Because Samsung currently dominates the global foldable market so very convincingly, it's hardly been shocking to see the upcoming Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Z Flip 5 dominate our headlines for the last couple of months or so.
But a mighty new contender for the title of best foldable phone in the world is reportedly set to arise several months ahead of the next big Unpacked event, and it's definitely not surprising that Google's first-ever Pixel Fold edition is capturing more and more of the mobile industry's limelight these days.
While a bunch of rumors originally called for a fall 2022 announcement of this bad boy, that obviously didn't happen, but the odds of dealing with a false alarm for the second time in less than a year are pretty much nonexistent now that CNBC is (vaguely) supporting Jon Prosser's predictions from a couple of days ago.
The Pixel Fold is almost surely coming in June
By "coming", of course, we mean this direct Galaxy Z Fold 4 rival is all but guaranteed to actually start selling at the beginning of this summer following a formal Google I/O announcement on May 10, almost definitely alongside the more "traditional" Pixel 7a mid-range handset.
This is most likely how the Pixel Fold will look when it eventually sees daylight.
Although CNBC claims to have seen "internal documents and images" pertaining to Google's rookie foldable effort, these apparently didn't go into a lot of detail regarding the high-ender's official launch schedule, so for the time being, we'll just have to trust Prosser and expect commercial availability to kick off on June 27.
Naturally, pre-orders are likely to commence (a lot) earlier, specifically on May 10, and according to CNBC's inside information, Big G is preparing to offer not just cool trade-in promotions for early adopters but possibly a free Pixel Watch as well.
That may or may not seal the deal for buyers vexed by the Pixel Fold's "upward of $1,700" recommended price point. There's a pretty high likelihood that this thing will start at the exact same $1,799 tag as Samsung's incredibly well-reviewed Z Fold 4, which could set the Pixel Fold on an uphill struggle to mainstream popularity.
Good but perhaps not great specs are in the cards
CNBC is today lending credence to multiple recent rumors calling for the Pixel Fold to sport a "small tablet-sized" 7.6-inch primary screen and a 5.8-inch cover display. That doesn't compare very favorably to the competition, mind you, as the Galaxy Z Fold 4 comes with pretty much the same main panel but a little extra external screen real estate.
The upcoming Galaxy Z Fold 5 is expected to look more or less the same as last year's Z Fold 4 (pictured here).
The Pixel Fold is also expected to be slightly heavier than its direct rival, at 10 ounces (or around 283 grams), and unfortunately for Google, the Z Fold 5 could arrive in just a few months with an additional few grams shaved off its predecessor's 263-gram weight.
Then you have a Tensor G2 processor tipped to run the raw power show on the first-gen Pixel Fold, which is perfectly acceptable by current in-house Google chip standards but nowhere near as fast as the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 found inside the Z Fold 4 and the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy recently seen flexing its muscles in pre-release Z Fold 5 and Z Flip 5 benchmarks.
In a nutshell, it's hard to imagine why anyone would ever be inclined to pick the Pixel Fold over its more mature and polished competition. Unless, of course, you deeply care about battery life, which Google will purportedly rate at 24 hours or up to as much as 72 hours in a "low power mode."
That definitely sounds like an important potential advantage compared to the Galaxy Z Fold 4, and we're also extremely intrigued by Google's rumored intention to claim that the Pixel Fold offers the "most durable hinge" on a foldable phone. May 10 can't come soon enough now!
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Adrian, a mobile technology enthusiast since the Nokia 3310 era, has been a dynamic presence in the tech journalism field, contributing to Android Authority, Digital Trends, and Pocketnow before joining PhoneArena in 2018. His expertise spans across various platforms, with a particular fondness for the diversity of the Android ecosystem. Despite the challenges of balancing full-time parenthood with his work, Adrian's passion for tech trends, running, and movies keeps him energized. His commitment to mid-range smartphones has led to an eclectic collection of devices, saved from personal bankruptcy by his preference for 'adequate' over 'overpriced'.
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