Don't get your hopes up for the Google Pixel Fold any time soon

A screengrab from Google IO 2022
(Image credit: Future)

Many rumors suggest that the Google Pixel Fold is on its way; this is expected to be the debut foldable phone from the Alphabet-owned tech giant. However, after annual tech conference Google IO 2022, we don't expect it to arrive any time soon.

It was an absolutely manic launch, with Google announcing software and hardware with an incredibly quick cadence, and all was quiet on the foldable front. This would seem understandable - Google won't detail all its future products - except it really seemed like the company did just that.

Google seemed to announce its next year of mobile tech, and there was absolutely nothing about the Pixel Fold. So it seems unlikely that the foldable phone is coming any time soon.

A year of Google

At Google IO, the company showed off both the Pixel Watch and Pixel 7 series - these weren't quite 'teases' as we saw quite a bit about them, but they weren't full launches either.

We're expecting both these products to properly launch later in the year - October, if precedent holds true - so this is a good example of Google showing off its future products. Rumors suggested the Fold could launch alongside the Pixel 7, but the lack of a tease makes it seem unlikely.

What makes this double true is that the Google Pixel Tablet was also teased, and we heard a tiny bit about its chipset, software and design. Google said that this is coming at some point in 2023, so it's definitely a long way off - we expect to hear more about it at Google IO next year.

Since Google teased tech that's literally a year or more off, yet stayed silent on the prospect of a Pixel Fold, it seems very likely that this anticipated device is still more than a year away.

Sure, the company could simply be staying quiet so it's got something to surprise everyone with, but given its recent history of teasing everything far in advance, that seems unlikely.

We're keeping our hopes for the Pixel Fold pretty restrained, for now - maybe at Google IO 2023 we'll see a tease for it.

Tom Bedford
Contributor

Tom Bedford was deputy phones editor on TechRadar until late 2022, having worked his way up from staff writer. Though he specialized in phones and tablets, he also took on other tech like electric scooters, smartwatches, fitness, mobile gaming and more. He is based in London, UK and now works for the entertainment site What To Watch.


He graduated in American Literature and Creative Writing from the University of East Anglia. Prior to working on TechRadar, he freelanced in tech, gaming and entertainment, and also spent many years working as a mixologist. He also currently works in film as a screenwriter, director and producer.