Google’s mysterious foldable phone, long expected to be called the Pixel Fold, could be tagged with a new, uninspired name. According to a 9to5Google report, the rumored device may actually carry the far more boring moniker of Pixel Notepad, and it might actually be cheaper than what Samsung’s Fold 3 will drain from your wallet. Yes, it’s accurate for a foldable phone-tablet hybrid that essentially doubles as a digital notebook, but pondering over a creative name doesn’t hurt.
Google was reportedly considering the name “Logbook” at one point, and simply put, that’s also bland and seems straight out of an ’80s commercial for a leather-bound diary targeted at Wall Street investors in pinstriped suits. The alleged Google foldable has lately popped up in the code of Android updates under the code name “Pipit.” System animations discovered in the code of Android 12L beta revealed the design assets of a rather stout foldable phone that resembles the Oppo Find N.
More importantly, the 9to5Google report cites an anonymous reliable source and claims that the Google Pixel Notepad will carry a price tag lower than $1,799. Now, $1,799 is a very specific number for an unconfirmed phone’s asking price, but that puts it in line with Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 3, lending more credence to the rumors.
It would be odd to see Google price the Pixel Notepad lower than $1,799 because that sounds a little too aggressive for a first-generation foldable phone, but it looks like Google is aiming to replicate the same formula as the $599 price tag for the excellent Pixel 6. By contrast, Samsung’s doomed first Fold touched the $2,000 range, making it too costly for most buyers, and it took the company three years of refinements and research to polish the foldable formula and bring the price down. It appears that Google has learned from these mistakes and will be banking heavily on Samsung’s expertise to make its first foldable phone, from fabricating the Tensor chip that uses Exynos processor as a rough template to buying its foldable OLED panel with the UTG (Ultra-Thin Glass) tech.
Previous rumors suggest that the Pixel-branded foldable will come armed with the Tensor chip, but the camera hardware will be a downgrade compared to the Pixel 6 Pro. However, Google has yet to say an official word about its foldable plans, so take all these rumors and findings with a helping of skepticism. And even if the product is really being tested secretly at Google’s hardware labs, the plans — especially that poor Pixel Notepad name — might still change down the road.
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