Google finally revealed its first foldable smartphone, the Pixel Fold, at its annual I/O 2023 developer conference.
With a renewed focus on big-screen devices with the announcement of the Pixel tablet, it makes sense for Google to expand into foldable devices to showcase the latest in Android.
A big part of what makes the Fold tick is the software, and the optimizations they have made for the foldable form factor, like the ability to run apps side-by-side using a split screen or automatically resizing content when you switch from the smaller outer screen to the main display.
Speaking of which, the Fold uses a 5.8-inch outer OLED display with a resolution of 2092 x 1080 and a refresh rate of 120Hz. The folding screen is a 7.6-inch OLED with a resolution of 2208 x 1840 and a refresh rate of 120Hz.
The Fold will use the Tensor G2 SoC that was introduced with Pixel 7, and it will be paired with a Titan M2 co-processor. On paper, it isn't the fastest SoC in the world but Google is betting on its AI smarts, rather than horsepower.
It enables the Pixel Fold to do things such as become a real-time translation device, where you use both the inner and outer displays to communicate with others in a different language. Besides this, the SoC also helps out with photography, and AI calculations on the device.
The SoC and co-processor are joined by 12GB of LPDDR5 RAM and 256GB or 512GB of UFS 3.1 internal storage.
As for the camera array, the main triple sensor module on the back has a primary 48-megapixel quad PD sensor with OIS and an aperture of f/1.7, flanked by a 10.8-megapixel 5x telephoto lens with dual PDAF and digital zoom up to 20x. Finally, the third sensor is a 10.8-megapixel ultra-wide with 121.1-degree field of view.
The device has a 4,821mAh battery that Google says will last 24 hours on a single charge, and up to 72 hours with Extreme Battery Saver mode. It supports 30W wired fast charging, and Qi wireless charging. The phone is IPX8 certified which means it is water resistant and can be submerged into water up to 1.5m in depth, but only under certain conditions.
Unfortunately, Google has not mentioned when it plans to launch the foldable in India and for now, it is available for pre-order in the US, priced at $1,799.
In case, you are wondering about the other smartphone Google announced, the Pixel 7a, then we have our first impressions right here.
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