Google Pixel Fold Set for a June Release

A credible report in CNBC claims that Google will finally announce the Pixel Fold smartphone at Google I/O in May and release it to the public in June.

“Google is planning to launch its first foldable smartphone at upward of $1,700, making it the highest price-point product in Google’s smartphone series, according to internal documents and images viewed by CNBC,” the report reads. “The company claims the Pixel Fold, which will compete with Samsung’s phones, will have ‘the most durable hinge on a foldable’ phone and will offer a phone trade-in option.”

The Pixel Fold is Google’s long-awaited and at least twice-delayed foldable smartphone. It is described as “water-resistant and pocket-sized,” and features a 5.8-inch exterior display and a 7.6-inch interior folding display, similar to the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4. It will weigh 10 ounces, slightly more than the Samsung, but will feature a bigger battery that’s good for 24 hours of use.

The Pixel Fold, like the Pixel 7a smartphone that Google will also announce at Google I/O, will be built around last year’s Tensor G2 chipset, which is optimized for machine learning (ML) tasks and not general performance.

Finally, Google will offer some kind of incentive for current Pixel and iPhone users to trade up to the Pixel Fold. It’s not clear if this means higher than usual trade-in values or something else. Pixel Fold buyers will also get a free Pixel Watch, CNBC says.