Google Unveils First Foldable Phone, Will Start Shipping in June

Google has unveiled its first foldable phone.

The new Pixel Fold will begin shipping in June, George Hwang, product manager, Pixel at Google, said in a Wednesday (May 10) blog post.

“Our new foldable phone combines the helpfulness of Pixel with a design that unfolds into a compact tablet, unlocking even more ways for you to use your device,” Hwang said in the post. “And it’s all powered by our Google Tensor G2 chip, which also makes Pixel Fold fast and secure.”

The unveiling comes six days after Google released a preview of the foldable phone.

When closed, the Pixel Fold is the size of a typical smartphone, fits into the user’s palm or pocket, and has an exterior screen that can be used like that of any other Pixel phone, according to the post.

When opened, it has a 7.6-inch interior screen and a thinner profile than other foldable phones in the markets in which it will be sold, not including the camera bump, the post said.

The camera, battery, speakers and haptics technology have been redesigned to accommodate that thin design, per the post.

“When fully open, the interior screen gives you all the benefits of a tablet,” Hwang said in the post. “Many of your favorite apps are optimized to take full advantage of the larger screen. Immerse yourself by watching shows, reading a book and playing games, or enjoy having space to get more things done.”

The $1,799 foldable phone is Google’s most expensive handset — at a price comparable to Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 4 — and marks a departure from its usual strategy of undercutting the price of rival devices, Bloomberg reported Wednesday.

Foldable phones make up 1% of smartphone shipments but are expected to account for 5% of smartphone wholesale revenues this year because of their higher prices, the report said.

The unveiling of the phone comes about eight months after it was reported that the number of U.S. iPhone users topped the number of Android users for the first time ever.

Based on the number of phones in use, Apple broke the 50% milestone for the quarter ending in June 2022, the Financial Times (FT) reported in September 2022.