Google may be canceling Pixel Fold plans in face of Samsung’s market dominance

By Michael Allison November 15, 2021

Google was rumored to be launching a Pixel foldable (tentatively known as the Pixel Fold) before the end of the year. Now, DSSC CEO Ross Young says the foldable has been canceled and is not expected to make an appearance in the foreseeable future.

Citing supply chain sources, Young says that Google will not be bringing the Pixel Fold to the market by the end of the year as previously expected. A release in 2022 is also unlikely, with the first half of the year ruled out for now at least.

With Android 12L coming to the market soon, it would make sense for Google to be planning a hardware launch to coincide with it — much like it has done with previous Android releases. That’s apparently not happening. Referring back to supply chain sources, Young says Google doesn’t think the Pixel Fold will be competitive against the Galaxy Z Fold or Galaxy Z Flip in the U.S. and Europe. Young points out that China remains for the taking, with companies like Huawei and Xiaomi working on their own foldables. But Google simply can’t compete there effectively with its service banned.

It is true that foldables do remain a niche market, and Google has yet to crack the more mainstream smartphone market with regular old slab phones. Google would not be alone in backing down from Samsung when it comes down in this market. TCL has also backed off from competing in the flip phone market when faced with the 800-pound gorilla that is Samsung. While it is undoubtedly a missed opportunity should foldables become big in the future, it’s hard to fault Google’s logic (if the report is true).

To paraphrase my colleague Andy Boxall: As Samsung is now so far ahead in the folding phone game, why would anyone else bother?

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Google’s next foldable phone is going to be a screamer, and not solely for good reasons, if the latest leaks are to be believed. SmartPrix (via OnLeaks) has shared alleged renders depicting the Google Pixel Fold 2, and it looks like a mixed bag of regressive design and positive developments.
The biggest change compared to the first-gen Google Pixel Fold is a camera bump that ditches the stretched bar look on the current-gen Pixel smartphones. Instead, we now have a rectangular design with two rows of pill-shaped black outlines, hosting three camera lenses and a bunch of other sensors.
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Another notable change is the side profile. The curved edges of the Pixel Fold have been flattened, a look that will also appear on the Google Pixel 9 series phones, according to leaked renders.
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Even the ridge seems to have been lifted straight from the OnePlus Open, down to its polished metal aesthetics. It’s not a bad thing, as the OnePlus Open is one of the best-built phones I’ve ever used, and the form factor is an absolute joy to handle.
The most progressive change happens once the phone is opened. The thick bezels are gone, and what we see on the Pixel Fold 2 renders are uniformly thin bezels on all sides, a trend that we first noticed on the foldable phones offered by Oppo.