The Google Pixel Fold could be the phone that makes foldables affordable | TechRadar
from Google Pixel fold will be competitively priced compared to Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold series, according to a new leak. This follows previous rumors that claimed the Pixel Fold would cost around $1,700 when it’s announced in May at Google I/O 2023.
The same leaker also suggests that the Pixel 7a is probably the same price as the Pixel 6a (or slightly higher).
The latest rumors come true Yogesh Brar (opens in new tab), a remarkable tipster who has proven to be quite reliable over the years. Brar says the Pixel Fold will cost between $1,300 and $1,500 (so about £1,100 to £1,200 or AU$1,900 to AU$2,200), while the Pixel 7a will cost between $450 and $500 (that’s about £370 to £ 410 or AU$670 to AU$745).
The Pixel 6a launched at $450 / £399 / AU$749 (although you can now find it much cheaper with some good deal), so the rumored price is in line with what we would expect. That $500 upper limit would also make some sense, as we’ve heard elsewhere that Google plans to improve the materials used in the phone, upgrade the chip to the Tensor G2, and incorporate new camera sensors.
The Pixel Fold price rumor is a lot more interesting. While that price is certainly well north of a grand in both the US and UK, if we take this rumor at face value, it suggests that the Fold’s price is being positioned to lower the prohibitive entry cost of foldable products – in the US and Europe, at least, especially vertically folding larger foldable phones.
Lowering the entry barrier
While some clamshell foldables – think Samsung’s Galaxy Z Flip 4 or Oppo Flip N2 Flip – have cost around $1,000 / £800 or even less, Galaxy Fold-like foldables have thrown in closer to $2,000 / £1,700, though that price has been getting lower as more companies enter the market.
The Honor Magic Vs costs $1,700, £1,400 / AU$2,500, according to fast Google conversions, while the Tecno Phantom V fold will cost you around $1,100 / £900 / AU$1600. If Brar is right, the Pixel Fold falls somewhere in the middle of that range.
Foldables as a category are getting stronger year on year, with Google’s Android 12L And Android 13 improvements that go a long way in improving the foldable user experience. While Google prepares Android 14to further enhance the operating system’s foldable support, with tools for developers to build or enhance existing apps to work better on foldable devices, the Pixel Fold marks the company’s fully enthusiastic embrace of this form factor – and an accessible price would be the icing on the cake.
