Foldable Pixel expected to be released in Q4 says DSCC co-founder Ross Young
UPDATE:According to wccftech, the Pixel Notepad's display will sport an LTPO backplane which tells us a few things. One, the foldable will sport an AMOLED display with a variable refresh rate that peaks at 120Hz. This rate will vary depending on the content being shown on the screen.
Google's foldable Pixel Notepad is back in the news today after the CEO of Display Supply Chain Consultants (DCSS), Ross Young, posted a tweet on Monday that said, "It's back! Looks like Google's foldable Pixel will start panel production in Q3'22 and launch in Q4'22."
For the calendar impaired, this means that production of the panels for the device could start in July, August, or September. The device would then be released in October, November, or December.
Foldable Pixel to be released during this year's fourth quarter says Ross Young
Young's tweet stating that the foldable Pixel is back revealed that he believes that Google canceled its original order for the foldable which was originally rumored to be named the Pixel Fold. Young said that Google put the kibosh on the phone around November because it felt that it was not up to snuff and could not go toe to toe with Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold 3 and 4 models since the foldable Pixel will not offer support for a stylus or an in-display camera.
DSCC's Ross Young says to expect a foldable Pixel to be released during the fourth quarter
Last month, the rumor mill gave birth to a new moniker for the Pixel Fold. The latest speculation has the phone named the Pixel Notepad probably to prevent any confusion with the Galaxy Z Fold line. The foldable Pixel is rumored to cost $1,400 which would be $400 cheaper than the Galaxy Z Fold 3. It is expected to sport a 7.6-inch internal display and carry a Google Tensor chipset under the hood.
The inclusion of Google's home-rolled chipset means that we should expect some of the same AI tricks used on the Pixel 6 series to be offered on the Pixel Notepad such as the Magic Eraser which makes unwanted distractions disappear on photos. Features such as Live Translation, and Motion Mode will probably be available on the Pixel Notepad. And if you ask Google to be your Spanish interpreter, you can have a back and forth conversation with someone talking to you in Spanish (and in other languages).
When you talk in English, the Pixel will translate what you said to Spanish and play it over the phone. Presumably, that will elicit a response in Spanish from your companion. The phone will translate what was said to English where it will play over the speaker allowing you to understand what was just said to you.
Young's Valentine's Day tweet about the Pixel Notepad being alive and well is indeed a love message to Pixel fans looking for some foldable love on stock Android. No sooner did Young disseminate his tweet than Front Page Tech's Jon Prosser tweeted "told ya it wasn't cancelled... google fold is back in action!" But before Prosser could take a bow, Young responded that parts orders had been canceled last year (making Young right and Prosser wrong).
The Pixel ecosystem is growing
It really doesn't matter since the bottom line is that the Pixel Notepad seems to be back in play for 2022. Hopefully, Google will take more time to test the device before releasing it. This should spare those who must purchase it immediately from having to deal with the strange assortment of issues and bugs that befell the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro when first released.
Render of the rumored Pixel Watch
But the Pixel Notepad most likely won't be the next new Pixel phone. That honor should belong to the mid-range Pixel 6a. We expect the device to take its design cues from the Pixel 6 series and offer the outstanding computational photography and AI features that were made available on the full-sized Pixel 6 series.
As we've noted, Google is really expanding the Pixel ecosystem with the new handsets, the Pixel Buds TWS, and possibly a foldable. We also could see this year the long-awaited Google Pixel Watch, and the rumored Android-powered Pixel Tablet. As long as Google continues to give Pixel devices exclusive software features and the first shot at updates, there always will be a market for these products.
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