“Tensor G2, Android innovation and AI”: the foldable smartphone Google Pixel Fold is presented
Without any surprises, the presentation of Google I/O 2023 ended with the demonstration of the first foldable smartphone from the search giant — Google Pixel Fold. Insiders have already told a lot about it, so those who were interested in thematic news were unlikely to be surprised by the official demo.
So, Google Pixel Fold is a small “book” made of Gorilla Glass Victus and a polished aluminum frame around it. The weight of the entire structure is 283 grams. In the folded state, the dimensions of the case are 139.7×79.5×12.1 mm, and in the unfolded state – 139.7×158.7×5.8 mm. Google notes that in the latter position, it is the thinnest foldable smartphone on the market.
At the same time, the diagonal of the external display is 5.8 inches. It’s an OLED screen with a resolution of 2092×1080 pixels (408 ppi) with an aspect ratio of 17.4:9. It also has a refresh rate of 120 Hz, a peak brightness of up to 1550 cd/m² and support for the Always-on function.
The internal OLED display is, of course, much larger and turns the smartphone into a small tablet. Its diagonal is 7.6 inches with an aspect ratio of 6:5 and a slightly lower pixel density of 308 ppi, or 2208×1840 dots. Its peak brightness is a slightly lower 1450 cd/m², but there’s also a high refresh rate of 120Hz and Always-on support is also in place.
This display is protected by what the company describes as “ultra-thin glass with protective plastic.” That is, the concept itself does not globally differ from competitors, even if the technology has its improvements. At the same time, it was already possible to see at the presentation that the bend line of the display will be visible at different viewing angles, even in a fully expanded 180° state. The company calls the mechanism Fluid-Friction Hinge.
At the presentation, in particular, a small emphasis was placed on the fact that the hinge was developed in such a way that it was more durable than others in folding smartphones. But only the practice of real use will show how it turned out.
It is also worth noting the large frames above and below the display. The hinge elements on them, although covered by protection, do not hide on the general background, which looks incomplete. However, the specifications still claim protection against moisture at the IPX8 level. But the fine print adds that “the device is not waterproof or dustproof” and “liquid damage will void the warranty” (the latter applies to most manufacturers and regular smartphones).
In general, the design of the Google Pixel Fold follows the style of the current Pixel models, except for the “fusion” of the camera unit with the side frames. But the appearance is still maintained in a very similar manner. There are fewer color options: Porcelain and Obsidian.
Productivity will be provided by the proprietary Google Tensor G2 processor. The RAM capacity is 12 GB LPDDR5 with two variants of UFS 3.1 standard drives — 256 or 512 GB. The device supports 5G (mmWave + Sub 6 GHz), a slot for a physical SIM card with a second eSIM, works with Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.2, NFC, has an Ultra-Wideband chip, and “communicates” with several navigation systems.
In total, five cameras are installed on the smartphone. The main unit has three: a wide-angle 48-megapixel camera with an aperture value of ƒ/1.7, optical stabilization, and an angle of capture 82°; an ultra-wide-angle with a resolution of 10.8 MP, ƒ/2.2 and an angle of capture 121.1°; and telephoto too with 10.8 MP, ƒ/3.05 and 5x optical zoom.
The selfie cameras have the same angle of capture of 84°, but the external one got 9.5 MP with ƒ/2.2, and the internal one got 8 MP with ƒ/2.0. At the same time, the external camera is placed in the cutout of the display, and the internal one is located in the frame above the screen.
By itself, the smartphone provides the possibility to attach the main cameras for high-quality selfies using the external display as a viewfinder in the unfolded state of the case. It is also assumed that the camera can be used when the smartphone is half-open – in this way, it becomes a “tripod” for itself and will allow, for example, quite conveniently to take pictures of the night sky. Android has been prepared for such interaction. In the same way, the screen is adjusted when, for example, watching a video.
In addition, the operating system was taught to “pick up” different formats of use, so having started this or that action on the external display, it can be continued at any time on the internal one, simply by opening the smartphone. The internal screen can also be split into two halves for multitasking, with drag-and-drop functionality for content, window resizing, etc. Along with this, similar to the Samsung Galaxy Fold, it will also be possible to call up a small Dock to launch applications without collapsing the current one.
Additionally, the Google Pixel Fold has Dual Screen Interpreter Mode, using both displays to translate text. So the user will be able to unfold the smartphone, showing the translation to the interlocutor on the external screen, and receive the translation of the answer on the internal one.
Among the capabilities of AI, unfortunately, the demo did not mention many examples. In addition to already familiar options, for example, for photo processing, only the Help me write function, where AI helps generate a longer text of an email from a short prompt, was demonstrated on stage.
The device’s specifications also include support for stereo playback, a fingerprint scanner in the power button, face recognition with selfie cameras, and security updates for five years.
The battery has a capacity of 4821 mAh. It supports PD 3.0 and 30W fast charging. Inductive charging is also in the list of possibilities, but without the Fast prefix, as is the case with the Pixel 7 and 7 Pro. Also, the Pixel Fold does not support reverse charging.
You can order the device from today at a price of $1,799 with a 256-gigabyte drive, and up to $1,919 for 512 GB. This can be done in the USA, Great Britain, Germany, and Japan. The device comes with a charging cable (USB-C-to-USB-C), a Quick Switch Adapter, and a pin for opening the SIM card slot. Together with the Google Pixel Fold pre-order in the US, the company will give the buyer a branded “smart” watch Pixel Watch. The orders should reach the addressees as soon as next month.