When will we finally see Google’s first foldable phone? The smart money is now on May 10th, with availability in June. CNBC reports that it got hold of internal marketing materials showing Google will launch the repeatedly reportedly delayed smartphone at May’s Google I/O.
According to The Verge, the CNBC report corroborates what leakers like Roland Quandt and OnLeaks have already revealed. You should expect a closed-book 5.8-inch phone that folds out into a 7.6-inch tablet, powered by Google’s Tensor G2 processor, starting at north of $1,700 — making it a direct competitor to Samsung’s $1,800 Galaxy Z Fold 4.
But CNBC says they may differ in one important way: the Pixel Fold will have a larger battery “that Google says will last for 24 hours, or up to 72 hours in a low power mode,” according to the leaked documents. The phone will also reportedly be three-quarters of an ounce heavier at 10oz (roughly 283g) in total. Google is apparently planning to claim it has “the most durable hinge on a foldable,” likely dinging Samsung for how its original Galaxy Fold (from 2019) was notoriously breakable and how users were still having issues even as recently as the Z Fold 3 from 2021.
Even though previous reports warned people not to get their hopes up about a Pixel Fold announcement at I/O due to problems with its supply chain, but now it appears Google may have turned things around. In any event, it still sounds like they won’t be shipping on May 10th alongside Google’s keynote: as with Quandt’s prior leak, CNBC says the Pixel Fold won’t ship until June.
The Verge says that Google will also reportedly offer a free Pixel Watch with purchase, just like Samsung sometimes offers free Galaxy Watches with its folding phones, and they will almost certainly show off Android 14 at Google I/O, which should come with better support for foldable phones. The first public betas are already out.
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