Earlier than launching the Pixel Fold in June of 2023, Google had been engaged on foldables for fairly a while. The iteration simply earlier than that has now leaked, with this Pixel Fold prototype that includes a distinctly Pixel 6-era design.
In August of 2020, we reported that Google was engaged on a foldable referred to as “passport” that will launch in This fall of 2021 alongside what turned the Pixel 6 and 6 Professional. Software program proof of that machine appeared in a number of locations, together with the Android 12 Beta.
As that timeframe got here and went, the references to foldables switched to a brand new identify: “pipit.” We wrote on the time:
It’s not clear what precisely modified, however this form of mid-development codename change has occurred earlier than. For instance the Pixel Slate was developed as “Meowth” when it was deliberate to run on Intel’s Cannon Lake processors. When these had been delayed, Google rebuilt the Pixel Slate on older Intel processors as “Nocturne.”
In keeping with Android Authority right now, passport and pipit “had been totally different tasks sooner or later” however “they ultimately converged right into a single machine,” with photographs of pipit rising right now. It was posted to the XDA boards and has since been eliminated. There’s just one high-res picture of this Pixel Fold prototype:
Pipit appears practically similar to the first-gen Pixel Fold aside from a digicam bar that matches the Pixel 6 era. There’s a single piece of glass with metallic rails on the prime and backside that spans edge-to-edge with a taper. It’s a cleaner, extra constant look than the path Google ended up taking.
By way of digicam specs, we reported in November of 2021 that there could be two predominant lenses:
- “…as an alternative of the brand new GN1 sensor, the Pixel foldable could have the identical 12.2-megapixel IMX363 used because the Pixel 3, presumably as the principle sensor.”
- “…Pipit foldable will function a 12-megapixel IMX386 sensor that, if we are able to depend on the Pixel 6’s design, ought to be used for an ultrawide digicam.”
That has been confirmed right now. Android Authority reviews that the identical inside foldable display/panel was retained throughout pipit and what ultimately launched (felix). Google prototyped stylus assist for the Fold that will have virtually uncertainly impacted sturdiness.
By way of different specs, pipit was powered by the first-gen Tensor (G1?) and Exynos Modem 5123 as an alternative of the Tensor G2 and Exynos Modem 5300. It supplies further credence to the plan being to launch with the Pixel 6 collection.
FTC: We use earnings incomes auto affiliate hyperlinks. Extra.