Google Pixel Fold returns — reportedly delyaed until 2023

After wondering what happened to the Google Pixel Fold after the tech giant's big Google I/O 2022, the foldable has made a return — but we may not see it until 2023. This will be the second delay of the heavily rumored Android foldable.

According to Korean tech industry news outlet The Elec, Google has postponed the launch of the Pixel Fold, also known as the Pixel Notepad, due to the foldable "not being as complete" as Google wants it to be. This could mean the phone will be going through a design overhaul, but display analyst Ross Young believes it could be due to other reasons. 

Earlier this year, Young stated the Pixel Fold would arrive in the fourth quarter of 2022, adding on that it would have a similar-sized display as the rumored Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4. Now, the analyst states that "multiple sources"  suggest the foldable has been delayed, but more specifically until spring 2023. Apparently, Google may be waiting to use a new chip in the phone, along with other software updates.

This isn't the first time a release date has been announced by outside sources, as a report from The Elec last year suggested the Fold would arrive by the end of 2021 or early 2022. What's more, other display industry insiders stated the Pixel 6 and Pixel Fold would fall in the same time period: the fourth quarter of 2021. That didn't happen.

The Pixel Fold appears to be in limbo, seeing as it wasn't even mentioned during I/O 2022, despite Google announcing its Pixel Tablet for 2023. There has been alleged evidence of a foldable device in the works, though. As previously reported, Google's first foldable remerged thanks to new animations spotted in the Android 12L Beta 2. 

Whatever the case, Google's Pixel Fold is now rumored to be a while away, meaning we may not hear anything concrete for a while. In the meantime, there's still plenty to look forward to, including the Pixel 6a coming this July, the next-gen Pixel 7, and the upcoming Pixel Watch.