This is the canceled Pixel Fold that wasn’t good enough for Google

The Google Pixel Fold was launched relatively late compared to first-generation foldable devices from other manufacturers. By the time it was finally released in mid-2023, Samsung had just launched the fifth iteration of its flagship foldable phone (and debuted a second look with the more popular Galaxy Z Flip series), and several companies others had also made their debut. This situation could have been very different, though — Google actually had another prototype nearly a year before the original Pixel Fold, but decided to scrap it because it wasn’t “good enough,” as revealed by Google’s head of design for hardware products. Ivy Ross, in a 2023 episode of the Made by Google podcast.

While the existence of this canceled smartphone is a fairly well-known fact, we’ve never seen it in pictures or learned the full specs, but that changes today. Pictures of what appeared to be a mysterious Pixel Fold-like device first surfaced in a quiet XDA forum thread (the original images are now gone, unfortunately, but we do have copies), prompting hushed speculation that it was either fake or early prototype. Thanks to an anonymous source within Google, Android Authority we can confirm that this is indeed our first look at the canceled foldable Pixel codenamed “pipi” and its specs.

Before we get started, it’s worth noting that the devices codenamed “pipit” and “passport,” both of which are rumored to be canceled Pixel foldable devices, are actually the same device. While they were separate projects at one point, they eventually merged into a single device that continued to be called the “pipit.”

The canceled Pixel Fold has an oddly familiar look; the only feature that clearly distinguishes it from the final version is a (mostly) smooth strip of glass that runs the entire width of the device, very similar to a Pixel 6. The released Pixel Fold has a smaller camera island made in polished metal, matching the look of the Pixel 7 Pro.

Other than that, the form factor hasn’t changed much. The unusual aspect ratio is the same, the frame and hinges look almost the same, and even the matte back glass was already there (the carbon texture on the top of the device is just a skin added by the seller).

(We apologize for the image quality of the photos below. This is the best we’ve managed to salvage from the deleted photos in the thread.)

Unfortunately, the unit discussed in the thread has a cracked internal screen, so we can’t compare it to the first generation Pixel Fold. However, it is fair to assume that it looked similar, if not identical.

Unintelligible specifications

If the “pipit” did come out, it would have arrived a few months after the Pixel 6 series, so obviously, its specs are a generation behind compared to the first generation Pixel Fold, which is built on the basic configuration of the Pixel 7. Instead of a Tensor G2 with Exynos Modem 5300, the device came with the first-generation Tensor and Exynos Modem 5123, which was notable for the number of problems it had.

Similarly, the device had an older camera setup. While the first generation Pixel Fold looked more like a Pixel 7a with its improved cameras, the “pipit” had a much older setup with a rather ancient Sony IMX363, which debuted in the Pixel 3 in 2018! The other sensors are similarly reduced, and the telephoto lens is completely absent. I’ve put together a comparison of camera specs below.

Another area where the Pipit differed from the released Pixel Fold was the external display. The device had an ever so slightly smaller display at 66 x 128mm compared to 67 x 130mm on the Pixel Fold. The resolution also differed slightly at 1,080 x 2,100 pixels compared to 1,080 x 2,092.

One thing that surprisingly remained the same, however, is the internal display – it remained a completely unchanged panel. However, what is interesting is that Google has developed a prototype version of the device with support for stylus input. While it looks like the idea was eventually scrapped — the last prototype to incorporate this concept was the PIPIT EVT 1.0 Stylus, while other versions of the device moved on to the much later DVT stage — it’s still interesting to see that Google was exploring something like this.

While the Pixel Fold that ended up on store shelves is an improvement over the ‘pip’, it looks quite a step up, which begs the question: What went wrong? Why wasn’t “pipit” good enough?

Of course, this is just speculation, but we can make a good guess by looking at the larger context in which it would have been released. Pipit would have been announced at Google I/O 2022, right alongside the canceled first-gen Pixel tablet with Tensor (codenamed “tangor”; the device that ended up shipping is “tangorpro”) and the Pixel 6a. It would also make it one of the first devices to run Google’s big-screen-optimized version of Android – the 12L. It really couldn’t be a better fit, so why wasn’t it?

The launch of the Pixel 6 series was a mess. A good part of that was the buggy release of Android 12. While the Android 12L release fixed a few things, it still wasn’t close to being stable. Not only that, but many functions were pushed back, making it 12 liters less than it should have been.

It’s likely that Google decided to push both the tablet and the foldable back a year to make sure the software is ready and fix the hardware where needed. What we ended up with shipping was still by no means perfect, but it was likely better than what we would have seen if Google had continued with “pipit.”

Even canceled, the “pipit” was something of a success: our sources tell us that many Googlers used the prototype units as their everyday devices, and the first-generation Pixel Fold obviously built on the hardware and software created for the canceled prototype . Hopefully the upcoming Pixel 9 Pro Fold will continue this generational improvement.