CNBC says it’s seen Google’s launch plans for its long-awaited foldable, including a May reveal and June availability.
When will we finally see Google’s first foldable phone? The smart money is now on May 10th, with availability in June. CNBC says it got hold of internal marketing materials showing Google will launch the repeatedly reportedly delayed smartphone at Google I/O.
Most of CNBC’s report corroborates what leakers like Roland Quandt and OnLeaks have already told us. You should expect a closed-book 5.8-inch phone that folds out into a 7.6-inch tablet, powered by Google’s Tensor G2 processor, starting at north of $1,700 — making it a direct competitor to Samsung’s $1,800 Galaxy Z Fold 4.
But CNBC says they may differ in one important way: the Pixel Fold will have a larger battery “that Google says will last for 24 hours, or up to 72 hours in a low power mode,” according to the leaked documents. The phone will also reportedly be three-quarters of an ounce heavier at 10oz (roughly 283g) in total. Google is apparently planning to claim it has “the most durable hinge on a foldable,” likely dinging Samsung for how its original Galaxy Fold (from 2019) was notoriously breakable and how users were still having issues even as recently as the Z Fold 3 from 2021.
(Samsung’s Z Fold 4 passed JerryRigEverything’s first batch of anecdotal durability tests, for what it’s worth, but owners have so far only had seven months to see if it holds up.)
Google will also reportedly offer a free Pixel Watch with purchase, just like Samsung sometimes offers free Galaxy Watches with its folding phones.
I know, I know, I told you not to expect the Pixel Fold at I/O given what we’d heard about its supply chain, but it looks like Google may have turned things around. In any event, it still sounds like they won’t be shipping on May 10th alongside Google’s keynote: as with Quandt’s prior leak, CNBC says the Pixel Fold won’t ship until June.
Google will almost certainly show off Android 14 at Google I/O, which should come with better support for foldable phones. The first public betas are already out.
