A new rumor suggests the Google Pixel Fold release date could be in the final months of 2021, bringing the Google foldable perhaps as a surprise announcement alongside the Google Pixel 6 we expect to launch in October.
A tweet from David Naranjo, Senior Director of Display Supply Chain Consultants, lists several devices arriving in Q3 and Q4 of 2021 that are rumored to use LTPO OLED panels from Samsung Display Company (SDC). The list includes the just-launched iPhone 13 Pro as releasing in Q3, while the Google Pixel 6 Pro and Google Pixel Fold are expected in Q4.
With the announcement of iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max having a variable refresh rate up to 120Hz marks 20 models that are current and rumored that use LTPO OLED panels from SDC. pic.twitter.com/5wlbsl2HF1September 16, 2021
Of course, it’s the reference to the Pixel Fold that’s exciting, especially with a release window by year’s end. That it’s expected around the same time as the Google Pixel 6 lineup, which we anticipate arriving in October, suggests Google’s foldable is coming a lot sooner than expected.
Analysis: the Google Pixel Fold is coming…but when?
While we’ve been hearing that the Pixel Fold could launch in 2021 for awhile, it hasn’t been clear when the foldable would launch. There have been enough rumors suggesting its existence that it’s felt more a question of when, not if, we’ll see the phone. So what’s the argument for seeing it in 2021?
The most recent rumor compares alleged specs of the Pixel Fold against the upcoming Pixel 6 (which Google has so openly confirmed that units showed up in the windows of the NYC Google Store) – and the report suggests that the foldable might just be, well, a folding version of the tech giant’s next flagship. That includes the in-house Tensor chipset as well as a modem and cameras.
We could still see the Pixel Fold arrive in 2022: even though the foldable was referred to by its heavily-rumored codename (‘Passport’) in an Android 12 beta alongside codenames associated with the Pixel 6 and Google Pixel 5a, we may end up seeing it arrive in 2022 anyway. We just haven’t heard nearly enough smartphone scuttlebutt about the Pixel Fold to suggest it’s rolling off production lines – not nearly as much as we’ve heard about the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro. That said, maybe Google will still tease the device when it unveils its next flagship, just to keep us waiting for its reveal in the new year.
Via GSM Arena
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