Flexible OLED technology had been showing up in demos for years when Samsung released the first Galaxy Fold. Finally, this theoretically useful screen tech has found its place in consumer devices, but Samsung remains the only major player in foldables. That could change later this year when Google releases the rumored Pixel Fold. According to a new leak, Google’s foldable will be heavy, but it will bring the largest battery of any current foldable phone.
Foldables have to be physically larger than flat phones to make room for the larger display, even if it’s folded in half. Then you have the bulk to accommodate the second screen and the hinge. It all adds up to a heavier device. The Galaxy Z Fold 4 tips the scales at 263g, whereas even the heaviest flat phones are around 200g. According to 9to5Google, the Pixel Fold will be heavier than the Fold 4. How much heavier is unknown, but it must be approaching 300g. That’s getting close to small tablets like the iPad Mini, which is 293g.
There’s an upshot to all this. One of the reasons the Pixel fold will be so hefty is that it will sport a larger battery than other foldables. Despite being so large, foldable battery capacity lags flat phones due to the space taken up by hinges. The Z Fold 4 struggles to make it through a day with its 4,400 mAh battery, and the Oppo Find N2 isn’t much better off at 4,520 mAh. The report claims that the Pixel Fold will be noticeably more long-lived, with a battery just shy of 5,000 mAh.
The Pixel Fold will probably look something like this.
The larger battery might translate to better battery life, but there are a lot of variables. The Pixel Fold will run on Google’s custom Tensor G2 ARM chip, which uses older components than the shiny new Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2. It’s possible the difference in battery capacity will be a wash, and the phone will still weigh down your pocket.
Google hasn’t confirmed anything about its foldable yet, but we expect to see it later this year. Leaks point to a price tag similar to the Z Fold 4, around $1,800. Google has been making changes to Android aimed at supporting foldable form factors, but Samsung has been at the forefront of using those features. With the Pixel Fold, we’ll finally see Google’s take on foldable software. That could be the Pixel Fold’s raison d’être if the battery life doesn’t end up being anything special.
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