ThePixel Fold is not cheap, but it is finally here
Folding the Pixel: The Case for a High-Performance, Low-Resolution, Ultra-Thin Screen and a Low-Cost Smartphone
The inside screen is made of ultra-thin glass and has a plastic layer, making it less durable than the outer screen. The hinge that holds it all together can move up to 180 degrees. (Google says it has tested it by folding it more than 200,000 times with no issues.) You can position the hinge in a variety of different angles, and thanks to the flat sides, the Pixel Fold can stay upright by itself. It permits a few tricks like using the front screen as a camera’s viewfinder and taking a photo with the primary camera on the rear. No tripod needed!
The 5.8-inch OLED screen on the front of the folded phone (which has a fast 120-Hz screen refresh rate) is decently wide and feels quite similar to a normal smartphone, if a little compact, when you’re using it. Open the Fold up and you’re treated to a 7.6-inch OLED panel with a 2K resolution (also with a 120-Hz screen). You’ll be able to use it instantly on the inside screen when you open an app on the front screen.
Does it work more like a foldable than the one from SAMSUNG? It’s something I’ll need more time to tell you, but I don’t think so. It still looks weird next to a traditional phone. It likely won’t fit in some pockets.
I had a very brief time with the Pixel Fold, but if you’ve ever tried a Pixel 6 Pro or Pixel 7 Pro, it feels exactly like that but … it also folds. The Google hardware design ethos carries through, firmly cementing this phone as a Pixel, though I wish there was a snazzy color option (it only comes in Obsidian and Porcelain). The thinness is a priority for the team. It’s just marginally thinner than theSamsung Z Fold4 at just under an inch in its folded state and 0.2 in unfolded.
All of these new features sound great, but the phone also costs more than its predecessor. The Pixel 7A retails for $499, a price increase of $50 over the 6A (which has seen frequent discounts to $299). It still seems like a fairly good value, one you can preorder now directly from Google. Doing so also lands you a free case (while supplies last) and a $100 credit, which you can put toward your choice of Google Pixel Buds. The Pixel 7A is on it’s way.
In the past, the usual highlight of a Pixel A-series phone was a camera that matched the quality of the higher-end models. The Pixel 6A changed that by keeping the 5A camera in favor of using the same Tensor processor as the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro. Now, the 7A gets the best of both worlds by using the same Google Tensor G2 chip found in the Pixel 7 and 7 Pro and pairing it with a new 64-megapixel main camera and 13-megapixel ultrawide. The main camera actually packs more resolution than the Pixel 7, but it’s on a smaller-size sensor.
The Google Pixel Watch: Hardware and Software for the Next-Generation Android Wearable Devices, from Smartphones to Width Computers
“They have to build hardware to be able to understand how that software will be used,” Sag says. There have been many problems with foldables, the exception is software. Google needs to improve the experience and, more importantly, enable developers to make the most of foldables as a form factor.”
For comparison, consider Google’s Pixel Watch, the Android-powered wearable which was recently released into an already mature wrist computer market dominated by Apple, Samsung, and Garmin. It was years late to the beginning of the line and was still buggy and underpowered. The Pixel Watch has still sold reasonably well, though nowhere close to the competition. Why bother with it at all? Well, because there is a whole ecosystem of software for Wear OS devices that Google knows it needs to be on top of. The Pixel Watch can be used to experiment with new experiences because it is both hardware and software.
