Before launching the Pixel Fold in June 2023, Google had been working on foldable devices for quite some time. The previous iteration has now leaked, with this Pixel Fold prototype featuring a distinctive design from the Pixel 6 era.
In August 2020, we reported that Google was working on a foldable device called “Passport” that would launch in Q4 2021 alongside what would become the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro. Software evidence of that device appeared in several places, including the Android 12 beta.
As that period passed, references to folding books changed to a new name: “pipit.” We wrote at the time:
It’s unclear what exactly changed, but this type of mid-development codename change has happened before. For example, the Pixel Slate was developed as “Meowth” when it was planned to run on Intel’s Cannon Lake processors. When these were delayed, Google rebuilt the Pixel Slate with older Intel processors as the “Nocturne.”
According Android Authority Today, Passport and Pipit “were separate projects at one point” but “eventually converged into a single device,” and today images of Pipit have emerged. It was posted on the XDA forums and has since been removed. There is only one high-resolution image of this Pixel Fold prototype:
The Pipit looks almost identical to the first-generation Pixel Fold, save for a camera bar that matches the Pixel 6 generation. There’s a single piece of glass with metal rails on the top and bottom that extends from edge to edge. edge with a conical shape. It’s a cleaner, more consistent look than the direction Google ended up taking.
In terms of camera specifications, we reported in November 2021 that there would be two main lenses:
- “…instead of the new GN1 sensor, the foldable Pixel will have the same 12.2-megapixel IMX363 used since the Pixel 3, presumably as the main sensor.”
- “…The foldable Pixel will feature a 12-megapixel IMX386 sensor, which, if the Pixel 6’s design is to be believed, should be used for an ultra-wide camera.”
This has been confirmed today. Android Authority The same foldable internal display/panel was reportedly kept on the Pipit and what was eventually launched (Felix). Google designed a prototype stylus holder for the Fold that would almost certainly have affected durability.
In terms of other specs, the PiPit was powered by the Tensor (G1?) and the first-gen Exynos Modem 5123 instead of the Tensor G2 and Exynos Modem 5300. It provides additional credibility to the launch plan with the Pixel 6 series.
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