heart is Google's own Tensor G2 SoC, with a generous 12GB LPDDR5 RAM and a Titan M-series chip for security.
In the imaging department, the Pixel Fold is said to serve a 48-megapixel primary camera, sitting alongside a 10.8-megapixel telephoto camera with 5x optical zoom output and a 10.8-megapixel snapper for ultra-wide capture. The external selfie camera relies on a 9.5-megapixel sensor, while the one perched atop the inner foldable screen is an 8-megapixel unit.