Google looks to surprise with foldable Pixel phone this year

(Pocket-lint) – Google may have the tech shock of the year up their sleeves, and a series of new reports seems to add a lot more credence to that idea. According to multiple sources, Google is planning on announcing the company’s very first foldable Pixel smartphone, and that might explain why the company has been so atypically eager to show off the Pixel 6 line months before its launch. 

Display supply chain expert and analyst Ross Young regularly makes future product predictions, and according to AppleTrack has a stellar 100% perfect accuracy rating when it comes to his rumours. Recently, he tweeted that users should expect to see a “Pixel Fold” by the end of 2021. 

Pixel Fold will come first at end of 2021…

— Ross Young (@DSCCRoss) June 7, 2021

^{Straight to the point, yeah?}

BGR also notes that whispers coming from Korean suppliers seem to indicate that Google is ordering OLED displays and UTG glass – which is the name Samsung is using for its flexible displays as seen on both the Galaxy Z Fold and Flip 3. 

Now, perhaps the most damning evidence to corroborate the existence of the Pixel Fold comes from directly within Android 12, as references within the code seem to mention a device with a codename dubbed “Passport”, something many in the Google community believe to be a moniker for a foldable Pixel. For context, Oriole and Raven are believed to be Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro, while the “Slider” remains unknown. Rollable Pixel, anyone? 

Oriole, Raven, Passport, “Slider” are 4 out of 5 devices that have a modem referenced as “g5123b”. The most recent Samsung Exynos (“shannon”) modem is 5123A. Can’t confirm the last one right now.

— cstark27 (@Cstark_27) August 11, 2021

Usually, Pixel pre-release information leaks faster than a broken fish tank, but this year, it’s been Google who’ve taken total control of the carefully curated Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro information and marketing imagery. Will the Pixel Fold be the shock to the tech world it seems like it could be? 

Check out all our coverage of the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro right here.