Before launching the Pixel Fold in June of 2023, Google had been working on foldable devices for some time. The iteration immediately preceding that has now been leaked, with the Pixel Fold model featuring a distinctive Pixel 6-era design.
In August of 2020, we reported that Google was working on a foldable phone called the “Passport” that would launch in Q4 2021 alongside what became the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro. Code guides for this device have appeared in several places, including Android 12 Beta.
As that time frame came and went, references to foldable devices morphed into a new name: “pipit.” We wrote then:
It’s not yet clear what exactly changed, but this kind of mid-development codename change has happened before. For example, the Pixel Slate was developed with the name “Meowth” when it was planned to run on Intel Cannon Lake processors. When these processors were delayed, Google rebuilt the Pixel Slate on older Intel processors as “Nocturne.”
according to Robot body Today, the passport and the pipette were “two different projects at one point” but “eventually converged into one device”, with images of the pipette emerging today. It was posted on the XDA forums and has since been removed. There’s only one high-resolution image of the Pixel Fold prototype:
The Pipit looks almost identical to the first-gen Pixel Fold except for the camera bar, which matches the Pixel 6-gen. There’s a single piece of glass with metal bars at the top and bottom that run from edge to edge in a tapered shape. It’s a cleaner, more consistent look than the direction Google eventually went with.
In terms of camera specifications, we reported in November 2021 that there would be two main lenses:
- “…Instead of the new GN1 sensor, the foldable Pixel will have the same 12.2-megapixel IMX363 sensor used since the Pixel 3, presumably as the main sensor.”
- “…the foldable Pipit will feature a 12MP IMX386 sensor, which, if we can go by the Pixel 6 design, should be used for an ultrawide camera.”
This was confirmed today. Android Authority Reports suggest that the same foldable display/inner panel was retained across the tubes and what eventually launched (Felix). Google’s typical stylus support for the Fold would have undoubtedly affected durability.
In terms of other specifications, the pipit is powered by Tensor (G1?) and Exynos Modem 5123 instead of Tensor G2 and Exynos Modem 5300. It provides additional credibility to the plan to launch with the Pixel 6 series.
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