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The Google Pixel Fold (Review) was a popular device and a turning point for the Google Pixel phone design. Rumor has it that the Pixel 9 will adopt the same camera package design as a Pixel Fold. However, thanks to a leaked photo, it looks like the Google Pixel Fold 2 could have a design overhaul.
Now, this is extremely early information, so you’ll want to take this with a grain of salt (or a whole bag of salt). There’s a chance that the information may not be 100% accurate. Also, if this is the Pixel Fold 2, there’s the chance that it’s a prototype and not reflective of the final product.
A leak of the Pixel Fold 2 shows a design shift
Google’s phones have always had a “Google” design; designs that are weird… but a good weird. This was a case for the original Pixel Fold. The phone has a candy bar-style camera bump on the back.
Well, thanks to an exclusive leak from Android Authority, it looks like the Pixel Fold 2 could bring a design overhaul. Looking at the image below, we see a radically different camera bump on the back. If this leak is true, then this will be the first time that a Pixel phone has had a left-mounted camera bump since the Pixel 5A in 2021. It looks like the cameras will sit in a square pattern on the top left of the phone.
In the image, it looks like there would be four sensors along with the LED flash. The top two lenses look like they would be the main camera and the ultra-wide lens. The bottom two could possibly be the telephoto lens and what looks like a periscopic zoom lens. Obviously, we cannot confirm this information officially, so this is just speculation. Take the information cautiously.
Design
Other details about the phone that we could glean have to do with the overall design. This may just be from the angle that the person is holding the phone, but it appears that Google will slim the Pixel Fold 2 just a bit. The original Pixel Fold was notably wide, almost resembling an Oppo Find N phone.
However, it almost looks like each half of the Pixel Fold 2 will be a little bit more slender. It appears that each half will have the exact same aspect ratio as a standard smartphone. The Pixel Fold, along with the Oppo Find N3 and the OnePlus Open (Review), were applauded for implementing a wider aspect ratio for each half. They heavily contrasted Samsung’s design philosophy of having each half be so slender that it’s almost impractical. So, hopefully, Google isn’t going in the direction of the Galaxy Z foldables.
Rounded corners
Another thing we can get from the picture is how round the corners are. Google’s Pixel phones have had notably sharp corners since the Pixel 6. They heavily contrast those of the iPhones and the non-Ultra Galaxy S phones. However, looking at the Pixel 8 and renders of the Pixel 9, it appears that Google wants to round out its corners. In the image, it appears that the corners are notably rounder than what we saw with the original Pixel Fold.
Other than that, we can see the center-mounted selfie camera, and the fact that the camera bump extends from the screen rather far. However, this may very well just be a prototype of the phone and not an indication of the final design.
What we don’t see
Sources also told Android Authority that the Pixel Fold 2 could have a camera cutout on the internal display. This is different from what we saw with the first Pixel Fold, which houses the camera in its large bezel.
The Google Pixel Fold 2 will, undoubtedly, be one of the most exciting phones of the year. People will be excited to see what Google is doing to push its foldable brand forward. We expect it to skip the Tensor G3 and implement the Tensor G4, so we may not see it until the Pixel 9 launches. This early leak just shows that Google is looking to reinvent its foldable phone brand, and we’re all excited to see it!