Google may have ‘cancelled’ the Pixel Fold

Google may have quit the foldable smartphone segment even before entering it. New reports indicate that the company might have dropped its plans to come up with a foldable Pixel phone, which was much anticipated to mark its debut as the Pixel Fold next year.

Up until now, there have been many speculations surrounding the Pixel Fold, which was expected to be Google’s first ever foldable phone offering in its international markets. Several developments around the phone were also captured in many leaks, including the likes of an LTPO OLED display and an optimised Android version for bigger screens.

Possibly putting an end to the wait, a new report by Display Supply Chain Consultants (DSCC) states that Google will not bring the Pixel Fold to production. The report cites supply chain sources to confirm that the company has cancelled the orders for its parts and is not keen on making such a phone. This decision is apparently based on the fact that this is a niche market and already has players like Samsung dominating the segment.

Google thus believes that the product will not be “as competitive as it needed to be,” as mentioned in the report. The competition for its Pixel Fold would have been strong by Samsung in the US and Europe. Then there are other players like Oppo, Vivo, Xiaomi, Huawei and Honor, which are also expected to offer their own foldable phones in China anytime soon.

Speculations on the Pixel Fold gained momentum after an internal Google document made its way to the internet last year with a mention of three Pixel devices in the making. Codenamed ‘Raven,’ ‘Oriole’, and ‘Passport’, the last one among the three was speculated to be a reference to the Pixel Fold. The first two were the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro which launched last month. All the three phones were previously anticipated to debut by 2021-end but it seems now that the third phone will not be joining the party after all..

Other developments had even hinted at a more optimised Android for the foldable phone. In addition to the Pixel Fold, the new OS was also meant to enable a better experience on foldable Android smartphones by other OEMs. Though it seems now that Google will focus on sharing this experience with users through other phones and not its own Pixel offering. India Today