Google 'Pixel Fold' Delayed Yet Again as Apple Eyes 2025 for Foldable iPhone

Google is said to have delayed the launch of its first foldable smartphone yet again, due to the device reportedly failing to meet the company's expectations.

Pixel Fold
According The Elec, the company had planned to launch the device during the fourth quarter of this year, but Google has now chosen to delay its release. The outlet's sources said the delay was likely because the product is "not as complete as Google wishes."

The report didn't say when the foldable Pixel was now expected to launch, but well-connected Display Supply Chain Consultants (DSCC) analyst Ross Young revealed on Twitter that multiple sources in the supply chain have told him the device has been delayed until next spring.

This is the second time Google has postponed the launch of its rumored Pixel Fold, or "Pixel Notepad," as some have called it. Documents leaked in 2020 suggested Google planned to release a in-folding smartphone in late 2021, but that didn't happen.

Google didn't even mention foldable devices at its recent I/O developer conference, leaving some Pixel fans wondering if the device had been canned. Minds were immediately cast back to 2019, when Google revealed it was developing technology that could be used in a foldable but admitted in the same breath that it didn't see "a clear use case yet."

The Samsung OLED panels that Google is believed to have chosen for the device are said to include a 5.8-inch outer screen and a folding 7.6-inch inner screen, similar to the Oppo Find N. The phone is also rumored to feature an ultra-thin glass (UTG) cover, also supplied by Samsung.

oppo find n copy

Oppo Find N

Previous rumors have claimed that Google's device was lagging behind Samsung's Fold series. However, Young believes it is not a problem with the display that is behind the delay, but more probably the emergence of software innovations or a new chipset that Google wants to incorporate into the device.

Apple has been known to be working on foldable display technology for some years now, filing multiple patents regarding the technology. Apple analyst ‌Ming-Chi Kuo‌ said in September that Apple will introduce the first foldable ‌iPhone‌ in 2024. However, Young more recently reported that Apple's long-rumored foldable ‌iPhone‌ has been delayed until 2025. News of the delay came after discussions with supply chain sources, suggesting Apple is in no hurry to enter the foldable market.

According to leaker Dylandkt, Apple is experimenting with multiple foldable iPhone prototypes, but that doesn't necessarily mean a foldable ‌iPhone‌ is coming in the near future.

Top Rated Comments

xserret Avatar
24 months ago
This whole idea of a foldable phone remains so unconvincingly superfluous to me... (similar to 3D TV sets..)
I bet before the obvious shortcomings are fully addressed some other disruption will come to make it almost useless..
Score: 26 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ninethirty Avatar
24 months ago
Solution in search of a problem.
Score: 23 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ImperialForces Avatar
24 months ago
I was at target yesterday and took a look at the Samsung foldable phone. There’s a palpable crease through the center of the screen. Not interested at all.
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
city_17 Avatar
24 months ago
I can understand people being skeptical, but ultimately the proposition of foldable screens is very simple: more screen in the same package. That is something that appeals to everyone and has clear benefits.

However, on these fold-style phones you pay for that in thickness, which may not be a trade-off everyone likes. That's why I think the real future is in the roll-out style phones that give you essentially the same thing as current phones, but more screen real estate when you want it.



So in the long term I think foldable screens will be a success, it's just more a question of what implementation will work best.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TheYayAreaLiving ?️ Avatar
24 months ago
Not a fan of foldable phones. I also don’t think Apple will release foldable iPhones in 2025
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Expos of 1969 Avatar
24 months ago

...and of course I was totally wrong, the iPad was (is?) a game changing device that has [S]revolutionized [/S]
ruined our lives (I use mine to play Solitaire and watch Amazon Prime in the middle of the night).
Fixed it for you. Sleep disruption is certainly not a revolution to celebrate.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)

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