This Is the Cancelled Pixel Fold That Wasn’t Good Enough for Google

The Google Pixel Fold launched relatively late compared to first-generation foldable models from other manufacturers. At the time of its release in mid-2023, Samsung had just launched the fifth iteration of its book-shaped version of the foldable phone (and had launched a second look with the more popular Galaxy Z Flip series), and several other companies had also made their debut. This situation could have been very different, however: Google actually had another prototype ready a year before the original Pixel Fold, but decided to abandon it because it wasn’t “good enough”, as revealed by the Google’s head of hardware product design, Ivy Ross, in a 2023 episode of the Made by Google podcast.

While the existence of this canceled smartphone is pretty well known, we’ve never seen it in pictures or learned all the specs, but that changes today. Photos of what appeared to be a mysterious Pixel Fold-like device first surfaced in a low-key thread on the XDA forums (the original images have sadly disappeared, but we have copies), sparking wild speculation that it was either a fake or an early prototype. Thanks to an anonymous source within Google, Android Authority can confirm that this is in fact our first look at the canceled Pixel foldable codenamed “pipit” and its specs.

Before we begin, it’s worth mentioning that the devices codenamed “pipit” and “passport,” both supposedly canceled Pixel foldables, are actually the same device. While they were different projects at one point, they eventually converged into a single device that continued to be called “pipit.”

The canceled Pixel Fold has an oddly familiar look; the only feature that clearly distinguishes it from the final version is a bar of (mostly) transparent glass that spans the entire width of the device, looking very much like a Pixel 6. The released Pixel Fold has a larger camera island small 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 hinge look pretty much the same, and even the matte rear 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 were able to recover from the deleted photos in the thread.)

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

Unremarkable specifications

If “pipit” were to come out, it would have arrived a few months after the Pixel 6 series, so obviously its specs are a generation behind the first-gen Pixel Fold, which relies on the base configuration of the Pixel 7. Instead of a Tensor G2 with the Exynos 5300 modem, the device came with the first-gen Tensor and Exynos 5123 modem, which was notable for the number of issues it had.

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

Another area where the “pipit” differs from the Pixel Fold is the exterior screen. The device has a slightly smaller 66 x 128mm screen compared to 67 x 130mm on the Pixel Fold. The resolution also differs slightly at 1080 x 2100 pixels versus 1080 x 2092.

One thing, however, remained surprisingly the same: the internal display remained a completely unchanged panel. What’s interesting, however, is that Google has developed a prototype version of the device with support for pen input. Although it appears that the idea was eventually abandoned (the last prototype including this concept was the “PIPIT EVT 1.0 Stylus”, while other versions of the device reached the DVT stage much later), it is always interesting to see that Google was exploring something like this.

While the Pixel Fold that has made it to store shelves is an upgrade over the “pipit,” it feels rather progressive, 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 broader context in which it would have been released. “Pipit” was reportedly announced at Google I/O 2022, along with the canceled Pixel tablet along with first-generation Tensor (codenamed “tangor”; the device that ended up shipping is “tangorpro”) and the Pixel 6a . This would also have made it one of the first devices to run Google’s big-screen-optimized version of Android – 12L. It really couldn’t have been a better fit, so why didn’t it happen?

The launch of the Pixel 6 series was an absolute disaster. A big part of that was the buggy Android 12 build. While the Android 12L build fixed a few things, it was still far from stable. Not only that, but a lot of features were also delayed, making 12L less than what it was supposed to be.

It’s likely that Google decided to push back its tablet and foldable a year ago to make sure the software was ready and tweak the hardware if necessary. What ended up shipping still wasn’t perfect, but it’s probably better than what we would have seen if Google had gone with “pipit.”

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