The Pixel Fold is a real phone! Google is talking about creating a foldable feature From 2019 onwardsAnd specific models have been rumored since 2021. Multiple delays and cancellations are enough to make anyone wary of the long-rumored device, but now rumors are growing that we’ll see an announcement at Google I/O in May.
Over the weekend, for the first time, real-life pictures of the Pixel Fold hit the internet. Android Researcher Kuba Wojciechowski He posted a quick video on Twitter of the Pixel Fold opening and closing. It’s not much, but it’s the first confirmation we’ve seen that it’s real hardware outside of the computer screen.
😉😉😉 pic.twitter.com/zTpEo18K4y
— Kuba Wojciechowski :3 (@Za_Raczke) April 22, 2023
As usual, OnLeaks’ previous renders look pretty accurate; We can see the front of the device, a slight hint of the camera bar on the back and the inside of the screen. Just like the renders, the inside of the phone has bezels that are larger than the normal design you get from Samsung or Oppo. The internal screen doesn’t have a hole in the display for the camera, instead opting for an old-school setup where you narrow down the screen with the camera on top of the screen, then extend that dead space to the top of the phone. Did Google shrink all of that giant foldable screen to accommodate the camera in the top right corner? This is a distinct step backwards when hole-punch displays are the default.
While bezels don’t have a ton of use on a regular glass phone, foldable bezels are there for a reason. Displays are usually rigidly bonded to the smartphone’s glass, which is glued to the phone’s frame, but can be foldable. Fold, and the display should change subtly when you open and close it. That means ‘all-glue’ construction isn’t going to work, so folding sights are usually partially glued and free-floating on the hinge area. The foldable bezel is a raised plastic rim that runs around the perimeter of the display, lightly connecting the floating parts of the display to the body of the phone and preventing debris from getting under the display and ruining it. Being raised stops the two parts of the screen from grinding together when you close the phone. So when a foldable bezel is needed, the foldable isn’t, even the Galaxy Fold 1, felt the need for something this wide.
Previous reports said the device should be around $1,700, and CNBC Report that it will have a “highly durable hinge that folds over”, something to do with the thick plastic rim. Hopefully Google will do some explaining at I/O.