Google did not announce the Pixel Fold folding smartphone alongside the new Pixel 6 models, and unfortunately, it has missed a great opportunity.
The Google Pixel Fold and all its tantalizing potential remain a rumor, as only the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro were on show during the company’s October 19 event. I’m not saying the Pixel 6 isn’t good enough. Not at all — it certainly appears to have all the right ingredients to push Google smartphones forward compared to previous models. But what they don’t do is push the mobile hardware industry forward, at least not in the same way a folding smartphone would. At a time when interest in folding smartphones is at its highest, Google has missed a golden opportunity. Google has made attractive, colorful, and apparently extremely capable new smartphones with the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro. They both look like they have good cameras, an interesting new processor, and a design that doesn’t threaten to put me into a coma — all at a very competitive price. Unfortunately, the same can usually be said about a new OnePlus, Apple, Samsung, Xiaomi, or Oppo phone right after launch, so although these are big steps for Google, they’re not really unusual in the wider industry. A folding smartphone is groundbreaking and unusual. If it had put a Pixel Fold up for pre-order alongside the Pixel 6, the only company Google would have as a challenger is Samsung. It’s also realistically the only one that can truly take on Samsung at the moment, as Pixel phones are adored by us techy folk but Samsung rules the mainstream. A Pixel Fold wouldn’t be the same as Xiaomi releasing a folding smartphone, as the audience that would buy the device would be quite different, and Xiaomi doesn’t have any plans to enter the U.
