This is the canceled Pixel Fold that wasn’t good enough for Google

The Google Pixel Fold launched relatively late compared to other manufacturers’ first-generation foldable phones. By the time it finally launched in mid-2023, Samsung had just launched the fifth iteration of its foldable style (and a second look with the more popular Galaxy Z Flip series), and several other companies had also made their debuts. This situation could have been very different, though — Google had another prototype ready a year before the original Pixel Fold but decided to scrap it because it wasn’t “good enough,” as Google’s head of hardware product design, Ivy Ross, revealed in 2023. Made by Google Podcast Episode.

While the existence of this cancelled smartphone is a well-known fact, we’ve never seen it in pictures or learned the full specifications, but that changes today. Images of what appears to be a mysterious Pixel Fold-like device have quietly surfaced for the first time. XDA forum thread (The original photos are now gone, unfortunately, but we have copies of them), sparking muted speculation that it is either a fake or an early prototype. Thanks to an anonymous source inside Google, Robot body We can confirm that this is indeed our first look at the foldable Pixel codenamed “pipit” and its specifications.

Before we get started, it’s worth noting that the devices codenamed “pipit” and “passport,” both of which were rumored to be canceled foldable Pixel phones, are actually the same device. Although they were different projects at one point, they eventually converged into one continued device called the “Pipette.”

The canceled Pixel Fold has an eerily familiar look; The only feature that clearly sets it apart from the final version is a (mostly) smooth glass strip that runs across the entire width of the device, very similar to the Pixel 6. The released Pixel Fold has a smaller camera island made of brushed metal, matching the look of the Pixel 7 Pro.

Other than that, the form factor hasn’t changed much. The unusual aspect ratio is still the same, the frame and hinge look almost identical, and even the matte glass back is already there (the carbon-fiber texture on the top of the device is just an overlay added by the vendor).

(We apologize for the quality of the image below. This is the best we were able to salvage from the deleted images in the thread.)

Unfortunately, the unit being discussed in the thread has a broken internal display, so we can’t compare it to the first-generation Pixel Fold. However, it’s fair to assume that it looks similar, if not identical.

Unremarkable specifications

If the “pipit” was released, it came a few months after the Pixel 6 series, so its specifications are clearly a generation behind compared to the first generation Pixel Fold, which was built on the base configuration of the Pixel 7. Instead of the Tensor G2 with Exynos Modem 5300, The device came with the first generation Tensor and Exynos Modem 5123, which was notable for the number of issues it encountered.

Likewise, the device had an older camera setup. While the first generation Pixel Fold looked very similar to the Pixel 7a with its updated cameras, the ‘pipit’ had a much older setup with the rather old Sony IMX363, which first appeared on the Pixel 3 in 2018! The other sensors are similarly downgraded, and the telephoto lens is completely absent. I’ve put together a comparison of camera specifications below.

Another area where the “Suck” differs from the released Pixel Fold is the external display. The device has a slightly smaller display at 66 x 128mm compared to 67 x 130mm on the Pixel Fold. The resolution is also slightly different at 1080 x 2100 pixels compared to 1080 x 2092 pixels.

The only thing that has remained surprisingly the same is the internal display – it’s a completely unchanged panel. What’s interesting, though, is that Google developed a prototype version of the device with support for pen input. While the idea seems to have been eventually scrapped – the last prototype to include this concept was the “PIPIT EVT 1.0 Stylus,” while other versions of the device have reached the later DVT stage – it’s still interesting to see that Google was exploring something like this.

While the Pixel Fold that ended up on store shelves is an upgrade over the “pipit,” it seems somewhat incremental, which raises the question: What went wrong? Why wasn’t the “pipit” good enough?

Of course, this is just speculation, but we can make a good guess by looking at the broader context in which it would have been released. “Pipit” was supposed to be announced at Google I/O 2022, right alongside the canceled Pixel tablet with the first-generation Tensor (codename “tangor”; the one that ended up shipping was “tangorpro”) and the Pixel 6a. This would also make it one of the first devices to run Google’s large screen-optimized version of Android – the 12L. It couldn’t have been a better fit, so why wouldn’t it?

The launch of the Pixel 6 series was a mess. A big part of that was the buggy Android 12 release. While Android 12L fixed some things, it was nowhere near stable. Not only that, but a lot of features were also delayed, making 12 liters less than it was supposed to be.

Google likely decided to push both its tablet and foldable a year ago to make sure the software was ready and tweak the hardware where necessary. What ended up shipping wasn’t perfect by any means, but it was likely better than what we would have seen had Google gone ahead with the “sucker.”

Even after its cancellation, the “pipit” was a success: Our sources tell us that many Google employees used prototype units as daily devices, and the first-generation Pixel Fold was almost certainly built on the hardware and software created for the canceled prototype. Hopefully, the upcoming Pixel 9 Pro Fold will continue this generational improvement.