When it comes to book-style foldable phones, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 has ruled the roost since it launched. Packing an impressive spec sheet, the Fold offers serious horsepower for daily tasks.
It's remained relatively uncontested, too. While a whole host of flip phones have peppered the market looking to do battle with the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4, few have sought to challenge the larger device across the global market.
That is until now. The Google Pixel Fold has been rumoured for a while, putting the signature Pixel DNA into a book-style folding device. We've seen renders of the device before now, as well as a case-makers dummy which gave us an idea of the size. It's even been reportedly spotted on a New York train.
But now, a much more comprehensive leak has come from the folks at WinFuture. They have a superb track record when it comes to tech leaks, giving the news some added credence.
First things first, the intended release date for the device could be as soon as the second week in June. That means we're highly likely to see it unveiled in full at the Google I/O event in May, rather than just getting a glimpse of a work-in-progress device.
WinFuture suggests that there will only be one storage variant available – 256GB. That's been contested by a different source, SnoopyTech, who has knowledge of a 512GB variant, too. They also have differing opinions on price. WinFuture estimates that the Pixel Fold will cost around €1,700, with SnoopyTech replying, "Price is probably cheaper."
Last, but certainly not least, the colour options for the handset were unveiled as 'Porcelain' and 'Carbon'. We'd suspect that's white and black to you and I, maybe with a texture or metallic element to add some extra spice. Could it be the nano-ceramic coating we saw unveiled on the Google Pixel Tablet last year? It's unlikely given the flat look of the renders, but never say never.
All in all, though, this is shaping up to be a cracking device. The price will ultimately be the make-or-break factor here – €1,700 equates to around £1,500 / $1,800 / AU$2,750 when directly translated. For me, that's too rich. It would undercut the Samsung offering slightly, but not by enough to warrant taking a chance on an unproven device.
I think that somewhere around the £1,300 mark would be perfect, offering users the upgrade of a foldable at the same price point as a top-end slab phone like the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra or the iPhone 14 Pro Max. We'll have to wait and see what happens – though thankfully, not for too much longer.
