google: Google may have ‘cancelled’ the Pixel Fold – Times of India

Foldable phones have been around for some time now but haven’t really gone mainstream. Rumours suggest that almost every major smartphone brand wants to enter the foldable game in the next couple of years. One such brand was reportedly Google. Yes, ‘was’ and not ‘is’ because if rumours are to be believed then Google has cancelled its foldable phone plans.
Tipster Ross Young has hinted that Google’s foldable phone may have been shelved. Citing sources in the Display Supply Chain Consultants, Young tweeted, “Bad news for those waiting for the Google Pixel Fold. We hear they have cancelled parts orders and decided not to bring it to market…”
Young’s tweet was based on his blog on the DSCC review website. The blog post notes, “DSCC has confirmed with its supply chain sources that Google has decided not to bring the Pixel Fold to market. Not in 2021 and reportedly not in the first half of 2022. Our sources indicated that Google believed the product wouldn’t be as competitive as it needed to be.”
If indeed the claims are true then it does come as a surprise. More so because recently Google announced plans for Android 12L — a tweaked OS update meant for tablets and foldable phones. Google had said that the Android 12L would be optimised for larger devices, including foldable phones.
Google hasn’t commented on the matter so far. In fact, officially the company never even said that it is making a foldable phone or not.
As far as foldable phones are concerned, it has been rumoured that Oppo, Xiaomi, Vivo, Honor all have foldable phones in the pipeline. However, none have been confirmed by any brand as such. Samsung is the main player in the foldable space as of now with the Galaxy Z Flip and Galaxy Z Fold. Huawei too ventured in the market but due to a variety of reasons is more or less restricted to the Chinese market.